Earlier this morning, police raided Gabby Petito’s boyfriend, Brian Laundrie’s, home after authorities discovered a body believed to be hers in northern Wyoming.
According to authorities, the search for Laundrie is still ongoing. Authorities have reiterated that he is not a suspect, but rather a person of interest and that his case is being investigated as a missing person case.
The announcement comes after the FBI announced a day earlier that a body believed to be Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito was discovered by law enforcement agents who spent the weekend investigating campsites on the park’s eastern border.
According to FBI Supervisory Special Agent Charles Jones, the cause of death has yet to be confirmed. The location and manner of the body’s discovery were not divulged. The autopsy will not take place until Tuesday.
“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.”
During a press conference in Grand Teton on Sunday evening announcing the body’s discovery, Jones and other law enforcement authorities declined to accept questions.
Petito’s father, Joseph, shared a photo of a broken heart with a photo of his daughter on social media, along with the comment, “she touched the world.”
According to reports, Attorney Richard Benson Stafford said the family would make a public statement later and thanked the FBI, Grand Teton Search and Rescue, and other organizations for their assistance in the search for Petito.
In a statement, Stafford stated, “The family and I will be forever grateful.”
While the investigation is ongoing, Jones said an undeveloped camping area on the east side of Grand Teton that borders national forest land will remain closed until further notice.
Investigators were still looking for anyone who may have seen Petito or Laundrie around camping sites in the Spread Creek region, where law enforcement search efforts were concentrated over the weekend, according to Jones.
In July, the two embarked on a cross-country journey in a converted van to see national parks in the western United States. On Sept. 1, Laundrie drove the vehicle back to his parent’s house in North Port, Florida, alone, according to authorities.
In a statement, police in North Port, Florida said they were “heartbroken” to learn of the body’s discovery and promised to keep looking for answers in the case.
On Sept. 11, Petito’s family filed a missing person report with the Suffolk County, New York police.
According to NBC, the Petito family has been begging the Laundrie family to tell them where their son last saw Gabby. Petito and Laundrie were childhood sweethearts who met in Long Island, New York. His parents eventually relocated to North Port, Florida, roughly 35 miles south of Sarasota.
The couple’s journey in the Ford Transit began in Long Island in July. According to their social media posts, they planned to arrive in Oregon by the end of October. Petito, on the other hand, vanished after her last known communication with family in late August from Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, according to investigators.
On Aug. 12th, an officer pulled the van over after seeing it speeding and hitting a curb at the entrance to Arches National Park, according to a police video released by the Moab Police Department in Utah. Petito sat inside a police cruiser, visibly upset, while officers questioned Laundrie.
After deciding not to press charges, Moab police separated the couple for the night, with Laundrie checking into a motel and Petito staying with the converted sleeping van.
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