Found Deceased WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 25 Aug 2021 #12

[feralwriter]

I think it's more a question of how many "Brians" could there have been on that road on that day trying to hitch a 10 miles ride for $200, then abruptly dash from a vehicle? Who coincidentally claimed a partner working on her own social media site? I'll go with one Brian: Laundrie.

Just wondering... if you'd JUST done something regrettable, like murder someone, leave them somewhere hurt, whatever, and you're stealthily trying to make a get away, WHY would you give out your real name and anything resembling the truth of your life to random strangers you're bumming a ride from???

 

[Rocky1]

I don't think he "got tired of hitchhiking." In fact, when he was dropped off at Jackson Dam (assuming that was him) he told his "hosts" that he was going to look for a ride with someone going in the direction he wanted.

True, then if I remember correctly, the girl that picked him up with her boyfriend claimed they dropped him off at a large parking lot with lots of cars. He may have asked someone there rather than hitchhike. My guess is he was somewhat paranoid at that point and didn't want to stick out, but that's just a guess.

 

[bambibones]

I still think there is a good chance she DID go to Yosemite. I also think Brian's flight back home to the storage locker was to bring some camping and hiking gear back for Gabby. It was obvious their trip wasn't working out, so they probably decided to part ways. She would go off on the Pacific Crest Trail or something, and he would return the van, lawyer up, and enjoy the media frenzy.

I can't see either of them hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and not having a vehicle nearby. They were dedicated car campers. Have you seen what they ate? Precious, expensive, hippy food. They liked their showers and there t'aint many of those on the Pacific Crest Trail.

 

[SuperTmo]

The parents claimed that he disappeared in his car and that they found it in the parking lot for that park. They decided to drive it home.

What kind of a parent would take away a car that would have been their son's ride home? Something's not adding up.

If my kid's car was found at a trailhead and he didn't come back to it, I'd stay there until he did - and before too long, I'd file a missing person report. I wouldn't take the car away.

My assumption is that the parents drove to the park and met him there. They watched him walk off with his backpack with the waist straps, and drove his car back home. LE should start getting the security camera footage for his neighborhood to see when he came home, and when that mustang drove off with him in it.

 

[Kano]

Something else I noticed while watching their videos, BL was eating with a plastic fork. He wouldn't take water from the police because it was in a plastic bottle but he will use a plastic fork to eat. Nothing really important, just interesting. I also have lit a candle for Gabby.

it might be in relation to drinks specifically. I know some nations worry about cancer and plastic packaging. Some people don't like the taste of a beverage that stored in plastic bottles for long periods of time.

 

[Daae]

Gabby Petito one of three people missing near Grand Teton Park this summer

Why hundreds of people vanish into the American wilderness

 

[elidar]

Quiet amazed at lack of awareness/knowledge of geography about Rocky Mt West from many Websleuth posters on this thread. One can always look it up!
West Yellowstone is in MT
West Yellowstone

 

[Colinj31]

Agree it was the Jackson Dam... I keep wondering if the van was in a nearby parking lot... The Spread Creek campsites is about 20 miles away from the Dam. We were speculating on the spread creek camping because people reported the van there. and it is East southeast of the Dam. So maybe they are searching this area....
still far to be on foot.

Agreed. Unless someone else comes forward saying they picked him up and gave him a ride after the Tiktokker, he must’ve made his way back to the van on foot after being dropped off. 20 miles is way to long on foot imo though especially with the timeframe, so the van must’ve been fairly close to the dam.

 

[carbuff]

So it looks like they went from Teton, to Jackson, ID, back to Yellowstone? That makes no sense, if what I have read has happened. Thoughts?

Jackson WYOMING. Jackson ID is a tiny town at least 2oo miles away.

 

[Jurisprudence]

I think it's more a question of how many "Brians" could there have been on that road on that day trying to hitch a 10 miles ride for $200, then abruptly dash from a vehicle? Who coincidentally claimed a partner working on her own social media site? I'll go with one Brian: Laundrie.

Ditto.

 

[bambibones]

True, then if I remember correctly, the girl that picked him up with her boyfriend claimed they dropped him off at a large parking lot with lots of cars. He may have asked someone there rather than hitchhike. My guess is he was somewhat paranoid at that point and didn't want to stick out, but that's just a guess.

According to her TikTok, the woman who picked him up actually said he indicated he would look for a ride when they got to Jackson Dam.

 

[Brubon]

This is my first post, but I've followed another case on Websleuths for a while. Since this one's local, I've been keeping an eye on it all week and thought it would get big but never expected this!

I just want to clear a few pieces. My apologies if these have already been addressed, as I can't quite keep up with the whole thread!
-Jackson Hole and Jackson are not totally equivalent. I think the TikTokker added to this confusion, but there is a distinction. JACKSON is the name of the main town in the area. So if BL asked for a ride "to Jackson" he was just asking to be taken into town. JACKSON HOLE is more of the region -- the whole valley that includes Jackson, a few other small towns, and most of GTNP. The campground they're looking for GP in is in Jackson Hole, technically, but still an hour or so north of Jackson. When BL asked to go to Jackson he was actually still in Jackson Hole. (A side note-- almost no one around here refers to "Jackson Hole" anyway unless we're out of town saying where we live. It's just called "the valley" locally.)
-Spread Creek Campground is not part of GTNP. I think the Daily Mail got this wrong. It's in Bridger-Teton National Forest. It is very close, almost bordering the park, but under a different agency. So you don't need reservations or a permit but probably need to register at the campsite due to stay length limits (5 days at the time of their trip). (More info here: Bridger-Teton National Forest - Dispersed Camping Areas (Undeveloped Campground))
-The idea of BL camping with only a small backpack and a tarp seems, to be honest, preposterous to me. It gets cold at night and you'd need a good sleeping bag even if you don't have shelter. Plus, all food items need to be secured from bears, and if he's just camping wherever, he would need a bear canister. He doesn't seem like he'd know how to set up a bear hang. It is still possible that he just didn't care and was lucky enough that all the hyperphagic bears around here didn't try to find his food. So I'm not saying he didn't camp with only a little backpack but it would be... unusual... and foolish IMO.

On another note, it has been rainy and very windy in the area this whole afternoon. Any search efforts for GP may have been hindered somewhat by the weather. Rain and very cold weather are expected tomorrow... I doubt it will snow where they're looking but will be pretty close.

Is Spread Creek Campground in Moran?

We rented a place in Moran for a week in the early 1990's. Had to be evacuated due to a wild fire.
Tetons are so beautiful....lots of bald eagles and moose back then.
I hope Gabby is found alive and well.
( Dreams are free.)
IMHO

 

[Shellinaya]

I still think there is a good chance she DID go to Yosemite. I also think Brian's flight back home to the storage locker was to bring some camping and hiking gear back for Gabby. It was obvious their trip wasn't working out, so they probably decided to part ways. She would go off on the Pacific Crest Trail or something, and he would return the van, lawyer up, and enjoy the media frenzy.

She would leave her van behind to him to drive it to Florida so she could hike a trail? I don't see how that would even enter her mind. She was there to do a van life Instagram/blog story she was going to monetize. I think that was the purpose of her trip. These were not people with regular jobs and I'm assuming the van was part of her business plan. She wouldn't give it to him if they "parted ways". I just don't see that at all. If anything, she'd say I'm taking the van and you can walk home. JMO.

Hope they find both of them soon! I can't see him in hiding too much longer - too many people looking for him.

 

[Beren]

To establish an alibi? My thought is that he is talking to these people as though Gabby is alive, when he knows she is not (IMO, speculation only.) What he tells them sets up a story that she is all alone in "the middle of nowhere" and he hasn't been near her for days, so if someone killed her, it wasn't him. It just feels like a really clumsy attempt to establish himself as innocent.

Wouldn't it make more sense then to be like "<modsnip>!! My fiancee's gone!!" as soon as you went back to your van??? Wouldn't he have said "I just split up with my girlfriend. She dumped me so I gotta bum a ride home" or something?
Of course, we're assuming then that he is of sound mind during this hour so any speculation is really moot I guess... <shrug>

 

[bellyup]

As shown in the body cam video she was not wanting dirt or disarray going on in her van. The van was the vessel for her blog. The dream was void without that van. I don’t see her willingly abandoning the van, the plan.

In contrast he was comfortable taking her van & going on by himself. Cutting the plan short. Whether he drove it home (or someone helped him) seems no worries about GP coming after him …for some reason.

MOO

If you look closely and pause a lot - that van is in complete disarray on the body cam video. It was messy. I don’t think she was as particular about the van as people think.

 

[Alethea]

But the plane ticket would have cost more than a year of storage unit fees. This couldn't have been about saving money.

Maybe: he flew home after they broke up, and needed to get his stuff out of storage to move back into his parents' house. Then he changed his mind.

I had a relationship like that about 40 years ago.

Yes, that was my point in my first post. My theory is:

BL and GP were living at BL's parents. It's a small house. They were planning to live the van life permanently or at least for the foreseeable future according to their IG posts. Since they were no longer going to live with BL's parents, they move their stuff into a storage unit so BL's parents can have the room back and use it as a guest room, den, whatever. I have had friends that have done this.

BL and GP get into a fight mid-August. They break up. BL flies back home intending to move back into his parents' house. He moves his stuff out of storage back into the house planning to live there. BL and GP reconcile, cool off, and get back together. BL decides to fly back to be with her to give it another shot.

They try for a few weeks and it's not better. They get into an argument around August 27 and GP is harmed. BL leaves her in the wilderness, leaves the van, and walks off into the wilderness. He realizes he is %$&*ed and tries to hitchhike back to the van. He drives straight home to FL and tells his parents it didn't work out after all and lives in the house like nothing happened until 9/11.

I am not sure how much the parents know. I can see him refusing to talk about it and them just frozen. I can see them being more involved than that too. But that's my theory on the timeline. JMO IMO MOO etc

 

[Veronica Sawyer]

She’s reading a book about the Zodiac killer in one of the photos, odd book choice for a 22 year old women?

Serial killers are trendy these days.

 

[Seabunny]

It could have been Brian texting from her phone to throw everyone off while he drove the van home and didn't report her missing. Maybe thinking they would start the search in Yellowstone.

But the text said Yosemite, right?

 

[carbuff]

Agreed. Unless someone else comes forward saying they picked him up and gave him a ride after the Tiktokker, he must’ve made his way back to the van on foot after being dropped off. 20 miles is way to long on foot imo though especially with the timeframe, so the van must’ve been fairly close to the dam.

It's only a bit over 10 miles from the dam to Spread Creek campground.

Google Maps

 

[justtrish]

Just wondering... if you'd JUST done something regrettable, like murder someone, leave them somewhere hurt, whatever, and you're stealthily trying to make a get away, WHY would you give out your real name and anything resembling the truth of your life to random strangers you're bumming a ride from???

Setting up the alibi maybe that she was alive at this point and working on her SM stuff. He finds the van and she isn't there, so he left. I dunno, just throwing out an idea.