[imagesource: YouTube]

This past weekend, a body believed to be that of 22-year-old Gabby Petito was found at a Wyoming national park.

An autopsy will be carried out today, but FBI agent Charles Jones said that her family had been notified.

Her disappearance quickly became an obsession for online sleuths, and has received wall to wall coverage in the media over the past two or so weeks.

Petito and her 23-year-old fiancé Brian Laundrie set off on a cross-country trip in June, which they chronicled extensively on social media.

Laundrie then returned home from the trip alone, refused to speak with police to assist with attempts to locate Petito, and has now gone on the run.

At this point, he has not yet been charged with a crime, with his family saying they last saw him a week ago. Laundrie left home in North Port, Florida, with a backpack and told them he was going to a nature reserve near Venice, Florida.

Laundrie’s parents waited three days before telling authorities that he had gone missing.

With the entire country basically on high alert, it seems odd that law enforcement hasn’t been able to track him down.

As CNN points out, his multiple-day headstart definitely works in his favour:

Police in North Port, Florida, tweeted Saturday that authorities were searching the reserve, an effort that included the use of drones and bloodhounds who had used articles of Laundrie’s clothing taken from his home to get his scent…

In a place like a nature reserve, foliage and the lack of sunlight affects visibility…

The night can also hamper efforts, especially if the person being sought has no source of light or fire.

Chris Boyer, executive director of the non-profit National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR), also points out that it’s possible Laundrie was wearing clothes that would have blended in, and could avoid drone or helicopter tracking by crawling in creeks to avoid leaving a trail.

Police have now moved on from searching in the reserve, saying they have “exhausted all avenues in searching of the grounds there”.

Laundrie had previously invoked his Fifth Amendment right (a person cannot be forced to make statements they feel might be negative or used against them), and his family had referred all questions to an attorney prior to his disappearance.

Yesterday, FBI agents and police searched Laundrie’s home, reports The Washington Post:

The FBI gave no details on the search by at least a dozen law enforcement officers, but agents removed several boxes and towed away a car that neighbors said was typically used by 23-year-old Brian Laundrie’s mother.

Local media said Laundrie’s parents were seen getting into a police vehicle.

Joseph Petito, Gabby’s father, said the lack of assistance from Laundrie’s parents deserves to be punished:

“We called Brian, we called the mom, we called the dad, we called the sister, we called every number that we could find,” Petito said. “No phone calls were picked up, no text messages were returned.”

Petito said he wants Laundrie to be held accountable for whatever part he played in Gabby’s disappearance, along with his family for protecting him.

“I hope they get what’s coming, and that includes his folks,” Petito said. “Because I’ll tell you, right now, they are just as complicit, in my book.”

Every aspect of this case has been picked apart in great deal, including the incident where the couple was pulled over by police near the entrance to Arches national park, Utah, in August.

At the time, the report compiled by officers labelled Petito as the aggressor in a “physical altercation”.

Police were responding to a possible domestic violence call near a grocery store in Moab.

Footage of the couple being questioned after they were pulled over has been widely shared:

However, police yesterday released audio from that 911 call, which contradicts claims that Petito was the aggressor.

NewsAU below:

“A gentleman was slapping the girl,” the caller tells dispatchers in the audio. “They ran up and down the sidewalk. He proceeded to hit her, hopped in the car, and they drove off.”

..According to the police report, an officer witnessed Petito slapping Laundrie, but not the other way around. At the time, the police officer said what he saw did not rise to the level of an assault charge.

At his urging, Laundrie spent the night in a hotel room; Petito stayed in the van.

Here’s how the 911 call fits into the timeline:

Petito’s final text message also sparked alarm with her family, reports Huff Post:

“Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls,” the Aug. 27 text message read…

“Stan” refers to her grandfather.

However, her mother, Nichole Schmidt, called it an “odd text” because Petito had never called him that and “was concerned that something was wrong with her daughter,” the warrant states.

On August 30, Petito’s family received a text from her phone which said “No service in Yosemite”.

However, an attorney for her family said they do not believe she sent it.

The search to find Laundrie continues, with official confirmation regarding the autopsy on the body found in Wyoming due later today.

The spotlight on Petito’s disappearance has also highlighted the disparity in media coverage with these cases when the missing person isn’t white.

Whatever happens next, we can only hope Laundrie is found and made to answer questions related to Petito’s disappearance, if only so that her family may achieve some sort of closure.

[sources:cnn&washpost&newsau&huffpost]