A timeline of events in the case of Gabby Petito's disappearance - East Idaho News
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A timeline of events in the case of Gabby Petito’s disappearance

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MOOSE, Wyoming– A big question is weighing investigators and family members across the country: What happened to Gabby Petito?

RELATED: Body camera footage shows Gabby Petito upset after argument as families release new statements

The 22-year-old from New York left on a cross-country trip with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, and visited national parks in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. The last time Petito’s mother, Nicole Schmidt, heard from her was Aug. 30 in a text message.

Here’s a timeline of events in the case:

  • July 2: Petito and Laundrie leave New York and head west to see national parks in their van.
  • July-August: Petito documents much of their journey on Instagram and YouTube.
  • Aug. 12-Aug. 24: Petito and her boyfriend are in Utah.
  • Aug. 12: Moab Utah police respond to an incident involving Petito and Laundrie. Petito had a “mental health crisis,” according to a police report.
  • Aug. 21: Petito’s father, Joseph Petito, orders food for his daughter from another state. The meal is delivered to Salt Lake City according to KSL. This is the last time Petito talks with her dad.
  • Aug. 24: Petito and Laundrie leave Salt Lake City and head for Grand Teton National Park. Petito’s mother Nicole Schmidt said they spent one or two days in Wyoming according to KSL.
  • Aug. 23 or 24: Petito’s last FaceTime call with her mother. After this point, Schmidt says they “texted a lot” in a report from KSL.
  • Aug. 25: Schmidt says the couple’s van is spotted at Grand Teton National Park. This is also the day of Petito’s last post on Instagram.
  • Aug. 25-27: Schmidt says she doesn’t know where Petito is. It is assumed the couple leaves Wyoming headed for Yellowstone National Park, but it is unclear if they made it.
  • Aug. 30: Schmidt gets a text from Petito’s number. She is not sure if it is her daughter. After this point, Schmidt says Petito stops replying to her text messages. According to Deseret News, the final text message sent from Petito’s phone to her mother was confirmed by the family’s lawyer Rick Stafford and read, “No service in Yosemite.”
  • Sep. 1: Laundrie returns home to Florida with the van but without Petito. He hires a lawyer.
  • Sep. 11: Suffolk County Police Department in New York opens an investigation after the Petito family reports Petito missing. North Port Police in Florida finds the white van at Laundrie’s home.
  • Sep. 14: North Port Police finish search warrant on white van. Unbeknownst to authorities, Brian Laundrie allegedly leaves his home to go to the Carlton Wildlife Reserve in Sarasota, Florida.
  • Sep. 15: North Port Police name Laundrie a person of interest in the missing case of Petito.
  • Sep. 17:Brian Laundrie’s family call North Port Police and tell them Laundrie left his home with his backpack on Tuesday (Sept. 14). He allegedly told his family he was going to the Carlton Wildlife Reserve.
  • Sep. 18: Dozens of North Port police officers, FBI agents and members of other law enforcement agencies search the 24,000-acre Carlton Wildlife Reserve in Sarasota, Florida. Law enforcement in Wyoming continue to search around Grand Teton National Park for Petito.
  • Sep. 19: A body matching the description of Gabby Petito is found in the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area in Bridger-Teton National Forest on the eastern edge of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
  • Sep. 20: North Port Police call off the search at the Carlton Wildlife Reserve. A search warrant is served at the home of Brian Laundrie.
  • Sep. 21: The North Port Police Department in Florida assists FBI and resumes search for 23-year-old Brian Laundrie at the Carlton Wildlife Reserve after Laundrie reportedly visited the area a week ago to go hiking. FBI investigators announced the human remains found in Wyoming on Sunday officially belonged to Gabby Petito after an autopsy. The coroner’s initial determination for the manner of death is homicide. The cause of death is pending final autopsy results.
  • Sep. 23: FBI announces the U.S. District Court of Wyoming issued a federal arrest warrant for Brian Christopher Laundrie pursuant to a Federal Grand Jury indictment related to Mr. Laundrie’s activities following the death of Gabby Petito. The arrest warrant is stamped on Sep. 22 and announced the following day. The indictment document said Laundrie made unauthorized use of a debit card between Aug. 30 and Sep. 1. “Brian Christopher Laundrie, knowingly and with intent to defraud, used one or more unauthorized access devices, namely a Capitol One Bank debit card…and by such conduct obtained things of value aggregating to $1,000 or more during that period, which affected interstate commerce.”

Brian Laundrie’s family call North Port Police and tell them Laundrie left his home with his backpack Tuesday (Sept. 14). He said he was going to the 24,000-acre Carlton Wildlife Reserve in Sarasota, Florida.

Places visited according to Petito’s Instagram:

  • July 4: Monument Rocks
  • July 8: Colorado Springs
  • July 10: Grand Sand Dunes National Park
  • July 16: Zion National Park
  • July 21: Bryce Canyon National Park
  • July 26: Mystic hot springs
  • July 30: Canyonlands National Park, Mesa Arch
  • Aug. 12: Arches National Park
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Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito | Instagram

The FBI has set up a national hotline to receive tips, 1-800-CALLFBI (225-5324).

Petito and Laundrie were traveling in a white 2012 Ford Transit van with Florida license plate QFTG03. She is 22, about 5 feet 5 inches tall and 110 pounds. Petito has blond hair and blue eyes, and several tattoos, including one on her finger and one on her forearm that reads, “Let it be.”

Gabbys gone
Gabby Petito | Courtesy FBI in Denver

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