Gabby Petito case: Timeline of 22-year-old woman's disappearance
9/16/21
Here’s a timeline of Gabby Petito’s disappearance:
June-July 2021
The couple embarks on their cross-country trip, first driving from Florida to New York and later to the West Coast and western national parks. They were traveling in Petito’s converted camper van, a white 2012 Ford Transit van with a Florida license plate, and documenting their journey on YouTube and other social media platforms.
July 2021
The couple posts regular updates about their journey to their Instagram accounts.
On July 10,
Petito shared a photo of her at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is in southern Colorado.
On
July 16, she shared another set of pictures of her at Zion National Park in southwest Utah. "The past two nights camping in Zion have been so cool, literally," she wrote in part.
On July 26, Petito shared another photo of her lounging in an outdoor bathtub at Mystic Hot Springs in Utah.
August 12
The pair gets into some type of altercation near Moab, Utah. A witness called police reporting a possible domestic violence situation between the two, prompting a response by area police.
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That same day, Petito
posts an Instagram showing images of her visit to Arches National Park, also in Moab, Utah.
"We decided to take the path less traveled on the other side of the arch," she wrote in part in the caption.
August 19
A
video uploaded to YouTube on Aug. 19 titled "VAN LIFE | Beginning Our Van Life Journey" highlights the couple’s travels in their converted camper van. The 8-minute video, on their channel called "Nomadic Statik," shows the pair in various locations on the California coast, driving through the salt flats in Utah, tent camping and cooking meals in their converted camper van.
End of August
Petito’s regular contact with her family stops toward the end of August, according to police.
August 25
Nicole Schmidt, Petito's mother, speaks to her daughter for the last time on the phone. Petito said they had stopped in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming before a planned trip to Yellowstone.
"I don't know if she left Grand Teton or not," Schmidt
later FOX News. "I did receive a text from her on the 27th and the 30th, but I don't know if it was technically her or not, because it was just a text. I didn't verbally speak to her."
Petito’s final Instagram post is
also published on Aug. 25, featuring several photos of her standing in front of a mural wall.
Sept. 1
Laundrie returns home alone to North Port, Florida with the van — 10 days before Petito was reported missing by her family, according to the North Port Police Department.
Sept. 11
Petito’s family reports the 22-year-old missing to
the Suffolk County Police Department in New York at approximately 6:55 p.m. The North Port (Florida) Police Department has since become the lead agency in the case.
Laundrie declines to speak with investigators, who are instead provided with information for the family’s attorney. The couple’s converted camper van is also recovered by North Port police at the home shared by Petito, Laundrie and Laundrie’s parents,
authorities said.
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Sept. 13
Petito’s mother, Nicole Schmidt, and stepfather
hold a tearful press conference begging for the public’s help in finding the 22-year-old.
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Sept. 14
The Laundrie family
shares a statement through their attorney:
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The FBI also processes the converted camper van, according to
North Port police.
Sept. 15
Brian Laundrie
is named "person of interest" in the case. "As of now, Brian has not made himself available to be interviewed by investigators or has provided any helpful details," North Port police said
in a statement.
Petito’s family
releases a new statement through their lawyer:
[..]
Sept. 16
The body camera video from the couple’s encounter with Utah police is officially released. Laundrie’s attorney declines to comment in an email to FOX 13 News.
In a news conference, officials say the investigation remains a missing person case — and not a murder investigation — and that no intensive searches have begun because it's unclear exactly where authorities might look.