The more the story progresses, the more the mystery thickens around the disappearance of the American Gabby Petito, 22, during a road trip in a van.
Her fiancé, who had returned alone from their trip, had remained silent until then.
Considered a "person worthy of interest" by investigators, the young man would in turn be untraceable for several days.
Return on this incredible affair in five dates.
July 2nd.
Gabrielle Petito, 22, and her partner Brian Laundrie, 23, board a van in New York for a trip across the United States that is supposed to last four months. The couple created a dedicated Instagram account to post photos of their adventure. We see the young woman, very active on social networks, strike a pose in the middle of the magnificent landscapes of the American West.
August 12.
Police in Moab, a small town in Utah, intervene in a marital dispute at the entrance to Arches National Park. Made public by the police, a video recorded the confidences of Gabrielle and Brian about an altercation which had occurred moments earlier. Gabrielle Petito appears there in tears. “Some days I have really bad [obsessive-compulsive disorder],” she explains to the police. The young woman reportedly lost her temper while cleaning the van.
“I would apologize to him and say, '
I'm sorry, I'm so mean.
".
Brian Laundrie is questioned, giving his version of the altercation.
"She gets angry sometimes," he said, his tone both calm and embarrassed.
Noticing scratches on his face, the policeman asks him how he hurt himself.
Brian then confesses that Gabrielle hit him with her phone.
Another disturbing element noted by the local and national media: the next day, a double murder, unsolved since, is committed in this city.
The police, who do not rule out any leads, have however established no link between the two cases for the moment.
September 1st.
Brian Laundrie returns home in North Port, Florida with the white Ford pickup truck the couple had used for the trip.
It was registered in the name of Gabrielle Petito.
He comes back… alone.
September 11th.
Gabrielle Petito's parents report their daughter's disappearance.
She has not given any sign of life since the end of August.
Gabby's last text message, sent to her mother, was on August 30.
She wrote to him: “No service in Yosemite”, reveals the New York Post.
On Instagram, the last publication of the young woman dates from August 25.
When questioned by the police, Brian Laundrie provided "no information".
Since his return, the young man wallows in silence.
According to the New York Times, he would have followed the advice of his lawyer, for whom the companion is often the first person to whom the police "turn their attention in this kind of case".
September 17
.
Brian Laundrie's parents call the North Port Police.
They have not heard from their son since September 14.
The next day, the police announced that they were treating the case as "a case of multiple disappearances".
To find Brian, she focuses her research in the Carlton reserve, a park in Florida.
Mr. and Mrs. Laundrie believe their son entered earlier in the week.
As for Gabrielle Petito, the FBI is combing Grand Teton National Park and the scattered camping area of Spread Creek, both located in Wyoming, the New York Times reports. “When we have details we'll make a statement,” North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison tweeted.
