Federal investigators have reportedly taken over the search for Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito, and are focusing their efforts in Wyoming — Petito’s last known location.
Fox 13 reports that the FBI is leading the search for Petito in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Sources with knowledge of the investigation reportedly told the news station that the FBI has taken over because the search is on federal land, and also because of the massive national interest in Petito’s disappearance.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Petito and her boyfriend Brian Laundrie, 23, had set out for a cross-country trip this summer in a converted camper van. Petito’s last confirmed communication with her family was on August 23 or 24. Petito’s mother also received a text message from Petito’s phone on August 30, saying that there was no service in Yosemite, but the mother has said she does not believe her daughter actually wrote or sent the message.
Laundrie is believed to have returned to his North Port, Florida, home in the van on September 1, without Petito. He has yet to speak to police, who earlier this week named him a person of interest in the investigation. Laundrie has not been arrested and the investigation is not being treated as a criminal case at this time.
As the Fox 13 report notes, federal investigators have shared very little information about the search. On Friday, an NBC 2 reporter obtained a missing persons report from the North Port Police Department, which has been almost entirely redacted.
JUST IN: NPPD released the official missing person report for Gabby Petito. Almost all of the report is redacted. #GabbyPetito @NBC2 pic.twitter.com/Uje7nKO22u
— Megan Myers (@MeganMyersNews) September 17, 2021
Anyone with information about Gabrielle Petito’s whereabouts is urged to call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.
Read CrimeOnline’s complete coverage of the Gabby Petito missing persons investigation here.
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