What Happened to Gabby Petito?
Social media led to the Gabby Petito case making headlines everywhere. Anyone who is anyone knew Gabbys face and was on the hunt for her. But what actually went down and who is to blame for the disappearance of Gabby Petito?
The Drive:
In June of 2021, Gabby and her boyfriend, Brian, embarked on a cross-country trip. They were planning on traveling and using Gabby's van to go to the west coast and visit National and state parks across the western United States. At the time of planning this trip, she was super excited to share her journey with her family and friends on social media. She always maintained regular contact with her family members during her travels but the communication abruptly stopped at the end of August.
In August, the couple was spotted in Utah and were having an altercation which was followed by the police coming to investigate. The couple got into a physical fight following an argument, but both Gabby and her boyfriend said that they were in love and engaged to be married and didn't want to charge each other with a crime. The officer suggested that they separate for the night and then leave it as is.
After this altercation, Brian then flew back to Tampa from Salt Lake City to obtain some items and empty the storage unit they had to save money as they were contemplating extending their road trip. Within a few days, he was back in Salt Lake City to rejoin Gabby on their cross-country trip. Shortly after this, the couple was spotted again on the 27th of August in Wyoming. They were spotted at a restaurant where there was a bit of an altercation. Witnesses did say that this was more than a lover's quarrel as Brian was visibly angry and Gabby was in tears.
The Disappearance:
Gabby was reported missing by her family in September after she didn't come back from a trip cross-country with her boyfriend Brian. Family’s last known contact with her was the last week in August. At the time her family believed she had been in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
The last week of August a woman came out and said she and her boyfriend gave Brian a ride in Wyoming. Brian claimed he had been camping by himself for multiple days while Gabby was supposedly at their van working on social media posts. Brian then found out that the woman and her boyfriend were not going the way he wanted and he asked them to stop and got out.
Brian then came home to his parent's North Port Florida home in early September without his girlfriend Gabby and said nothing to the authorities. He did leave his parent's home around two weeks later disappearing without a trace. Authorities were informed that Brian left his home without his cellphone or wallet.
In late September, the Northport Police Department said they were conducting a search for Brian at the Carlton Reserve. The Carlton Reserve is about 80 miles of hiking trail in Venice Florida. Over 50 law enforcement officers from 5 local agencies plus the FBI were searching for Brian. Because at the time he was the last known person to be in contact with Gabby. So now law enforcement didn't just have Gabby missing they also had their prime suspect Brian missing. While this is all going on, the FBI announced that they were conducting a search in Grand Teton National Park for Gabby. The National Park is the last known place she's believed to have been so that's where they started.
Unfortunately, just a day after they started their search, human remains were discovered in Grand Teton National Park. They were consistent with the description of Gabby. A few days after this the coroner did confirm that those human remains were Gabby's but her cause of death was pending final autopsy results as of September 21st.
The Search for Brian:
Starting September 23rd, just two days after the official findings of Gabby's remains, the FBI issued a federal arrest warrant for Brian. While the search for Brian was underway in mid-October, it came back that Gabby's cause of death was determined to be strangulation. And, unfortunately, her body had been outside in the wilderness decaying for about 3 to 4 weeks before being found. And though Brian remains missing authorities never explicitly connected him to Gabby's death.
On October 20th, mere weeks into the search for Brian at the Carlton Reserve investigators found human remains along with personal items belonging to Brian. The items were found in the area that had recently been underwater and now they finally come to the surface. The day after those remains were found a comparison of dental records confirmed that those human remains were Brian's.
It was later shown that Brian died from a gunshot wound to the head that was self-inflicted. His death has then ruled a suicide. This news came 5 weeks after his remains were found.
What Now?
The FBI never officially connected Brian to Gabby's death besides calling him a person of interest. The FBI believes that they will eventually announce her possible killer even if the suspect is dead. Unfortunately, because Brian was the main person of interest and he is now dead himself there's not much more the FBI can do. The most they can do is probe Brian's parents for information because they seem to act as if they know more than they’ve said. He is also looking into the personal items that were left by Brian and his remains and hopes to find something in his backpack or notebook that could connect him to what happened to Gabby. The FBI is trying its hardest to figure out what happened to Gabby so her case can be closed and her family can have some peace.