Gabby Petito live updates Police actively looking for any link between disappearance and Moab homicides

Police release body camera footage of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie together

The family of missing YouTuber Gabby Petito have called on the family of her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, to help them find their daughter. The family asked them “as parents, how can you put us through this pain” and begged them to at least tell them where Ms Petito was left, or if they are even looking in the right area. The family also revealed they do not believe Ms Petito’s final text message on 30 August actually came from her.

Ms Petito and her fiancé were reportedly arguing and hitting each other, according to a police report from Utah. The couple, who were on a road trip in Ms Petito’s van, were spotted having an argument in Moab City, Utah on 12 August. The police determined the incident was a “mental health break” rather than a domestic assault situation and separated the couple for the night. Bodycamera footage of a police encounter with the couple shows Ms Petito crying over the argument she and Mr Laundrie had been having during their trip.

On Wednesday, the North Port Police Department in Florida announced they were treating Ms Petito’s fiancé as a person of interest in their investigation. He has thus far refused to cooperate with law enforcement. Ms Petito’s family released a statement begging him to assist police in their search for the woman.

Ms Petito disappeared while on a road trip with her fiancé, Mr Laundrie, who returned without her, prompting a frantic search for the 22-year-old woman that began on 11 September.

Nicole Schmidt, Ms Petito’s mother, said the last time she spoke with her daughter was 30 August, but because it was a text she cannot be sure that she was actually speaking with the woman. Before that the mother and daughter video chatted on 23 or 24 August.

When her daughter did not check in after Mr Laundrie returned early from their road trip, she grew concerned and eventually the family alerted the police.

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Show latest update 1631839655‘She wouldn’t wander off’: Friend of Gabby Petito casts more doubts on final text

Gabby Petito’s final text to her family before disappearing was confounding: “No service in Yosemite.”

Her last known location was Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, and Yosemite, in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, is roughly 800 miles away.

Her family now says they doubt that Ms Petito was the one who sent that text, and a friend of the missing YouTuber told The Sun on Friday she has her doubts as well. The friend, who asked to remain anonymous, said she and Gabby had been planning to meet in Yellowstone National Park, which spans Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. They were going to touch base with a phone call at the end of August, which never happened.

“That was the next spot. At least when we planned it. I was the only one going to see them,” the friend said. “She wouldn’t wander off and not contact her family. I know that for a fact...She wouldn’t blow me off either. She’s my person. And I can’t stop thinking about how scared she must be.”

“I also don’t think she’d text her mom ‘no service’. She’d call as soon as she had service, in my opinion,” the friend added.

Josh Marcus17 September 2021 01:471631836830Gabby Petito: Everything we know so far

Over the past 24 hours, a number of new developments have emerged in the Gabby Petito case.

From new statements by police and the Petito family, to newly released body camera footage of Petito and Laundrie after their 12 August fight, to the potential connection to a double homicide in Moab, there’s a lot to catch up on.

Here’s all the latest news on Petito’s disappearance:

Nathan Place17 September 2021 01:001631833230Utah police looking for ‘any connection’ between Petito case and Moab double homicide

Police in Grand County, Utah say they’re “actively looking” for any connection between the disappearance of Gabby Petito and the fatal shooting of a married lesbian couple in Moab.

“The Grand County Sheriff’s Office has been in contact with Florida authorities and we are actively looking into any connection between the Gabby Petito missing person case and the double homicide that occurred in Grand County,” the Sheriff’s Office said on Thursday.

Kylen Schulte, 24, and Crystal Turner, 38, were found dead of gunshot wounds in Moab last month.

Read the full statement here:

Police in Grand County, Utah have said in a statement that they’re looking for “any connection” between the disappearance of Gabby Petito and the fatal shooting of Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner

(Grand County Sheriff’s Office)Nathan Place17 September 2021 00:001631829630Read Petito family’s anguished letter to Laundrie’s parents

The family of Gabby Petito has written a heartbreaking letter to the parents of her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, begging them to help find her.

“We believe you know the location where Brian left Gabby,” the family writes. “We beg you to tell us. As a parent, how could you let us go through this pain and not help us?”

Read the full letter here:

An open letter from the family of Gabby Petito to Mr Laundrie’s parents Christopher and Roberta

(Petito family)Nathan Place16 September 2021 23:001631828725Father of one of Brian Laundrie’s classmates describes him as “quiet” and “a good kid growing up"

Sean Leahy, the parent of a classmate who went to school with Brian Laundrie, told Fox News the man was “quiet” and “a good kid growing up.”

“The one thing that troubles me is that he came home. He didn’t say nothing,” he said. “And he got a lawyer.”

Mr Leahy told the outlet that he is “hoping for the best for her.”

Mr Leahy’s son, also named Sean, said he had classes with Mr Laundrie.

“All of this stuff coming out, I’m like surprised because every time I ever hung out with Brian, had classes with Brian, he was a really nice kid, a really funny kid,” he told the network.

Graig Graziosi16 September 2021 22:451631826925Gabby Petito’s father asks public to “memorize her face"

Gabby Petito’s father, Joe Petito, asked the public to “memorize” her face during a press conference on Thursday.

Mr Petito said his only goal is bringing his daughter home and asked for anyone with information to call an FBI tip line.

Graig Graziosi16 September 2021 22:151631823573Gabby Petito’s mother thinks her final text message was from someone else

Gabby Petito’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, believes the final text she received from her daughter on 30 August was sent from someone else.

The final text read “No service in Yosemite.”

The Independent’s Bevan Hurley examines the last known exchanges between Ms Petito and her mother below...

Graig Graziosi16 September 2021 21:191631822605North Port police chief explains why he can’t force Brian Laundrie to talk

Commenters on social media have expressed frustration that police investigating the disappearance of Gabby Petito have not forced her fiancé Brian Laundrie to speak with them.

North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison explained why they can’t force Mr Laundrie - or any American - to cooperate with them.

The Independent’s Bevan Hurley goes in-depth below...

Graig Graziosi16 September 2021 21:031631821293Gabby Petito’s friend describes her and fiancé Brian Laundrie as “couple goals"

A friend of Gabby Petito’s described her and her fiancé Brian Laundrie as “couple goals” who were “always smiling,” NBC2 reported.

The Independent’s Graig Graziosi has more of the friend’s perspective - and her reaction to the news that Ms Petito is missing - below...

Graig Graziosi16 September 2021 20:411631820657Gabby Petito’s family do not believe she sent the final text her mother received on 30 August

During a press conference on Thursday the lawyer representing Gabby Petito’s family revealed that they do not believe that a text sent from Ms Petito’s phone on 30 August actually came from her.

The final text said “No service in Yosemite.”

Nichole Schmidt, Ms Petito’s mother, said the last time she video chatted with her daughter was on 25 August.

Graig Graziosi16 September 2021 20:30

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