The FBI announced Sunday evening that human remains matching Gabby Petito's description were discovered in Grand Teton National Park.
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| Image source: Wikimedia |
“Earlier today, human remains corresponding with Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito's description were discovered,” FBI Special Agent Charles Jones said at 6:12 p.m., his voice breaking and seeming choked up. “ Although full forensic identification has not yet been performed to establish that we have located Gabby, her family has been informed.
Jones sent his "sincere and deepest sympathies" to Petito's family, saying, "The cause of death has not been established at this time."
“This is an extremely tough moment for the family and friends, as any parent would imagine,” Jones added. “As they grieve the death of their daughter, we ask that you all respect their privacy.”
Petito, 22, went missing on September 11th, more than a week after her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, 23, came home without her after a cross-country road trip. The tale of her abduction has captivated the nation's attention and hearts.
Police named Laundrie as a person of interest in Petito's disappearance on Wednesday. Laundrie was likely the last person to see Petito alive. He's also gone missing, at least since Friday. That's when his parents informed North Port Police in Florida that he had been missing since going for a walk on Tuesday, Sept. 14.
Petito's family hadn't heard from her since a Facetime conversation on Aug. 25. She'd spent the summer in a converted white van with Laundrie, a Bayport-Blue Point High School classmate, visiting national parks in Wyoming and Utah.
The couple had relocated to North Port two years before and were living with Laundrie's parents at the time. On July 2, they departed Long Island on their cross-country journey.
Petito and Laundrie chronicled their trip with happy-go-lucky Instagram and YouTube postings for weeks. However, the bodycam video taken by a police officer during the couple's Aug. 12 interaction with Moab City Police showed a very different story.
Petito is seen sobbing hysterically in front of officers after a violent fight between her and her boyfriend prompted a witness to contact 911. Laundrie also explained to officers how he got scratches on his arms and why he was driving quickly and erratically in the minutes leading up to pulling over for the cops.
“Something terrible occurred, and I will never, ever be able to hug my darling daughter again,” says the mother. Joseph Petito, Gabby Petito's father from Vero Beach, Florida, told HLN this weekend. “But my brain tells me that if I concentrate on it, I won't be able to do the task at hand.”
On Sunday night, Laundrie's family issued the following statement:
“It's sad to learn about Gabby Petito. Gabby and her family are in the Laundrie family's prayers.”
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