Boyfriend missing as woman’s body found
WASHINGTON: A body found in a national forest in Wyoming, where a search has been under way for Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito, matches the description of the missing woman, whose disappearance has gripped America.
US authorities launched a massive search for 22-year-old Ms Petito when her family filed a missing person report on September 11, after she mysteriously vanished during a road trip with her boyfriend.
After a body was found in the search area on Monday (AEST), the FBI said it matched Mr Petito’s description.
“Full forensic identification has not been completed to confirm 100 per cent that we found Gabby, but her family has been notified of this discovery,” FBI agent Charles Jones said, adding that the cause of death had not yet been determined.
The FBI and other law enforcement had been searching for Ms Petito in a national forest in the western state of Wyoming, where the couple was when Ms Petito last communicated with her parents in late August.
“I would like to extend sincere and heartfelt condolences to Gabby’s family,” Mr Jones added. “We ask you all respect their privacy as they mourn the loss of their daughter.”
Ms Petito quit her job and packed her life into a camper van for a cross-country adventure in July with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie, 23, documenting their journey in a stream of idyllic-seeming posts.
But more than two weeks ago, Laundrie returned to his home in North Port, Florida alone in Ms Petito’s van – and 10 days later her family filed a missing person report.
Laundrie – who refused to co-operate with police – was declared a “person of interest”.
As news of the discovery of the body broke, Mr Laundrie was reported missing, with some reports speculating that he might have killed himself.
His parents said on the weekend they had not seen their son for several days.
The couple embarked on their journey across the US from New York on the East Coast, posting photos of magnificent views of the American West and the two of them smiling happily next to their small white van.
However, in August, police in Utah responded to a domestic violence report involving Ms Petito and Mr Laundrie.
Police body cam footage published by US media shows a distraught Ms Petito saying she had had an altercation with Mr Laundrie.