After authorities found the body of who they believed to be 22-year-old Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito Sunday night, they began the workweek continuing the search for her boyfriend Brian Laundrie.
According to the FBI, authorities discovered Petito’s body after spending the weekend searching camp sites on the eastern border of Grand Teton National Park in northern Wyoming.
Specifics on where and how authorities found the body were not disclosed. FBI Supervisory Special Agent Charles Jones and other authorities declined to take questions during a Sunday evening press conference announcing the finding of the body.
“Full forensic identification has not been completed to confirm 100% that we found Gabby, but her family has been notified,” Jones said. “This is an incredibly difficult time for (Petito’s) family and friends.”
Her father posted this tribute to her Sunday night.
An attorney who has been acting as a spokesman for Petito’s family indicated the family would make a public statement at a later date. In a statement, Richard Stafford asked the family be given room to grieve. He went on to thank the authorities who helped in the search and found the body.
“Your tireless work and determination helped bring Gabby home to her parents,” Stafford said. “The family and I will be forever grateful.”
Petito’s cause of death has yet to the determined. She was on a cross-country trek in a converted van to visit national parks in the U.S. West with Laundrie when she went missing.
Laundrie has been identified as a person of interest in her disappearance. He was last seen Tuesday by family members in Florida.
On Sunday, more than 50 law enforcement officers started a second day of searching for Laundrie at the more than 24,000-acre Carlton Reserve in Sarasota County, Florida.
Police in North Port, Florida said in a statement that they were heartbroken to learn of the discovery of the body. “Our focus from the start, along with the FBI, and national partners, has been to bring her home,” police said. “We will continue to work with the FBI in the search for more answers.”
Gabrielle Petito, 22, who was reported missing on September 11, 2021 after traveling with her boyfriend around the country in a van and never returned home, poses for a photo with Brian Laundrie in this undated handout photo. North Port/Florida Police/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.
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