Timeline of Gabby Petito & Brian Laundrie: What We Know So Far

The search continues for Brian Laundrie; Gabby’s fiancé who was reported “missing” according to the FBI. Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old social media vlogger went missing in late August and was found dead on September 20th, nine days after her parents reported her missing. Gabby, 22 and Brian, 23 had set off on a cross-country journey in July. Brian returned home from the trip alone on September 1st without Gabby. Brian’s parents claim that he was last seen on around mid-September.

The couple, who shared a home in North Port, Florida with Brian Laundarie’s parents were reported to be childhood sweethearts who met while growing up in Long Island, New York, before Laundrie’s parents moved to North Port, just outside Sarasota. Gabby’s bestfriend, Rose Davis who is 21 years old is certain that Brian is surviving in the wilderness “He is out in the wilderness, I promise you. He’s out there. He is. If he’s alive, he’s out there, camping out … He lived in the Appalachians by himself for months.”

After months of searching for Brian Laundrie, authorities have confirmed that the human remains found yesterday was indeed Brian Laundrie based on dental records. Autopsy of the body will soon follow and only then we will know how Brian Laundrie died. What remains to be a mystery is what was in the notebook that was found amongst Brian’s possession. Did he leave a suicide note? Did he leave a confession?

Another puzzling question is it that after months of searching for Brian Laundrie with all the manpower the FBI, the state police, and all laymen searching for Brian, his parents knew exactly where to find him. Were they involve in his death? Did they meet with him frequently during the hunt for Brian only to find him in one of their last meetups no longer alive? Still so many questions remains to be unsolved.

Brian’s parents reported to be cooperating with authorities today by telling them where Brian’s favorite spot was at that Nature Reserve. Investigators went to Brian’s “favorite spot” and the FBI announced today that they had located Brian Laundrie’s backpack with his notebook inside. Human remains were also found next to the backpack and personal belongings. The area where investigators’ discovered Brian’s belongings and what sources say may be Brian’s human remains had been recently flooded and covered.

On September 24th, a flight attendant who claimed that she saw someone fitting the description of Brian Laundrie trying to check into a hotel in Toronto, Canada. The Tiktoker who goes by the handle @cwlynnn said that she had reported this to the staff at the hotel of this man with a face mask pulled down below his lips. She claimed that the staff told her that this person was confused and did not know where he was or if he’s even in the right hotel. He seemed to be “getting flustered” as he walked out of the hotel and seen getting into a car driven by a another man.

Brian Laundrie is no longer a ‘person of interest’ in the homicide of Gabby Petito. The U.S. District Court of Wyoming on September 22, 2021 issued a federal arrest warrant for Brian Christopher Laundrie pursuant to a Federal Grand Jury indictment related to Mr. Laundrie’s activities following the death of Gabrielle Petito. The indictment against Brian Laundrie is for unauthorized debit card usage on Gabby Petito’s Capital One Debit card of more than $1,000 between the August 30th and September 1st.

The FBI on September 23, 2021 tweeted:  “While this warrant allows law enforcement to arrest Mr. Laundrie, the FBI and our partners across the country continue to investigate the facts and circumstances of Ms. Petito’s homicide. We urge individuals with knowledge of Mr. Laundrie’s role in this matter or his current whereabouts to contact the FBI.”

John Walsh from America’s Most Wanted reported that the Laundrie’s neighbors saw Brian’s parents and Brian left in a new camper shell vehicle on September 11th, the same day Gabby’s parents reported her missing. But when the parents returned to the home, there was no Brian. Did his parents distracted the authorities by claiming that Brian left with is Mustang to the Carlton Nature Reserve in Sarasota County.

Sam Bass of Baker, Florida said that a man fitting Brian Laundrie’s description was spotted on his deer trail camera. The Sheriff of Oskaloosa County inspected the area that was reported of the possibly sighting using drones and manpower but little was found. Baker is about five hundred miles from Brian’s home of North Port, Florida.

In a separate event, a local news station WAFF 48 reported to the police that there was a possible sighting of Brian in Mobile, Alabama, after he was seen eating at a restaurant. There are other claims online allege that Brian Laundrie was seen crossing a road after someone had dropped him off near a local Wal-mart in the same area.

The FBI confirmed that the body identified to be that of Gabby Petito found on a search of Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest on September 19th. After an extensive autopsy was completed, the Wyoming coroner ruled it as a homicide. “Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue confirmed the remains are those of Gabrielle Venora Petito, date of birth March 19, 1999,” the FBI Denver division said in a statement. “Coroner Blue’s initial determination for the manner of death is homicide.”

FBI and police searched Laundrie’s home in Florida on September 20 and took evidence from the Laundarie’s family home. The FBI did not reveal and details about the search, but agents were seen removing several boxes, while a car, the Mustang was also towed away. AP reported that neighbors said the car that was towed was typically used by Laundrie’s mother. Local media reported Laundrie’s parents were seen getting into a police vehicle.

FBI Tampa office tweeted: “The #FBI search at the Laundrie residence in North Port has concluded,” adding there were “no further details” to share as “this is an ongoing investigation.”

Human remains were discovered by the FBI during a search of Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest. Jessica Schultz, a Tiktoker tipped the FBI on the location where a body was found. Jessica Schultz was a camper who spotted the white van several times and saw what appears to be Brian in the same area the body was discovered. Charles Jones, FBI Denver’s supervisory senior resident agent, stated: “Earlier today, human remains were discovered, consistent with a description of Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito. Full forensic identification has not been completed to confirm 100 percent that we found Gabby, but her family has been notified of this discovery. The cause of death has not been determined at this time.” 

Following the discovery of the body, the Laundrie family released a statement through their lawyer that read: “The news about Gabby Petito is heartbreaking. The Laundrie family prays for Gabby and her family.” 

Brian Laundarie’s family attorney stated that “Brian was last seen by his family Tuesday morning. Be advised that the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie are currently unknown. FBI is currently at the Laundrie residence removing property to assist in locating Brian. As of now the FBI is now looking for both Gabby and Brian.”

Brian’s parents brought the car back to their home on Thursday after they claim Brian had gone off to the 25,000 acre nature preserve on a hike a couple of days earlier on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the police found the car and left a note on it.

After several days of both Petito’s family and police pleading with Laundrie’s family to cooperate in the investigation, Laundrie’s family requests police to come to their home Friday, where they share they haven’t seen Brian since Tuesday, according to Taylor, the police spokesperson. “We’ve been trying all week to talk to his family, to talk to Brian, and now they’ve called us here on Friday, we’ve gone to the home, and they’re saying now they have not seen their son, it is another twist in this story.”

Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino stated Friday night that “the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie are currently unknown. The FBI is currently at the Laundrie residence removing property to assist in locating Brian. As of now the FBI is now looking for both Gabby and Brian.”

In a letter read by Stafford, the Petito family attorney, during police’s Thursday news briefing, the missing woman’s family begged for Laundrie’s family to help in the investigation. He said Petito’s family reached out to Laundrie’s family earlier this month for any information on Petito’s whereabouts, but his family refused to answer.

“Please, if you or your family have any decency left, please, tell us where Gabby is located. Tell us if we are even looking in the right place. All we want is for Gabby to come home. Please help us make that happen. We haven’t been able to sleep or eat, and our lives are falling apart,” the Petito family’s statement added.

Petito’s family filed a missing persons report with police in Suffolk County, New York, on September 11th for their missing Gabby. Police said Brian Laundrie returned to Florida alone when he drove the van back to his parents’ place in North Port on September 1st. Laundrie was identified as a person of interest in Gabby Petito’s homicide the case by North Port Police. They said that Laundrie hadn’t cooperated or spoken with officers during their investigation since he arrived back alone in Florida.

He was last seen on September 14 by family members who were told by Laundrie that he was going on a hike in Florida’s Carlton Reserve that day. North Port authorities went to Laundrie’s home on Saturday night asking to speak to him and his family but “we were essentially handed the information for their attorney, that is the extent of our conversation with them,” Taylor, the police spokesperson, said.

September 1, 2021: Gabby’s Van back at the Laundrie’s Residence

Laundrie returned to the couple’s North Port home, where his parents also live, on September 1st, according to the North Port police. The white Ford van that Petito and Laundrie had been traveling in was later recovered by police at the Laundrie’s home. It was processed and “there was some material in there” that the authorities will be going through, North Port police spokesperson Josh Taylor said at a news briefing on Wednesday.

“He needs to talk to us. We need to know exactly where he was, where she was, their last locations and that the fact that he was back here for 10 days. … The family reported her missing 10 days later.”” Josh Taylor, a spokesperson for the North Port, Florida, police department, said in a news briefing.

Petito family attorney Richard Stafford said the family’s last communication with Petito was August 30, but they do not believe the message they received was from Petito. Gabby’s family receives their last text from their daughter. They doubt she wrote that text. According to Stafford, that message read, “No service in Yosemite.”

There were more texts between Gabby and her mother, during which her family believes she remained in the Tetons. The text read: “Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls.” Gabby’s mother said that “Stan” was referring to her grandfather whom she never addresses his first name.The texts were so strange that the FBI took out a warrant to search Brian Laundarie’s computer’s hard drive.

There were multiple texts between Petito and her mother. The young woman’s family believes she was in the Tetons on this date. ABC7 reported that according to a verified GoFundMe page set up for Petito, she was allegedly last known to be in Grand Teton in northwest Wyoming on August 25 heading towards Yellowstone National Park.

Petito was last seen on August 24 checking out of a hotel. An image showing her in front of a butterfly mural was posted on her Instagram account two days later. Petito FaceTimed with her mother and told her she was leaving Utah and heading to the Teton range in Wyoming.

This was the last video recording of Gabby Petito, with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, on August 12, 2021, days before her disappearance. That same day, a 911 caller reported he saw a couple in a white van in a “domestic dispute.” The caller claimed that he saw Brian slap Gabby as they were walking through town and that he hit her once more before they both got into the van and drove off. The following is the police bodycam video from Moab, Utah showing their response to the 911 call. Bodycam footage released by Moab police showed an officer had pulled them over on the same day after the van was seen speeding and hitting a curb near Arches National Park.

The two are described as getting into a physical fight following an argument, “both the male and female reported they are in love and engaged to be married and desperately didn’t wish to see anyone charged with a crime,” a report from officer Eric Pratt said.

The video showed Petito crying and discussing her mental health with officers. She told the officer that she and Laundrie had argued over her excessive cleaning of the vehicle. She was heard telling the officer she has OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). However, Petito’s father said his daughter’s statement about her OCD wasn’t literally true in an interview Monday on the Dr. Phil talk show. He said she was just using the OCD term as slang, referring to how she likes to keep her living area orderly, according to AP.

At the officers’ suggestion, the couple separated for the night, with Gabby who was ‘confused and emotional’ was to stay in the van and Brian was to checked into a motel close by.”After evaluating the totality of the circumstances, I do not believe the situation escalated to the level of a domestic assault as much as that of a mental health crisis,” officer Daniel Robbins wrote in the police report. No charges were filed. The couple each had their own cell phones in case of emergency, the report added.

The pair left Long Island, New York on July 2nd, embarking on a cross-country trip in a converted van to visit the national parks in the western region of the U.S. According to an attorney for the Petito family, the couple recently got engaged but postponed their wedding plans due to the Wuhan-COVID pandemic, and instead opting to go on this trip.

Gabby was the one who converted her 2012 white Ford Transit van for the vlogger’s trip under #vanlife. Laundrie and Petito’s Instagram showed that they visited several parts of the country, including Florida (Brian’s home state), Kansas, Colorado and Utah. Their plan was to reach Oregon by the end of October, according to their social media posts. North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison said in a Thursday news briefing that Petito and Laundrie — who Garrison described as the woman’s fiancé — embarked on a cross-country trip in June. They planned to travel in Petito’s white Ford van to the West Coast and visit state national parks across the Western United States, Garrison said. She had been excited to share her journey with her family and others on social media, he said.

“She maintained regular contact with her family members during her travels, however that communication abruptly stopped around the end of August,” the police chief added. 22 year old Gabby Petito is a White female, about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and 110 pounds, with blonde hair, blue eyes and several tattoos, including one on her finger and one on her forearm that reads, “Let it be.” The FBI has set up a national hotline — 1-800-CALLFBI (225-5324) — to receive tips.