Police continue to investigate the disappearance of 22-year-old YouTuber Gabby Petito after her fiance, Brian Laundrie, returned from their cross-country trip alone.
Peitito’s family reported her missing to police in North Port, Florida on September 11, 10 days after Laundrie returned to the home he shared with Peito and his parents.
On Thursday, Petito’s family wrote a letter to Laundrie’s parents begging them to share information to help find their daughter.
“We believe you know the location of where Brian left Gabby,” the family wrote. “We beg you to tell us.”
Laundrie has been named a person of interest in Petito’s disappearance.
Protestors gathered outside Laundrie’s home Thursday night after police said he refused to cooperate with the investigation, waving signs and shouting “Bring Gabby home!” “Speak up!” and “Truth always comes out.”
Petito’s family was last in contact with their daughter in late August. She was last seen in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park.
“She maintained regular contact with her family members during her travels, however, that communication abruptly stopped around the end of August,” North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison said during a press conference Thursday.
An attorney for the Petito family said the family does not believe the last text they received from Petito’s phone was sent by Gabby. Her mother, Nicole Schmidt, said she FaceTimed Petito on August 25. On August 30, she received a text from Gabby’s phone which said “No service in Yosemite.”
Recently released police body camera footage shows Petitio and Laundrie were in the throws of an emotional fight when they were pulled over in Utah for erratic driving on August 12.
Follow Newsweek’s live blog for the latest updates.
Octavio Jones/Getty Images
Brian Laundrie has not spoken to police, North Port Police spokesperson says
A spokesperson for the North Police police told CNN that authorities have recovered “material” from Gabby Petito’s van but they cannot speak about what they found yet.
North Port Police spokesperson Josh Taylor said there is no evidence that Petito would be in Florida and the search continues in Wyoming.
He said police are interested in knowing about gas stations and interactions people had with Peito and her fiance Biran Laundrie, as the van traveled thousands of miles.
Taylor added that there were no previous incidents with the couple in North Port and that Laundrie “has a clean record.”
However, Taylor said police have not spoken to Laundrie about Petito’s disappearance and that he “would not consider the family having being entirely cooperative.”
“There are holes that need to be plugged,” Taylor said.
Tipster says she spotted Petito’s van in Grand Teton National Park
The Teton County Sheriff’s Office is investigating tips they receive spotting Gabby Petito’s van inside Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
“All those little pieces can be little pieces of the puzzle to help us figure out where Gabby is,” Sergeant Clayton Platt told KSLTV.
“I can’t give you any specifics on areas of interest but we are certainly following up on all leads that we receive,” he said.
Shannon Baker was on a trip with her family when she noticed a van she really liked.
“We drove through the Tetons and the only stop we made was at Jenny Lake,” Baker told KSLTV.
She said she spotted Petito’s van in the Jenny Lake parking lot at 5 p.m. on August 25.
“I’m sure of it,” Baker said. “It had the black ladder on the back and the two black rooftops on top, the two bars, and we made the comment that would be the perfect little camper van to go around in.”
Baker said they made the connection when they saw a breaking news story about Petito’s disappearance Sunday.
“I said, ‘Oh my god! That’s the same van we saw,'” Baker said.
“You never know what you’ve got in a photo that you’ve thought and lo and behold, there was a van that matches the description of this van in this case,” Platt said.
Utah police investigating possible connection between Petito’s disappearance and double homicide near Moab
A Utah sheriff is investigating a possible connection between the disappearance of Gabby Petito and a double homicide at a campground outside Moab last month.
The Grand County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that it is “actively looking” into any connection between the two cases.
“The Sheriff’s Office is not ruling anything out at this time and appreciate the concerns of the public and their willingness to contact this office with those concerns and information,” the Grand County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Newlyweds Crystal Turner and Kylen Schulte were found shot to death at a campground southeast of Moab on August 18, five days after they were last seen leaving a downtown bar.
Schulte’s aunt, Bridget Calvert, told KUTV that the couple complained about a “creepy guy” who was making them uncomfortable in their campsite just days before they were killed.
Brian Laundrie’s sister speaks out about Gabby Petito’s disappearance
The sister of Brian Laundrie gave an exclusive interview with Good Morning America Thursday following the disappearance of Gabby Petito.
“Obviously me and my family want Gabby to be found safe,” Cassie Laundrie said. “She’s like a sister and my children love her, and all I want is for her to come home safe and found and this to be just a big misunderstanding.”
Brian Laundrie was named a person of interest in the case and police said he was not providing any information about the disappearance.
His sister says she hasn’t spoken to her brother since he returned from the trip earlier this month.
“We haven’t been able to talk to him. I wish I could talk with him,” she said.
She said she has cooperated with the police “in every way I can.”
“I wish I had information or I would give more,” she said.
Cassie Laundrie said that the police camera video of Petito and her brother arguing “looked typical of both of them.”
“Whenever they would fight, they would take a break and come back and be fine because that’s what you do in a couple.”
She added that Laundrie is a “wonderful uncle” who has “always been there when I needed him” and “he’s been there every time Gabby’s needed him.”
