Gabby Petito timeline: Her summer trip, disappearance, and murder
Oct 21, 2021, 5:25 AM | Updated: Feb 23, 2023, 1:26 pm
Photo of Gabby Petito and Brain Laundrie in a tent outside of Capitol Reef National Park in south-central Utah. Screengrab from video on Petito and Laundrie's Nomadic Statik Youtube Channel released 08/19/2021
SALT LAKE CITY — This Gabby Petito timeline lists events before and after the 22-year-old woman’s death, as they are publicly known.
Petito was murdered, strangled to death according to the Teton County, Wyoming Coroner, sometime after August 25, 2021.
She had been traveling across the United States in a van with her fiancé Brian Laundrie before she disappeared and he returned to North Port, Florida, without her.
June, 2021
In early June, 22-year-old Petito and her fiancé, 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, leave Blue Point, N.Y. to travel the U.S. in their 2012 Ford Transit Connect van registered to Petito.
North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison said the couple planned a trip across the West, aiming to visit state and national parks.
Petito’s family had said she was excited to share their adventures, especially on their YouTube channel.
Gabby Petito timeline, August 2021
Aug. 12, 2021
A bystander calls police in Moab, Utah, to report witnessing an incident of domestic violence. The bystander reports seeing a male, now known to be Brian Laundrie, slapping a woman, Gabby Petito.
Officers respond to the 911 call. Petito demonstrates high levels of anxiety and explains that she hit Laundrie first. He responded by locking her out of the van. Petito voices her fear that Laundrie will leave her in Moab.
Moab Police Chief Bret Edge reflected on the incident in an email to KSL.
“Officers conducted an investigation and determined that insufficient evidence existed to justify criminal charges,” said Edge.
Aug. 15, 2021
After a night apart recommended and coordinated by Moab police, Laundrie’s sister Cassie and her children receive a postcard and a hat from the couple.
Petito chats with Cassie and her children via FaceTime for what Cassie reports to have been at least 45 minutes.
Aug. 17, 2021
Brian Laundrie flies home to North Port, Fla., to reportedly gather personal items and empty a storage unit.
Aug. 19, 2021
The couple uploads an eight-minute video to the “Nomadic Statik” Youtube channel with b-roll of their adventures up to that point. The video ends with Brian and Gabby at a campsite near Capital Reef National Park in Utah, making breakfast and sitting together in their tent.
“I love the van!” Gabby says.
The video description reads:
A glimpse into our van adventures! After our first cross-country trip in a little Nissan Sentra, we both decided we to wanted downsize our lives and travel full time, but trying to fit everything for two people into the tiny little trunk of the car, also spending way too much on gas, food, and airbnb, was not the road to take. We quickly realized we had to come up with a solution if we wanted to continue traveling and living nomadically, so that’s why we handcrafted our own tiny van, a simple 2012 Ford transit connect, utilizing space with unique designs and features. Creating a space for both artistic expression and distance hiking.
Thank you so much for watching, and we hope you tag along on our journey wherever the van takes us! Follow our van life journey for some awesome van life ideas, tips, hacks, camping spots, and so many beautiful places to travel!
Aug. 23, 2021
Laundrie reportedly flies back to join Petito once again in Utah after six days home in Florida.
Aug. 24, 2021
Petito is seen checking into a hotel in Salt Lake City. This may be the last time she is seen alive. Sightings in Ogden and Jackson, Wyo. are deemed credible but not confirmed.
Aug. 25, 2021
On the day that Gabby’s family reported to have last spoken to her, they told ABC News everything seemed fine and Gabby described her plans to leave Utah and head for Wyoming to see Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks.
Petito’s mother, Nicole Schmidt, said, “She sounded good, excited to continue her trip and excited to start her YouTube channel. I don’t know; she seemed OK.”
Aug. 27-30, 2021
Petito is believed to have disappeared near the Spread Creek dispersed camping area of Bridger-Teton National Forest.
Spread Creek Dispersed Campground in Wyoming
Aug. 29, 2021
Witness claims to have given Laundrie a ride in Grand Teton National Park.
Sept. 1, 2021
Laundrie returns to his family home in North Port, Fla., without Gabby.
Sept. 11, 2021
Petito is reported missing.
Sept. 13, 2021
Laundrie is seen by his family for the last time. Laundrie tells his family he is going for a hike at the Carlton Nature Reserve in Sarasota County, Fla.
Sept. 14, 2021
Investigators report that Brian Laundrie refuses to speak with them and is forwarding all questions to his attorney, Steve Bertolino, who issues a statement on behalf of the Laundrie family.
Bertolino explains in the statement, “On the advice of counsel, the Laundrie family is remaining in the background at this juncture and will have no further comment,” WABC-TV reported.
WABC-TV provides the statement released by Petito’s family in response.
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. The Schmidt and Petito family beg the Laundrie family to not ‘remain in the background’ but to help find who Brian referred to as the love of his life. How does Brian stay in the background when he is the one person that knows where Gabby is located? The Schmidt and Petito family implore Brian to come forward and at least tell us if we are looking in the right area.
Sept. 15, 2021
Laundrie is named a person of interest by North Port, Florida Police.
NORTH PORT, FLA. – SEPT. 20: FBI agents begin to take away evidence from the family home of Brian Laundrie, who is a person of interest after his fiancé Gabby Petito went missing on Sept. 20 in North Port, Fla. A body has been found by authorities in Wyoming that fits the description of Petito, who went missing while on a cross country trip with Laundrie. (Photo by Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
Sept. 16, 2021
In the morning, the North Port Police Department holds a news conference and asks for any help the public can give.
Petito’s family also holds a press conference in New York. Their attorney, Rick Stafford, reads aloud a letter written by the family.
“We ask you to put yourselves in our shoes. We haven’t been able to sleep or eat, and our lives are falling apart,” the letter states.
“How could you let us go through this pain and not help us?”
In a direct plea to the Laundrie family, the letter asks, “As a parent, how could you put Gabby’s younger brothers and sisters through this?”
Sept. 17, 2021
Laundrie is reported missing by his family.
Sept 18, 2021
Florida law enforcement starts the search for Laundrie at the Carlton Nature Reserve in Sarasota County, Fla.
In this photo provided by North Port Police Department, law enforcement officials conduct a search of the vast Carlton Reserve in the Sarasota, Fla., area for Brian Laundrie on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. Laundrie is a person of interest in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Gabby Petito. (North Port Police Department via AP)
Sept. 19, 2021
A body believed to be that of Gabby Petito is discovered at a campground in the Bridger-Teton National Forest outside Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
A U.S. Park Ranger vehicle drives in the Spread Creek area in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, east of Grand Teton National Park off U.S. Highway 89, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, in Wyoming. Authorities say they have found a body believed to be Gabby Petito, who went missing on a trip with her boyfriend. (AP Photo/Amber Baesler)
Sept. 21, 2021
Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue positively identifies the remains found two days prior as Petito, listing the initial cause of death as homicide.
Sept. 22, 2021
The U.S. District Court of Wyoming issues a federal arrest warrant or Brian Laundrie in connection with bankcard fraud charges. Investigators believe Laundrie used a debit card that did not belong to him to withdraw at least $1,000.
Sept. 23, 2021
Moab police launch an investigation into Petito-Laundrie response.
Sept. 24, 2021
Search for Laundrie continues at Carlton Reserve.
Gabby Petito timeline, October 2021
Oct. 12, 2021
The Teton County Coroner reports Petito’s murder resulted from strangulation and maintains the cause as a homicide/murder.
Oct. 19, 2021
Chris and Roberta Laundrie, Brian’s parents, inform the FBI and North Port Police Department they intend to continue the search for their son at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park. The park was one of two locations where searches for Brian Laundrie have been ongoing for the last month along with the adjacent Carlton Reserve.
Oct. 2o, 2021
The Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park reopens to the public. Chris and Roberta Laundrie go to the park in the morning. The Carlton reserve remains closed.
Laundrie’s parents and the FBI search a trail frequented by Brian Laundrie. There they find some articles that belonged to him. A medical examiner and cadaver dog are dispatched to the site.
Michael McPherson, the FBI special agent in charge of the Bureau’s Tampa division, says that human remains were found along with a backpack and notebook belonging to Brian Laundrie.
This timeline will be updated with details and information as they develop.
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