Found Deceased WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 25 Aug 2021 #38

[ce4au]

When and Where is the last time BL was seen by someone besides his parents?

Million dollar question at this point. From what I understand it is the neighbors that saw him helping his dad with the small camper. I’ll put JMO bc that’s the last thing I’ve heard where someone saw him.

 

[LeeJay55]

The Laundries don't feel rules apply to them, only to others. They may be in for a rude awakening if some vigilante feels the same way and goes hunting for Brian.

If your child.was.accused.of.a.murder.and your lawyer told u to remain silent im.pretty sure you would.remain silent!
He.cant.get.caught he's guilty before being tried or.charged!
Guess.hes.taking his.chances!
Jm 2 cents!

 

[Sassafrass]

I am catching up from a busy work morning so please ignore me if this has been repeated.

Thank you for sharing this, I think it is interesting.

MOO: I have doubted she was killed in the van for many reasons, it's hard to move around much in there, not good space for even a good argument that includes throwing hands (not saying it can't happen, AT ALL, yes it could, just really small quarters. Also, it didn't appear the cadaver dogs caught a sense of that. Also, I don't think the van could even drive to where her body was found and that is a LONG distance to haul a lifeless body without help or machinery in a public space where anyone could walk by at any time, like nearly 9 football fields.

I am wondering if that is where they set up camp and pitched their tent. It was a lovely spot, and these campgrounds, as I mentioned before, are usually super super tent friendly. Plop where you want. It was a great spot, especially if not needing to haul a bunch of supplies. They could pitch their tent, haul a small cooler, go back to the van easily enough to get anything else and have a terrific spot for a few days. I would be looking for signs of tent pegs, fire, and signs of someone settling in there. I think whatever happened, happened there. I do NOT think Gabby would have stayed in a tent there by herself for long stretches of time, or overnight. MOO...and I could be wrong. Maybe would leave the tent there and come back to van, IF they could see that spot from the van, just to keep an eye on things.
Again, MOO.

Could be - but a couple things:

• A football field is 100 yards of playing space (not including the endzones)
• She was only 110 lbs, and he's active and fit. Carrying her, or using a tarp under her and dragging it seems feasible
• I've thought they could have argued/she died right near the van, then he hauled her up in it to figure out what to do/til dark. But it could've been out where she was found. Or it happened sonewhere else, then he drove until he found a spot where he could ditch her body.

Did anyone ever have a notion of where that black object previously seen on top of the van went?

 

[GRT]

What if (conspiracy alert), Brian hurt Gabby badly in the van and

Some people don't feel the constitution applies to the Laundries.

Don't support vigilantes. They may end up being charged with the same crime BL is a POI for.

Let LE do their job. The rest of us need to "go out and act like somebody" and be a positive influence.

That's exactly right. The last thing anyone needs is one or more hotheads taking the law into their own hands.

 

[10ofRods]

Agree. I do believe, however, that Gabby did start seeing it and grew increasingly tired of it. When the both of them got back to a campsite, after the last time they were seen together, she may indeed have hinted at needing some personal time to think, or possibly he may have said something that became the last straw for Gabby. She was tired of it all, so she might have stood her ground about whatever. Then they argued, fought that day, the next day, or very soon after. She blew, then he did with more force and anger, and the Worst Thing Happened.

I agree. She knew. His parents know him well, she lived with the three of them. There had to be a lifelong family dynamic (I think of it as "Protecting Brian") because his parents knew he was...different. They probably saw him as a troubled but romantic and talented young artist, a nature loving young man who could hardly stand to live in regular society (which, to them, helped explain his other behaviors, such as throwing tantrums in public).

Both Gabby and BL probably thought that Gabby "helped" Brian in the same way that his parents had. Gabby overlooked his possessiveness and dependency because she "loved him."

Hello everyone. First post on WS. I have been trying to keep up with all the threads, posts and news.

I'm wondering what are you thoughts about what's BL goal with this in case he's still alive. Basically, what could possibly be his plan? To be on the run for the rest of his life? As far as some people that know him, he can hide for some time, but forever is a different story. It just requires money, skills and a personality that I don't know if it's in him. Is he hiding out while the lawyer prepare some kind of defense?

In my opinion, being on the run, showing up without GP to his parents house, and his parents not answering GP texts/calls (as far as I know this is the case) just reads guilty all over or at least highly suspicious if I'm being kind. He could say that he was scared because he was going to be automatically targeted a suspect for the death of GP but that's very flaky.

The fact that they keep searching around the same area (even if the FBI is going to lead the search now), and not - at least not publicly - elsewhere makes me wonder if either they don't have any leads that he could be anywhere else and this is just "the most likely place he could be" or they have leads that point to this area. I understand it's not a small area but he's just one guy that's on the run and doesn't have "on the run experience" (even if he has hiking experience).

People have certainly had "on the run for life" as a plan. There are 65 people wanted on federal warrants who have evaded capture since 2010. Eleven years.

I too am a little surprised at what appears to be a narrow focus on the swamp, which makes me think they have no digital evidence of Brian being elsewhere since he came back from WY. In fact, perhaps they have no digital evidence - just the parents' statements - to place him in the swamp.

Ever since the story (last couple of days) about the missing man found inside a 500 pound alligator, I've been curious as to just how many alligators the divers encountered in that swamp, and how big they are. It looks as if there are several different ponds, each has been searched.

If the parents believe Brian meant to stay in the preserve indefinitely, then they must be grieving his death or hoping against hope that he is hiding somewhere in the swamp.

If the parents know that Brian never meant to stay in the swamp or was never in the swamp, then they have some explaining to do. I think LE can probably compel them into court via Grand Jury to say what they know about his disappearance (as they moved the car, which was evidence). They can of course take the 5th, but that points directly to them helping him disappear, IMO.

Maybe she left him or maybe he left her and he got mad because she kept going. Maybe spread creek was next Planned stop so that’s how he knew where to find her. Last known location The Merry Pigglet restaurant. Was this relatively close to where he was picked up?

He was picked up near Colter Bay, about 16-17 miles from where the van was. Inside the National Park. He rode only a couple of miles when he realized the couple were going to Jackson Hole (which is what many tourists call Jackson, WY, but technically. "Jackson Hole" is the valley in which Jackson sits. Anyway, when Brian realized he was going to Jackson via the route that's a bit further away from Spread Creek, he became somewhat agitated and demanded to be let out of the vehicle (and may have then hitched a ride with another couple). To me, it seems clear that he was trying to get back to Spread Creek.

I don't think there's any evidence that BL walked from Merry Piglets to Spread Creek (and he was hitching from northwest of Spread Creek; Merry Piglets is south of Spread Creek.

Of course, it's possible that he hitchhiked to Colter Bay from Jackson, and that Gabby drove the van (which she didn't like to do) and then Gabby for some unknown reason chose to park the van in a pull-out and not in the general camping area where at least there were pit toilets. There's no evidence of that. To me, it appears Gabby was already dead (and Brian had her phone and credit cards) at the time of the hitchhiking back to Spread Creek.

I believe he fled Spread Creek because he had killed and buried Gabby, and he wanted to get some cash for his cross country journey, to avoid leaving a further digital trail. Of course, that led to his current federal charges, because the FBI also apparently believes Gabby was dead when BL went to the ATM.

 

[Woodberry]

I agree, unless someone has a food allergy I don't see that it's always a 100% thing. I generally avoid gluten and dairy because I feel better eating in a certain way but occasionally I will have a treat cheese out with my family. So I don't think it's even hypocritical for someone to try to avoid single use plastics most of the time but occasionally end up with a water bottle from a friend.

I know we want to vilify everything surrounding BL because of what he's alleged to have done but none of us perfectly align our actions with our beliefs 100% of the time.

I agree with you. Sometimes despite what our ideal “best practice” is, we still need to be flexible. Those on the lam can’t afford to be choosy. Your comment about food allergies did give me a bit of a jolt. As someone who was diagnosed with food allergies a few years ago, as an adult, I had not considered that angle. I now need to add, “can’t go on the run” to my list of restrictions.

 

[EyeCandy]

They got some <modsnip> nerve

.
YEP ..the OBVIOUSLY want NO help with finding thier "MISSING" son

 

[Sassafrass]

It's old-school as all get out, but he might have a hand-cranked transistor radio with him. I have one for power outages, you turn the crank to charge the radio up and then you can pick up FM and AM broadcasts for about fifteen minutes before it has to be cranked again. It has a solar charger too.

It's a really smart thing to have with you when camping/traveling/hiking.

 

[Barbie619]

<modsnip> re: BL might be on the Appalachian Trail. The whole thing strikes me as funny, actually, becauseI live in Tennessee close to the Trail and while most of it is "remote" in the sense that you can't drive right up to parts of it, it also crosses Great Smoky Mountains National Park, one of the busiest parks in the nation ESPECIALLY in the fall when the colors change and the weather is cooler. There is also the Cherohala Skyway between TN and NC that many people visit. Traffic jams in the mountains are not unusual in the fall.

So BL may have miscalculated if he is on the Appalachian Trail or hiding out anywhere in the mountains of Georgia, Tennessee, or North Carolina. The crowds will be there soon: day hikers, autumn leaf watchers, migratory bird watchers, hunters, fishermen, tourists visiting apple orchards - you name it. Plus Dog the Bounty Hunter - you can't make this up!

Isn't this approximately where Eric Rudolph was captured dumpster diving? If BL ever did a internet search on how Rudolph evaded for 5 years, he might have enough skill to do it himself. If I was forced into hiding I would probably be able to do that myself, but I'm not a woodsy person so that's not my idea of a good idea. BL might though because Rudolph was practical about it all for 5 years on the FBI's 10 most wanted list.

 

[Sunset]

If your child.was.accused.of.a.murder.and your lawyer told u to remain silent im.pretty sure you would.remain silent!
He.cant.get.caught he's guilty before being tried or.charged!
Guess.hes.taking his.chances!
Jm 2 cents!

I totally understand the reason of their silence.

But I wonder whose lawyer is he? He doesn't even have a client. It's not like BL is a minor. The client is missing.
How can a lawyer take decisions and make statements on behalf of a missing client?
I'm pretty sure he was making statements even though he was missing after Tuesday.

At this point he is the lawyer of the parents who probably need to protect themselves from abetting charges.

 

[LeeJay55]

https://twitter.com/brianentin/status/1442551252475383811?s=21

This is what the roads into Carlton Reserve look like. Flooding has gotten worse in some areas — complicating the search for Brian Laundrie.

We have had.Torrential rain every day!
The ground cant hold.much more.water its saturated!
Everything is.filled.capacity
Retention ponds
Lakes.
Rivers
Our.pools.are.overflowing
A lot of.rain!

 

[Waddles]

https://twitter.com/brianentin/status/1442557277794443267?s=21

 

[Figuring]

Curious about how it works about FBI officially “taking over” the investigation today. What does it mean, if anything? Why now etc?

 

[Freth]

Well, I think there's a reason it's known as Van Life. It hasn't "always been" the thing it is now. I say this because I have worked in and for National Parks for years, visit many parks and forests, and...Van Life is affecting my own home town and the way of life here. It has not always been the way it is right now. Sure, people have lived on the road since Kerouac and Steinbeck. But it's different now.

First of all, it's a movement involving thousands of leaders (influencers and others), who have various businesses encouraging people to live on the road. In vans, not traditional RV's. The only place I'd ever seen them, until the past few years, was Yosemite. They take on active environmentalist stance, but there are real fights within this subculture about just what it means to do what they're. doing (gas, use of the outdoors as a toilet, etc). So there are different subdivisions within the culture. Entire businesses have sprung up around converting vans for Van Life. Prices of old vans are going through the roof.

Youtube made it possible for the Small House and Van Life movements to really get off the ground. Dyrt is now a thing, so that Van Lifers can find their way. into every inhabitable portion of National Forests and BLM land (sometimes illegally, it's a PITA for forest officials, it's been easier this year to just shut down forests rather than try to police the massive number of vans and tiny trailers on public lands, often without sanitary facilities.

Just in the past two months, three women are murdered while living the Van Life.

It used to be that these areas saw very few people. One could count on getting some place to throw up a tent, but no more. Volumes of visitors to national forests have tripled in the past 3 years and continue to rise. The average age of an RV user used to be around 60. Van Lifers are in their twenties. I guess soon they'll be in their 30's (although. of course, they give up the van life - but the curious thing is that there are plenty of new Van Lifers to replace them).

Anyway, Van Life is a youth movement similar to the commune-seeking, roadside-dwelling hippies of the 70's, except with vans that are, from my perspective, expensive. Yosemite has had to increase its vigilance about illegal overnight parking and change the rules for Camp Four altogether. I haven't seen so many policy changes in Yosemite since the 70's.

So from my point of view, this is a cultural form that is as distinctive as the Mod movement or the Hippy movement. It has a different history than RVing, and there's no way that there were as many Van Lifers in California 5 years ago, as there are now. My own town had to spend 2 years enacting new ordinances and finding ways to fund enforcement. Santa Monica is still spending so much money on enforcement, but at least now they too have laws against living in vans on its streets. People still do it, but it's lessened.

The number of images that come up if you search for Van Life right now, in late 2021, is astronomically larger than it was two years ago.
'
Van Life is closely associated with influencers or those who have figured out a passive income via the internet. Being able to live off Insta or Youtube is new and precarious, but people are doing it. I know one person who is doing it through Youtube and passive income (investments...guided entirely by a particular online community of which she is a part, perhaps now a leader).

As I write this, I'm once again questioning whether I should alert local LE when I know people are violating our anti-Van Life ordinances. But I know that they know (they have to, right?) but they only do something when a crime is committed in one of the hidden parking lots where the Van Lifers live. Alongside the Van Lifers are also the Bike Lifers, but they are a very small group (living in the same parking lots). And there is crime associated with these places. So now we have different kinds of homeless; the major places where the homeless camp (with their tents, grocery carts, etc) are still the same. But now we have these other homeless populations as well.

When I use the phrase "Van Life" I am referring to this movement - and not to the people who lived in their cars during the Great Depression. Indeed, living in a car is not considered Van Life by Van Lifers.

The Van Life influencers that are running businesses centered around their van life experiences are, for the most part, responsible human beings who are enjoying the freedom of their lifestyle, much like RVers. Van lifers are minimalists and most are environmentally conscious. They care, in other words. Then there are the van lifers that squat in Wal-Mart parking lots, run generators, have cookouts with lawn chairs, etc. I would say that most van lifers, especially influencers, care about their impact, because it affects their lifestyle adversely otherwise. Many van lifers transition to owning their own land after years on the road.

I owned a large Ford Transit cargo van, which I outfitted with all the things I needed to live my own van life. I traveled with it and I enjoyed it. I didn't park where I wasn't supposed to. I didn't leave trash where I camped. I obeyed park rules. At the end of the day, I was just a camper enjoying the freedom of the van life.

One thing that has always bothered me is the disdain people have for people who want to travel and live in a vehicle. The "American Dream" is what we want in life, not necessarily the cookie cutter picket fence. Some don't want a mortgage and a garage full of junk collecting dust.

Just because you choose to live in a van and travel doesn't make you a menace to society by default. As with any lifestyle, there is good and bad and there is impact. What do we do when the roads get too congested because of the "American Dream"? We expand the roads and we redirect traffic.

What can we do with the increase in van lifers in National Parks? Set up rules that keep them in rotation, so that all can enjoy the lifestyle without impacting the parks adversely. It can be done. Just shunning them as societal outcasts isn't going to work, people will find other ways to live the way they want, like transitioning to boating if they are no longer welcome on land.

In van lifers, I see people who want to be free. Free of debt, free of exorbitant costs, free to enjoy nature, free of the constraints placed on them by what is considered normal. Van lifers are finding innovative ways to live and be successful, by creating businesses and saving money, while living like they are retired. Some are photographers, videographers, even web designers and writers. Entrepreneurs. These aren't homeless bums who live in squalor.

Again, not dismissing the bad apples at all, but these are normal people who aspire to something greater for themselves, they just do it on the road.

JMO

 

[LeeJay55]

I totally understand the reason of their silence.

But I wonder whose lawyer is he? He doesn't even have a client. It's not like BL is a minor. The client is missing.
How can a lawyer take decisions and make statements on behalf of a missing client?
I'm pretty sure he was making statements even though he was missing after Tuesday.

At this point he is the lawyer of the parents who probably need to protect themselves from abetting charges.

As.i.see it!
Its his Advice they sought for.all.of them!

 

[Chemaster3224]

Million dollar question at this point. From what I understand it is the neighbors that saw him helping his dad with the small camper. I’ll put JMO bc that’s the last thing I’ve heard where someone saw him.

Thank you ...

I'm sure the FBI has tracked there cell phones during this period. It makes no sense that BL would go on another trip just days after returning from a two month trip.

I hope the truth comes out sooner than later and all responsibile for Gabby's death face justice.

 

[10ofRods]

I don't think you are wrong about the explosion of "van lifers". It's always been a thing but it has exploded. I do disagree with it being some kind of movement or in any way comparable to the "hippy movements" of days gone by. For a lot of millennials (note; the eldest are in their 40s) it's become necessity to seek out other forms or alternative forms of shelter.

We have a serious housing shortage in this country. Housing costs are through the roof and wages have been stagnant for decades. I'm in my 40's and A LOT of my friends are turning to community living, RV or van living, tiny houses, etc. as the only livable solution. I see friends daily sharing information on real estate or property purchases with multiple families, alternatives to housing in general and minimizing.

It isn't a "movement" it's become either "live at home" (which 52% of 18-29 year olds are right now) OR find another way to live on your own that isn't the traditional "purchase the house with white picket fence". You might view the vans as "expensive" but they're a heck of a lot cheaper than housing in this country is. And IME the majority of people out there aren't you tubers, influencers or in their 20's. Sure, there are some but mostly it's people trying to get by within the current conditions of this country. Average millennial salary = $46,000 typical home price $287k. You can't even come close to getting a loan with that discrepancy if housing WAS available.

For hippies, it was also necessary for them to leave their parents' homes. In my own case, I left at 18, but knew many kids in high school who went homeless/hippy at 15 or 17. One was my best friend since 4th grade. Hippies were not all the same in their motivations either. But people could recognize them by their homelessness and raggedy appearance. Some among them were super religious, some among them walked barefoot, some wore dreadlocks - but the majority were just homeless kids who lived next to bus stations and train stations or in bushes near where rivers flowed out to the beaches. There was no housing they could afford, either. In fact, I'd say that it's easier now to find a minimum wage job than it was back then (my own home town had about 1/10 the restaurants and motels as it does now...you had to know someone to get a fast food job).

There was a serious affordable housing crisis in the 70's, as well. We lived in groups of 4-5 people (before cities passed ordinances disallowing it).

I think people forget that corporal punishment of children was permitted in the 70's, in nearly all states, that parents tried to exercise extremely strict control over every aspect of their kids' lives and teens did not get given cars in the same percentages as now. Hitchhiking at freeway onramps was legal, so there were encampments up and down every freeway in California - but many of the kids came from inland states.

If Van Life isn't a movement, then neither were the hippies. In my professional opinion. Van Life became way. more popular when Alex Honnold revealed his van, his life style, etc. I have interviewed many young men who adore Alex and want to be just like him (and they're making good progress - I just managed to talk to an older climber about the whole situation, as he is a person who allows Van Lifers to stay on his property near Yosemite). There. are entire documentaries about this movement and the principles they think guide it.

Not everyone living in a van is a Van Lifer, but people who use #VanLife as their hash tag to monetize their experience are indeed an economic and cultural force, which is what a cultural movement is, by definition.

Here is a link to an academic article that discusses the main components of VanLife:

Van Life: A Creative Exploration of Contemporary Nomadism

 

[LeeJay55]

When and Where is the last time BL was seen (verifed) by someone besides his parents?

Why has everyone said he sneeked off when he took the car found at the reserve? How do you sneek off in a car parked in your driveway?

Doesn't anyone on the street have a camera that would have captured the car driving by? Strange ...

Was.that.mustang always there.in the driveway?
I dont see how he drove it away!

 

[jtfolden]

I believe he fled Spread Creek because he had killed and buried Gabby, and he wanted to get some cash for his cross country journey, to avoid leaving a further digital trail. Of course, that led to his current federal charges, because the FBI also apparently believes Gabby was dead when BL went to the ATM.

Gabby was not buried. It would also appear he used the debit card multiple times across more than one state, according to the warrant.

 

[Mom24]

If your child.was.accused.of.a.murder.and your lawyer told u to remain silent im.pretty sure you would.remain silent!
He.cant.get.caught he's guilty before being tried or.charged!
Guess.hes.taking his.chances!
Jm 2 cents!

There's a wide berth between remaining silent and aiding and abetting. There's also doing the right thing. When people start down a path of destruction, that path often leads to self-destruction.