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A 22-year-old Blue Point woman last seen traveling with her boyfriend in Wyoming has been missing since Saturday, Sept. 11, and has not communicated with her family since last month, police said.
Suffolk County Police Fifth Squad detectives began investigating the disappearance of Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito this weekend. Prior to her last communication with family during the last week of August, Petito is believed to have been in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Petito, who police said was reported missing by her family at 6:55 p.m. on Saturday, was traveling with her boyfriend, according to a report from KSL TV in Salt Lake City, Utah, where the couple had visited prior to traveling to Wyoming. Her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, has returned to their home in North Port, Florida, where they moved two years ago, according to news reports.
The couple had been traveling in a white, 2012 Ford Transit van with a Florida license plate QFTG03 when Petito’s communication with friends and family stopped, police said. The van has been recovered in North Port, local police in Florida said. Laundrie has reportedly hired an attorney.
On Aug. 19, a video recorded by the couple was shared on the YouTube account Nomadic Statik. The eight-minute video, entitled “Gabby & Brian: Beginning Our Van Life Journey,” provides a “glimpse” into their “van adventures.” Multiple news reports indicate that the couple is engaged.
Below is a news report from KSL TV in Salt Lake City.
KSL TV spoke with Petito’s mother Nichole Schmidt, who told the news station that her daughter left Blue Point on a cross-country trip with her boyfriend on July 2. Petito’s parents said in the television report that the couple documented a lot of the trip, spending time in Colorado and southern Utah.
Schmidt explained to a KSL TV reporter that her daughter’s communication with her became sporadic after Aug. 24 and that the last text she received from her daughter’s mobile number was on Aug. 30.
“I don’t know if that was her texting me or not,” Schmidt told KSL TV.
July 30 Instagram post from Petito
Petito is 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 110 pounds. She has blonde hair and blue eyes, and several tattoos, including one on her finger and one on her forearm that reads “Let it be.”
Detectives asked that anyone with information on Petito’s disappearance to contact Crime Stoppers at 1.800.220.TIPS. All calls can remain anonymous.
