Van lifer goes missing on cross country trip with fiancee

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Van lifers customize vans as traveling homes. Posting their adventures on social media is a big part of the current lifestyle.

Gabby Petito was on a cross country trip with Brian Laundrie. They were traveling in Utah. Her last phone call with family was Aug 24.

Laundrie returned to Florida in the van and has retained an attorney. Yeah, this doesn’t sound good.

It’s more unsettling (to me) because of the social media posts. They’re hugging and smiling. The perfect couple.

The girl’s family has a Facebook search page and there’s already a GoFund for the search. It could be a difficult search because Laundrie was driving through very remote back country.

2

This is a better link. More information from the father.

Gabby had been in a relationship with Laundrie for two years. I imagine living together in a van would heighten any tension between them.

Authorities searching for missing 22-year-old woman last seen in SLC?

3

Yeah, that doesn’t sound good. They had an argument and he drove off without her is probably the best explanation he could have.

4

FYI, “fiancée” means the woman. The word you and the reporter want is “fiancé”. Otherwise it’s hard to figure out from the title who’s missing.

5

I spelled fiance right and then changed it to match the article. I should have trusted my own spelling.

What kind of reception did this guy expect when he came home without his girlfriend? It’s not like losing your luggage.

I hope she’s OK. It’s troubling that she hasn’t called anyone. She’s had time to get help if her boyfriend just drove away.

6

ProTip: “soon-to-be ball&chain” is simpler to spell and doesn’t have the weirdly accented “é” thing.

7

Quote from the ksltv article.

It sounds like the thrill of a cross country adventure was wearing off.

Gabbys Instagram. Utah is beautiful.

8

I note that only the missing woman’s parents are reporting that the boyfriend won’t cooperate with authorities, while saying there’s a bunch of things they’d like to say, but can’t. My ‘more to the story’ meter is pinged.

9

There’s always more to the story. The police withhold details in active cases. It sounds like they told the parents a few things in confidence.

GPS on the phones would usually help locate this woman. But they were traveling in rugged areas and cell service may have been spotty.

10

The story is weird. How can he not “cooperate”?

“So you went cross country with our daughter?”
“Yes”
“And now you’re back, by yourself?”
“Yes”
“So, where is our daughter?”
-silence-
“OK, that’s good enough for me. See you in church Sunday?”

11

It is weird. He’s in Florida, she was last seen in Utah or Wyoming, and the missing persons investigation is out of New York.

12

Finding Gabby may be very difficult? Where do you start looking? Which police department will commit resources to look for the girl or a crime scene?

Brian Laundrie has hired a lawyer and probably won’t admit anything.

It may take a lucky break.The couple was traveling in National parks. Maybe witnesses will come forward that saw them. It’s only been three weeks and the missing person case is just getting started.

I think the family is smart to get national media attention. Maybe witnesses can provide a place to start looking.

13

Not so weird. Because of COVID they were Virtual Vanning. Van-From-Home.

I’m just amazed that there’s so much media attention for a missing attractive young white woman. I guess because it’s never happened before.

14

It’s a stupid rule to follow in English.

15

Am I being whooshed and not getting the joke? Is virtual vanning an actual thing?

16

Not that I’ve ever heard of. :sweat_smile:

17

I read the van was impounded and is being searched by law enforcement. Presumably it is owned by the guy (Brian Laundrie). If it’s just a missing person case - and there’s no evidence of a crime (yet) - where does law enforcement get the authority to impound the van and perform a search?

18

Assuming that it is his van and he did not consent to the search, then the standard for a search warrant is probable cause. That’ll be very dependent on what evidence the police already have. The circumstances already disclosed could be enough to get a judge to sign off on a search warrant (which his defense could challenge if it came to that). It’s also possible that officers have more information than they’ve disclosed that would support a warrant.

19

North Port Florida Police seem to be leading the investigation. No one knows for sure if a crime took place or in which jurisdiction.

Gabbys last Instagram post bothers me. A Halloween greeting in August? Seems like she’d save that post for Oct. Maybe someone else used her Instagram account? Gabby Petito disappearance: Van found at boyfriend's North Port family home

20

Where do you get the idea that they weren’t actually traveling anywhere? One of the articles upthread reads, “Officials are looking for a missing 22-year-old woman who was last seen traveling through Utah and Wyoming with her boyfriend.”