Found Deceased WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 25 Aug 2021 *road trip w/bf*

[10ofRods]

Although it was not in the best interest of his gf, he probably wanted to wait till he got home before he said anything as he knew the accusations would be attacking him left and right and wanted to be home for his own safety before the SHTF.
He also could have been hoping that she just went home.

Wow. What a way to shirk responsibility for a travel partner. I've traveled with others (in 2's, 3's, 4's, more). And if someone goes missing, there's a moral responsibility to do one's best to find them.

As a criminal defense investigator, I can say that his wisest move was to refuse to answer any questions and lawyer up. Just to clarify, exercising your right to remain silent doesn't make you uncooperative technically. That is just a way police try to pressure you to entice an emotional response from you to try to get you to talk even after you've invoked your right to remain silent. In the court of public opinion, this guy is guilty of something. I hope for her safe return but given the totality of the circumstances one would be hard pressed to believe that she is going to be found safe and sound at this point.

Personally I would NEVER talk to the police without an attorney in the first place, but my general rule is I don't answer any questions from the police under any circumstances regardless of their intention or purpose.

So, if you were in a National Park and your travel companion disappeared, you wouldn't talk to rangers?

I just can't imagine a scenario in which someone I was traveling with went missing and I simply drove more than 3000 miles without contact anyone about them being missing. Without contacting any authorities.

Totality of circumstances makes him look really. really guilty. - but if he had talked to a ranger (and yes, they are also LE), Gabby might have been found (if alive). Almost sounds like he knew she wouldn't be found alive. In which case, of course, anyone who had anything to do with her demise would surely hide their trail.

I am just kind of boggled that people wouldn't talk to police, even when we all know that the first hours of a missing person case are the most important. I wouldn't care what happened to myself if my partner/child/pet were missing - I'd definitely talk to the police and I wouldn't wait for my lawyer to get there.

If, OTOH, I knew I'd done something wrong (lost my child because I was impaired in some way), I guess I would lawyer up. (But no, not really - even in that case, I'd want my child/partner/dog to be found).

 

[MntnHiker]

According to a timeline of some of their travels on page 7 (taken from an article), I was in Zion NP during the same time frame as them. I went back through photos I took but do not see them in any. I wanted to check just to make sure. We were in a lot of the same areas this summer.

I do not find it suspicious to get a lawyer and not want to say much to police when you are being looked at. I do personally find it odd to not report your fiancee/girlfriend/travel partner as missing on the road. I am trying to think of a good reason to leave an area where your partner just went missing without making a report and driving thousands of miles back to FL. I'm coming up short but maybe someone else has a thought?

 

[MassGuy]

According to a timeline of some of their travels on page 7 (taken from an article), I was in Zion NP during the same time frame as them. I went back through photos I took but do not see them in any. I wanted to check just to make sure. We were in a lot of the same areas this summer.

I do not find it suspicious to get a lawyer and not want to say much to police when you are being looked at. I do personally find it odd to not report your fiancee/girlfriend/travel partner as missing on the road. I am trying to think of a good reason to leave an area where your partner just went missing without making a report and driving thousands of miles back to FL. I'm coming up short but maybe someone else has a thought?

I find that if you have to stretch to find a justification for a certain behavior, you’re doing it wrong.

Which I think was your point.

 

[MrsWatson]

Re van ownership.

The van may have been in her name for insurance purposes. Guys that age have outrageous insurance premiums, even with a good driving record.

moo

 

[LeeJay55]

There is no excuse for him.to.return without her! Not one!
Jmo

 

[wyome]

I've brought this up before. What we are not hearing is when that van returned to Florida. This is going to be key. I believe the boyfriend returned way earlier than September.

 

[10ofRods]

Yes, agree. Devil's advocate: Say they had an argument and she went her own way against his advice. He tries to stop her but she's made up her mind. He figures it's her place to tell her parents because he knows they will be angry at her for going off on her own. Her mom said they were okay with the trip - knowing she was with him. When he gets home her parents call him up asking where is Gabby. He says she went her own way back in Utah. They get angry with him and he hires an attorney.

Parents Of Missing Long Island Woman Gabby Petito Issue Tearful Plea For 22-Year-Old's Safe Return Home

"Her mother said she left New York in early July for the trip which was set to end in Oregon next month. She was traveling in a white van which police say has been recovered in Florida, where the couples lives. The police department there said they know where the boyfriend is and they are in contact with him."

So he takes her only means of transportation (it's her van) and takes off? After a fight?

I call that theft of her vehicle, frankly. Yeah, I'd be really angry if some "fiancé" stranded my daughter without her van, in Utah or Wyoming. That was not his call. If she was that upset, he needed to get out of the van and find his own way - not force her to do so.

It was, as I understand it, her van. Did she actually give him permission to leave her in UT or WY and hightail it to his home? I wonder if he continued to use funds that she had partly contributed to. While I doubt it'll be easy to get this guy on charges of murder (if in fact he did something to her), hopefully there will be consequences for such inordinately selfish and illegal behavior. Not his van, he doesn't get to take it away from where she is.

 

[tresptip]

Yes, agree. Devil's advocate: Say they had an argument and she went her own way against his advice. He tries to stop her but she's made up her mind. He figures it's her place to tell her parents because he knows they will be angry at her for going off on her own. Her mom said they were okay with the trip - knowing she was with him. When he gets home her parents call him up asking where is Gabby. He says she went her own way back in Utah. They get angry with him and he hires an attorney.

Parents Of Missing Long Island Woman Gabby Petito Issue Tearful Plea For 22-Year-Old's Safe Return Home

"Her mother said she left New York in early July for the trip which was set to end in Oregon next month. She was traveling in a white van which police say has been recovered in Florida, where the couples lives. The police department there said they know where the boyfriend is and they are in contact with him."

Also,he waited a pretty long time before returning home.He was probably hoping she'd come back and when she didn't decided that either something bad happened to her or she left with someone else.He didn't call her mom because he figured if she decided to go be with someone else it wasn't his place to call her mother and tell her.And if something bad happened he would find out when he returned home.He probably waited for her to come back for quite awhile before deciding that she probably wasn't comming back.

 

[hpruitt]

If nothing nefarious happened in the van (or he thinks he cleaned it well enough) running home to Mom and Dad in the van and refusing to cooperate sure smacks of guilt to me. Doesn't sound like a kid independent enough to go on the run. Instead head home to Mommy and Daddy and lawyer up.

I'm curious about who is paying for the lawyer?

 

[swanniee11]

I am trying to play both sides of the fence in my head. If he didn't harm her and they had an argument, he left ( her phone could possibly have been left behind if she stormed out or had to get away quick). So , He leaves, gets home safely with his little camper, she is MIA. Her family contacts, possibly hounds him as to where she is, he could have told them what happened and he didn't know anymore and they continued to ride him so his family retained a lawyer to protect him from harassment. OR, something happened, he panics comes home to mommy and daddy who get a lawyer to protect him. I really hope if he really didn't do anything he would figure out a way to communicate in helping find his fiance. IMO

 

[10ofRods]

Imo
This guy could t believe.this.beautiful.girl was.his.and was.going to marry him!
I don't know how he might react.if.she.broke up with him!
To.me.....he was.doing all this.for her....not.so.sure.he.liked.it but he.would.do.whatever she.wanted!
I don't think this.will have.a.good.ending...
Sad!


All JMVOO

I see nothing in MSM or her SM that even remotely indicates that. They were both on board for this. Her one youtube shows him all happy. and supportive and excited in each scene.

I guess he was faking then. So that he could steal her van and abandon her in the middle of nowhere? How do you know he was faking it? He got a great trip out of it - including Zion and Canyonlands and Arches/Moab. What makes you think he didn't want to be living this lifestyle?

I agree it will not have a good ending - but I fear that the ending has already come for Gabby. She disappears (completely, no communication, not seen, not driving her own van) and he does not. He then refuses to tell anyone where he last saw her.

This is outrageous, IMO. I figure he didn't go on the road trip with a view toward harming her (he is affectionate in many photos), but something happened and he behaved very badly.

 

[gliving]

I am trying really, really hard to picture this scenario. Let’s say they agreed to separate in Teton, and he left her behind and drove off, never to speak again. Why would she stop communicating with her family? She didn’t have a fight with them.. just him (maybe).

With so little to go on it's hard to say. We don't know her history but I'll assume her parents would be very angry at her if she took off alone.

It's almost a reflex to say "he did something bad" because we are on a true crime forum and that's usually what happens. But maybe he didn't.

 

[skyedaze]

According to a timeline of some of their travels on page 7 (taken from an article), I was in Zion NP during the same time frame as them. I went back through photos I took but do not see them in any. I wanted to check just to make sure. We were in a lot of the same areas this summer.

I do not find it suspicious to get a lawyer and not want to say much to police when you are being looked at. I do personally find it odd to not report your fiancee/girlfriend/travel partner as missing on the road. I am trying to think of a good reason to leave an area where your partner just went missing without making a report and driving thousands of miles back to FL. I'm coming up short but maybe someone else has a thought?

Bless you for checking photos from your trip!

 

[swanniee11]

I'm curious about who is paying for the lawyer?

I'm going with him parents but I don't know that. IMO

 

[Breezie]

Gabby Petito Missing After Van Trip With Brian Laundrie | Heavy.com

According to this, they were risk takers for their travel photos. Could she have fallen and he freaked out and went home?


They were in Arches National Park on August 12. bizarre_design_ is the Instagram page for Brian Laundrie. She wrote, in a post that contained some typos:

We decided to take the path less traveled on the other side of the arch. After waiting in a short line for some photos under the arch early monday morning, we wanted to find a place to relax and draw while still admiring the arch, but also get away from the crowd that kept growing as the day went on. We walked just a little past the arch where the rock is at such an angle, it appers impossible to walk on, but being such expierenced hikers, I had confidence that I could make it!

While @bizarre_design_ climbed down some steep slopes with the camera, I shimmied my way along a thin flat narrow line that led directly to a big flat rock with the absolute most beautiful view from directly underneath the arch! After taking a few cool photos of each other @bizarre_design_ and I sat drawing and enjoying the nature without seeing anybody who was on line or taking photos! It felt like we had the entire delicate arch to ourselves! We got to spend about 2 hours relaxing here on this side of the arch with nobody bothering us, except this one guy who saw us and thought he could do it too!

Many people who spotted us were contemplating how we made it here, shouting things like “wow you guys must be crazy!” One guy started to come our direction, talking the same thin narrow way along the rock as I did, and he got stuck. Stuck in fear of not knowing where to put his feet to climb out, @bizarre_design_ and I helped him climb back to his wife who was laughing hysterically giving us a big thumbs up!

In the last few photos, you can see what I mean by “thin narrow line” there was no path to the flat rock that sat perfectly level out of the steep angled side of what’s basically a cliff, so I do not recommend trying this yourself! ⚠︎︎ (Rock Climbing is Dangerous! That guy we had to help off the edge wacked me with his walking stick while I was helping him back up! ) We are athletic and very experienced hikers and have high confidence for rock climbing! Do not try this at home!

 

[gliving]

Could a member please provide a link that Gabby owned the van? I missed that. tysm

 

[wyome]

According to a timeline of some of their travels on page 7 (taken from an article), I was in Zion NP during the same time frame as them. I went back through photos I took but do not see them in any. I wanted to check just to make sure. We were in a lot of the same areas this summer.

I do not find it suspicious to get a lawyer and not want to say much to police when you are being looked at. I do personally find it odd to not report your fiancee/girlfriend/travel partner as missing on the road. I am trying to think of a good reason to leave an area where your partner just went missing without making a report and driving thousands of miles back to FL. I'm coming up short but maybe someone else has a thought?

I agree. A lawyer's going to protect you from LE interrogations that go too far and may not extract accurate information. That being said, I hope that there has at least been limited communication via lawyer to LE on boyfriend's account.

 

[MyJoey]

I would like to know what he told his parents. Basically we know he’s not paying for the lawyer, so I would say the parents are behind that. How much time would it take him to get home? Add on a day and that’s how long he’s been home….just my guess.

 

[flashy09]

I am surprised the fiancé didn't come out first with a story to her parents and LE about her getting lost or wandering off. Even if completely fictitious....wrong place, time, day etc. It is so odd and obvious to just come home alone and say nothing. Maybe he is close to confessing to something.

 

[hey-Debbie]

Hummm I'd been interested on how their relationship "really" was. I've seen countless people creating a false impression on how their life is and how great their relationships are through SM but in real life it's not roses and sunshine. I'm speculating that her parents are divorced and wonder why her Dad felt the need to move to Florida to be closer to her. Did he need to keep an eye on her? Was he worried about her relationship? Why move all that way to be close to her if she's traveling all over the US? How much older was he than her? Did they meet on the internet? Lots of questions.