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On Sunday, a body believed to be that of 22-year-old Petito was apparently discovered in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
Gabby Petito case: 911 caller claims he saw Brian Laundrie “slap” a girl
The FBI escorted Laundrie’s parents out of their home in a van waiting in their driveway at 10 a.m. Monday.
They were in the car for about 10 minutes before heading back inside.
Investigators were inside the house with the family all day.
Gabby Petito: Chronology of everything we know about his disappearance
At around 2:30 p.m. they towed Laundrie’s silver mustang from the driveway. They also removed boxes of evidence. The search warrant said they were looking for Laundrie’s computer.
Laundrie and Petito lived with his parents before making the trip.
The North Port Florida Police Department said Tuesday it was continuing to search the Carlton reservation.
WATCH | Special file on the Gabby Petito affair
Gabby Petito’s last text
According to a separate warrant filed in a court in Sarasota County, Florida, Gabby Petito’s mother received a “strange text” on August 27 – a message that is described as “the last communication anyone had with” Gabby.
Petito’s mother Nichole Schmidt said the last video chat she had with her daughter was on August 24 or 25, although they texted for a few days. She said she didn’t know if it was her daughter who actually sent those texts.
Florida Police obtained a warrant to search a hard drive found in the white van that Petito and Brian Laundrie were using at the time of his disappearance.
Kristin Thorne, who has covered the case from the start, details the rest of the Gabby Petito case:
This warrant, filed by the North Port Police Department, is not associated with the activity at the Laundrie family’s home.
Detective wrote that Petito’s mother “received a” strange text message “from Gabby. The text message read” Can you help Stan, I keep getting his voicemails and missed calls. ” “The reference to ‘Stan’ was about her grandfather, but according to the mother, she never calls him ‘Stan’. The mother was worried that something was wrong with her daughter.”
Her family said the last message was “not normal behavior” for Petito and became more worried about her, police said.
Investigators searched the 2012 Ford Transit pickup truck on September 14. In the warrant request, police said crime scene technicians found an external hard drive that they said “may contain viable digital forensic data that could help locate” Petito.
Petito Inquiry in Wyoming
Petito and Laundrie hit the road in July in a converted van to visit Western National Parks. They argued along the way and Laundrie was alone when he got into the van at his parents’ house on September 1, police said.
What is believed to be Petito’s body was found by investigators on Sunday as they searched campsites on the edge of Grand Teton National Park, which the couple had visited.
“Full forensic identification has not been done to 100% confirm that we have found Gabby, but her family has been notified,” said FBI Surveillance Special Agent Charles Jones. “It is an incredibly difficult time for Petito’s family and friends.”
Authorities closed the isolated, scattered camping area of Spread Creek in the Bridget-Teton National Forest as they searched for clues. They distract campers from the popular campground, about 45 minutes from the town of Jackson.
Petito’s father Joseph tweeted a heartbreaking message in the wake of the discovery, claiming “it touched the world.”
The Laundrie family attorney issued a statement Sunday evening saying “The news regarding Gabby Petito is heartbreaking. The Laundrie family are praying for Gabby and her family.”
Separately on Monday, Brian’s sister Cassie Laundrie shared exclusively with “Good Morning America” the postcards she received from Petito as she was traveling across Brian Laundrie country.
Cassie Laundrie also shared one of the last texts she received from Petito on August 10.
Petito tells Cassie Laundrie that she is in Arches National Park in Utah with Brian and asks Cassie Laundrie to send him pictures of her children returning to school.
Cassie Laundrie also released a statement saying, “Right now my husband and I would like to express our condolences and prayers to the Petito family. Gabby was a fun and loving influence for ‘the boys’ as she always called them. We will treasure them. all the time spent with her. “
The research of Brian Laundrie
Laundrie has been named a person of interest in the case, but his whereabouts are unknown.
A weekend search at a Florida nature reserve could not find laundry facilities, North Port police said. They said in a statement that they “had exhausted all possibilities to search the grounds” of the 24,000-acre Carlton reservation in Sarasota County.
Investigators had focused intently on the area after Laundrie’s parents told police he may have been there.
The North Port Police Department said Tuesday morning it would continue its search efforts in the Carlton reservation, where Brian reportedly went a week ago to hike. This time, they will be looking near the Venetian side of the area, officials said.
WATCH | Chopper hovers over police looking for Brian Laundrie on the Carlton reservation
RELATED | Timeline of Gabby Petito’s disappearance: what we know so far
Petito and Laundrie were childhood sweethearts who met growing up on Long Island. His parents then moved to North Port, about 35 miles south of Sarasota.
The engaged couples had documented their trip on YouTube and were due to arrive in Portland in October.
They had an encounter with the police in Utah. Video released by the Moab Police Department showed that an officer stopped the couple’s van on August 12 after it was seen speeding up and hitting a sidewalk near the entrance to Arches National Park. Body camera images showed an upset Petito.
Laundrie said on video the couple got into a fight after getting into the van with dirty feet. He said he did not want to pursue a domestic violence charge against Petito, whose officers decided he was the abuser.
On Monday, authorities released the 911 call that led to the investigation. The caller is heard saying “a man was slapping the girl” before leaving in a white van.
Social media tips
Since his disappearance, information about the case has emerged on social media. Miranda Baker said in a Tik Tok video that she and her boyfriend picked up Laundrie who was hitchhiking around Teton Park on August 29.
About 45 seconds after the Tik Tok video started, Baker said, “He offered to pay us around $ 200 to take him 10 miles, so it was a little weird… without his fiancé.”
Jenn Bethune, who travels the country with her family, posted a YouTube video taken in Teton County on August 27 at around 6:00 p.m. that shows a van that looks like Gabby’s but police have not confirmed it was is his own.
The FBI said investigators are still seeking information from anyone who may have seen the couple around Grand Teton.
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