The “van life,” vlogger Gabby Petito was reported missing on September 11, during a cross-country road trip from New York to Oregon with her fiance, Brian Laundrie. Her mother reported that the last time she heard from Petito was on August 25.
“I think that Gabby Petito’s case got so much attention because the main person of interest in her case is her fiance, and they seemed pretty happy together and went everywhere together and then she went missing and was later found dead,” Camilla Alvarado, a sophomore.
After she did not return home from the trip, family members started to worry. Laundrie returned to their Florida home with Petito’s van, but she was nowhere to be found.
FBI officials announced that a body had been found by law enforcement agents who had been searching camping sites in the area of Spread Creek in Wyoming. Specifics on where and how the body was found are not disclosed. It was determined that she had been the victim of homicide by strangulation.
“I think that Brian is definitely guilty of Gabby’s death, and maybe his parents even helped him, because it seems like the parents are very silent regarding the situation and did not like Gabby that much,” said Casper McGhee, a sophomore.
Police had been searching for Laundrie, who had not cooperated with the police and had been missing since September 14, until he was also found dead. His remains were found in a Florida wilderness park after a month-long search.The initial autopsy did not uncover a cause of his death.
This case drew worldwide attention and investigations by social media users across the country.
“There are many different factors that can escalate the situation and make them a little more exigent, gaining more attention from the media,” Officer Chitwood.
The FBI said Laundries’ remains were identified using dental records, because only skeletal remains were found. This will make it a lot harder for his cause of death to be determined.