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A U.S. ranger in Utah reportedly urged Gabby Petito to distance himself from her fiance Brian Laundrie just weeks before the traveling New York native’s remains were found near Grand Teton National Park.
Ranger Melissa Hulls was among several officers who responded to a 911 call reporting a possible domestic assault between downtown Moab and Arches National Park on August 12.
Fox News previously obtained body camera video of one of the male officers interviewing Petito – who appeared distraught and on the verge of tears. Officers ultimately did not file any charges and said they separated the couple.
DETAILS OF GABBY PETITO’S UTAH FIGHT WITH FIANCE BRIAN LAUNDRIE REVEALED IN POLICE WITNESS STATEMENT
Ranger Melissa Hulls has stepped down to speak to Petito privately, believing she would be more willing to speak one-on-one with a single officer, according to Deseret News of Salt Lake City.
Hulls told Deseret reporter Kyle Dunphey that she was “probably more candid with her” than she should have been when she told the young woman, who went missing on September 11, that her relationship with Laundrie seemed “toxic”.
Dunphey, who originally visited Moab over the weekend as part of another story, said he informed the ranger he had filed for public recording for his body camera video before interview and that she had nothing to hide. Fox News has also filed such a request and has yet to receive a response.
GABBY PETITO INVESTIGATION: 911 CALL REVEALS BRIAN LAUNDRIE SEEN HITS, ‘HIT’ BEFORE DISAPPEARING
“It was a tough interview to get,” said Dunphey, who had originally scheduled a meeting with Hulls over the unrelated story. “She didn’t want to talk to me about this.”
But she did – and she said she was “begging” Petito to “reassess the relationship.”
“I can still hear his voice,” Hulls told Dunphey. “She wasn’t just a face on the milk carton, she was real to me.”
Moab Police arrested Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito on the road to Arches National Park at around 4:45 p.m. MT on August 12 in response to a 911 caller who said they saw a man “slap” a woman before the couple got into the van and headed north out of town.
GABBY PETITO MISSING: UTAH POLICE HAS BEEN CALLED FOR INCIDENT INVOLVING CROSS-COUNTRY VANNING COUPLE
Body camera video of one of the Moab cops responding suggests Laundrie was behind the wheel, driving 45mph in a 15mph zone, before crashing into the sidewalk after police lights have lighted up.
Several other law enforcement officers arrived at the stop, including another officer from Moab, Hulls and at least one other ranger. Petito appeared restless or in tears the entire time – in stark contrast to the calm and collected laundry.
The couple played down the incident and gave the impression that Petito was the perpetrator – a story officers appeared to accept despite calling 911 and a witness statement that Laundrie attempted to pick up Petito’s phone to the Moonflower Co-op and leave without her.
Authorities can be heard discussing whether to classify the encounter as a domestic call or a mental health incident – which would make the difference between making an arrest or letting the couple go. In the end, officers refused to press charges, but booked Laundrie into a hotel room in town through a non-profit organization for domestic violence survivors.
The motel owner told Fox News last week that he could confirm a room had been booked, but was unsure if Laundrie had actually spent the night there.
The Petito case and another unsolved double homicide rocked Moab – a crossroads community with 5,000 full-time residents.
Two prominent local women – Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner – were found murdered in a campground just outside of town. The newlyweds were found gunned down by a local store owner named Cindy Sue Hunter, who told Fox News over the weekend that she was on the phone with Schulte’s father when she came across the gruesome crime scene .
“I’m just in shock,” she said. “And he’s yelling, you know, ‘Get in the car, get out of there.’ … He suddenly realizes that I could be in danger. “
The Grand County Sheriff’s Office said it had ruled out a connection between the two cases – but that means the one responsible for the heinous killings is still at large.
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An FBI-led laundry search is underway in Florida. His parents told North Port Police on Friday that they had not seen him since Tuesday, September 14.
Laundrie is said to have returned from Wyoming to his parents’ house in Petito’s van, arriving on September 1. He is said to have been silent about his fiancee’s disappearance the entire time, and his mother reported his disappearance on September 11.
On the same day, authorities seized the van from the Laundrie family’s home – but did not search it at the time.
The FBI said on Sunday that search teams discovered what they believed to be Petito’s remains at a campground north of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, near his last known location.
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