Gabby Petito's body was found 'a five-minute walk from her and Brian Laundrie's van' | Daily Mail Online
'Her body was found — I guess it would be in front of a tent, if that's what was there — or just in front of the fire ring... there was definitely a fire ring there,' her stepfather, Jim Schmidt, shared.
'It wasn't far from the van. It was a five minute walk,' Petito's mother, Nichole Schmidt echoed.
Jim, who visited the location on the outskirts of Grand Teton National Park in
Wyoming where Petito's body was found, painted a vivid picture of the isolated area.
'You would have to want to go out over into that area,' he said.
Jim said his stepdaughter's remains were found in an area of dispersed campgrounds on the borderline of Bridger-Teton National Forest, about 40 feet away from where Grand Teton National Park begins.
He explained in order to get to that area, campers would have to cross over the creek bed that separated the campgrounds from the area where police found Petito and Laundrie's van.
'So you have to cross over this creek bed, this rock area, and go through these tributaries and once you get on the other side it's just some trees sparsely placed throughout and a lot sage brush, a lot of low brush,' he shared.
'It was in an area where there was a few trees and there was the remnants of a fire ring there...There was a clearing where I would assume - knowing I have a similar tent, where I would place my tent - and that opening would face out overlooking the mountain range.'
Jim left a stone cross and flowers in the exact location where she was found.