A body which was found in a national park in Wyoming has been identified as influencer Gabby Petito, and police have said they believe her death was homicide.
Full details of the cause of death have not yet been revealed, pending an autopsy.
On Saturday 11 September, the 22-year-old was reported missing by her mother. She had been on a road trip with her boyfriend since July.
So what do we know about the case so far?
Who is Gabby Petito?
Petito was a 22-year old Instagrammer and van-life blogger hailing from Blue Point in Suffolk County, New York.
She reportedly moved to North Port, Florida two years ago with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie.
Having been dating since March 2019, the pair got engaged in July 2020, according to Instagram.
In July, she and Laundrie set off on a cross-country road trip in a 2012 Ford van.
Petito had been documenting their journey on social media, but all communication has now stopped, causing concern.
What do we know about her disappearance?
According to her mother, Nicole Schmidt, Petito and Laundrie left for their trip from Petito’s hometown of Blue Point.
Schmidt told KSL: “She wanted to cross the country in the camper van and live the van life and live free. This was her dream.”
The trip was expected to end in Oregon in October, but nobody has heard from Petito since the end of August.
Instagram posts from the couple indicate they had visited Kansas in early July and travelled from there to Colorado.
Their next posts showed them camping at Zion National Park in Utah in mid-July.
Petito’s next post from 21 July showed they were in Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah before moving on to Monroe, Utah.
On 31 July, they posted images from Canyonlands National Park, also in Utah. Her next post wouldn’t be until 12 days later.
According to police reports, the couple got into a physical altercation on 12 August – around a week before Petito was last seen.
Officers from Utah’s Moab Police Department were contacted by a man identifying himself as Christopher, who expressed concern about a possible domestic disturbance.
According to police reports, Petito and Laundrie were stopped by police near Arches National Park.
Petito was said to be “crying uncontrollably” and told officers she had been struggling with her mental health.
Police determined that the pair had had an argument and Laundrie had told Petito to take a walk to calm down, but she refused.
According to the police report: “[Petito] didn’t want to be separated from the male, and began slapping him.
“He grabbed her face and pushed her back as she pressed upon him and the van, he tried to lock her out and succeeded except the driver’s door.
“She opened that and forced her way over him and into the vehicle before it drove off.”
Police officer Daniel Scott Robbins determined: “After evaluating the totality of the circumstances, I do not believe the situation escalated to the level of domestic assault as much of that as a mental health crisis.”
Petito has posted just 4 times on Instagram since August 12. Her last post was on 26 August and she was last heard from by her family on 30 August.
That’s when she texted her mother to say she was heading to Yellowstone National Park and was losing phone signal.
On 11 September, Petito was reported missing by her mother.The Ford van that the couple were travelling in has been recovered in Florida and Laundrie is alive and well at his parents’ home in Florida.
Laundrie refused to speak to authorities about the disappearance of his girlfriend and hired an attorney.
Petito’s family said in a statement through their attorney: “Brian is refusing to tell Gabby’s family where he last saw her.
“Brian is also refusing to explain why he left Gabby all alone and drove her van to Florida. These are critical questions that require immediate answers.”
On 15 September, police named Laundrie as a person of interest in Petito’s disappearance and confirmed he is still refusing to cooperate with authorities.
Update - 18 September 2021: North Port Police said in a statement that they are also now searching for Mr Laundrie, who has not been seen by his family since Tuesday, after their attorney contacted FBI investigators on Friday.
It was the first time the family had spoken with investigators in detail, the police department said, and reiterated that Mr Laundrie is a “person of interest” in relation to Ms Petito’s disappearance and is not wanted for any criminal offence.
KNow anything? Please call 1-800-CALL-FBI pic.twitter.com/oCDTwHJvCt
— North Port Police (@NorthPortPolice) September 18, 2021
Meanwhile, a TikTok user named Miranda Baker released a video on Friday claiming that she and her boyfriend had given Mr Laundrie a ride to Jackson from Grand Teton National Park, at Colter Bay, on 29 August.
Ms Baker, 22, from Wisconsin, said they were also going to Jackson that same evening, and picked him up at 5:30pm local time. They were offered $200 by Laundrie for the trip.
“So that was kind of weird. He then told us he’s been camping for multiple days without his fiancée – he did say he had a fiancée – and that she was working on their social media page back at their van.
“Then … in conversation, I brought up ‘we’re going to Jackson’, he freaked out. He was like, ‘nope, I need to get out right now, pull over’,” she said.
Ms Baker went on to add that they dropped him off at 6:09pm at the Jackson Dam, close to Colter Bay. She claimed that he said he would “find someone else to go hitchhike”.
Update - 20 September 2021: A subsequent search of the area where Petito went missing has uncovered a body that matches the description of the 22-year-old.
FBI agent Charles Jones told the media: “As every parent can imagine, this is an incredibly difficult time for her family. The cause of death has not been determined.”
The FBI added that they cannot confirm “100 per cent” if the remains were of Petito’s but that they were consistent with her description.
💔#GABBYPETITO she touched the world. pic.twitter.com/DukH7UCTPo
— joseph petito (@josephpetito) September 19, 2021
Petito’s father paid tribute to his daughter on Twitter, writing “she touched the world”
Update - 21 September 2021: Gabby Petito was killed by another person, a coroner concluded, while also confirming that the human remains found recently at a Wyoming national park were those of the 22-year-old.
Teton County Coroner Brent Blue determined Petito was a homicide victim, but did not disclose a cause of death pending final autopsy results, officials said. Her body was found Sunday near an undeveloped camping area in remote northern Wyoming along the border of Grand Teton National Park.
Meanwhile, authorities continue to search a swampy Florida preserve area near the home of Petito’s boyfriend. Police in North Port, Florida, said Tuesday morning that investigators have returned to the Carlton Reserve to look for Brian Laundrie, 23.
Investigators searched the 24,000-acre (9,700-hectare) Florida nature preserve over the weekend without success. They focused on the area after Laundrie’s parents told police he may have gone there.
With agencies
