# Van lifer goes missing on cross country trip with fiancee **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 13, 2021, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604 "2021-09-13T13:48:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/381 "2021-09-21T01:15:39Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > It’s a little tougher since he has short hair but it wouldn’t be hard for him to change his appearance and live in a tent while panhandling I wouldn’t panhandle (too much exposure to the normies). Or live in a tent (too high status). But some variation of “go to a city and be homeless” would be my go-to strategy to evade law enforcement. It’s not about what’s most likely to succeed. It’s about what you are capable of doing. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/382 "2021-09-21T01:22:11Z")
I would rather take my chances with the legal system than hang out in Florida swamps. That won’t last long if that’s his strategy. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/383 "2021-09-21T01:28:44Z")
Scenario- She killed herself, he panicked and called home, they told him to come home immediately while they got ahold of the family lawyer, he panicked again once he got home and went ahiding(possibly to kill himself). ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/384 "2021-09-21T02:12:49Z")
Unless he manages to escape to some country, where he inexplicably has resources to live a comfortable life, the reality is he was probably smarter to stay and face the music. They have a body, and the fact he drove home without her, and very little else. Unless a considerable amount of additional evidence comes in, I can’t imagine any prosecutor wouldn’t look to cut a deal here. You could take that deal and with it a certain number of years in prison, but at his age, 10-12 years for something like manslaughter with the potential of parole…not a terrible outcome. Now of course assuming he killed her in cold blood, I want him punished to the fullest extent of the law, but I also don’t know that this was a cold blooded murder–and in fact I suspect it was not. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/385 "2021-09-21T02:24:48Z")
I saw on another site that “at least a dozen” law enforcement agencies were there with search warrants. THAT boggles my mind. Something else is going on here IMNSHO. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/386 "2021-09-21T02:27:48Z")
Are you saying he’s not running he’s simply off looking for the real killers of Gabby? ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/387 "2021-09-21T02:35:22Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I wouldn’t be surprised to see the parents charged for interfering in the investigation. Maybe obstruction of justice? > > Sending the cops on a wild goose chase in a swamp crosses a line. He ‘left for a hike’ on Tuesday, they didn’t report him as missing until Friday and only after law enforcement came to the house. Their lack of concern speaks volumes. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/388 "2021-09-21T03:22:57Z")
So what’s the speculation on why the police have called off the search for Laundrie? The two obvious possibilities would be they’ve found him dead or they’ve found him alive and taken him into custody. But I feel either of these would result in a public announcement. Another possibility is that the police have clear evidence he has fled the country and is beyond the reach of any American law enforcement. A long shot possibility is that the police have found some evidence about Petito’s death that exonerates Laundrie and they no longer regard him as a person of interest. But again, you’d think there would be an announcement in connection with this. And that the police would continue searching for him as a missing person. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/389 "2021-09-21T03:32:07Z")
Where are you hearing that they’ve called off the search? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/390 "2021-09-21T03:38:29Z")
They’ve called off the search specifically in the wildlife preserve He supposedly ran off to, but I’m pretty sure they’re still looking for him. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/391 "2021-09-21T03:50:15Z")
> **[Gabby Petito update: Search warrant documents reveal 'odd texts,' tension in...](https://www.foxnews.com/us/gabby-petito-investigation-search-warrant-documents-reveal-odd-texts-disappearance)** > > Law enforcement officers conducting an investigation into the death of 22-year-old Gabby Petito have obtained a search warrant for the Florida residence where her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, 23, was last living before his disappearance. Two interesting tidbits: > Gabrielle Petito, 22, sent her mother, Nichole Schmidt, a text message on August 27, in which she wrote: “Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls,” states the search warrant, filed in the Sarasota County Circuit Court on Friday and made public Monday. > According to the document: “The reference to ‘Stan’ was regarding her grandfather, but per the mother, she never calls him ‘Stan.’ The mother was concerned that something was wrong with her daughter.” And: > Fox News was first to report that on Aug. 12, police in Moab, Utah responded to a report of a [domestic dispute](https://www.foxnews.com/us/gabby-petito-missing-utah-police-brian-laundrie-video) between the young couple. In a 911 call placed at the time, a person can be heard telling a police dispatcher that “the gentleman was slapping the girl.” > The call appears to contradict a police report in which an officer states “no one reported that the male struck the female.” ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/392 "2021-09-21T04:04:49Z")
Perhaps the police have reason to think he’s not in that area and has gone somewhere else. It doesn’t have to be out of the country. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/393 "2021-09-21T05:01:24Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > They’ve called off the search specifically in the wildlife preserve He supposedly ran off to, but I’m pretty sure they’re still looking for him. Okay, I saw reports saying the search had been called off and I thought it was the entire search and not just one area. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/394 "2021-09-21T13:30:39Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Scenario- She killed herself, he panicked and called home, they told him to come home immediately while they got ahold of the family lawyer, he panicked again once he got home and went ahiding(possibly to kill himself). I think there’s a more likely scenario. Given the sighting of Laundrie slapping Gabby by the 911 caller, it appears he is the aggressor. Yet when the Moab police question the pair, they both claim Gabby was the aggressor. Why did Gabby lie? My guess is that, when Laundrie saw the police approaching, he threatened Gabby to get him off the hook, by claiming responsibility. Laundrie certainly appeared to be the victim in the video of the police encounter. The police did the right thing by separating the duo into separate locations for the night. Perhaps if they sent a psychologist/social worker to question Gabby in more detail that night, she may have broken down and told the real story. Or, she may have still been too scared to do so. In any case, I believe Laundrie probably continued to slap Gabby when they got together again, and this escalated to killing her. I doubt the murder was premeditated, but more crime of passion. Why would Gabby embark on a one-on-one journey with a dangerous man? Probably because Laundrie kept his aggression in check living together with Gabby’s parents. By the time his true nature manifested on the trip, it was too late for Gabby to get out of the situation. I don’t believe an accident killed Gabby, or that she committed suicide. I think she was killed by a manipulative, aggressive man with a hair-trigger temper, who panicked after she died. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/395 "2021-09-21T14:36:13Z")
They’d been living with his parents, not hers. And I think it’s plausible that the reason he was able to keep it in check before is that he hadn’t been under the kind of stress this trip created. Of course there’s no excuse for it, but we don’t need to speculate whether this was all some evil master plan to get her alone. Part of the difficulty of getting DV victims to get help is that they think of abusers as irredeemable monsters, and their partners as basically good people, so their partners can’t be abusers. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/396 "2021-09-21T14:37:49Z")
I don’t have time to read all 394 posts so I’m not sure if this has been mentioned. I thought that if the police were called for a domestic abuse issue, someone goes to jail no matter what. Why did they just separate them for the night and not take him into custody? Maybe it depends on the state. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/397 "2021-09-21T14:46:14Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > I thought that if the police were called for a domestic abuse issue, someone goes to jail no matter what. Why did they just separate them for the night and not take him into custody? Maybe it depends on the state. Certainly not true in Illinois. The law here says that the IDVA (Illinois Domestic Violence Act) does not have a mandatory arrest provision except for violation of an order of protection or violation of bail bond. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/398 "2021-09-21T14:57:34Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > Why did they just separate them for the night and not take him into custody? They were actually close to taking _her_ into custody. I think Utah does have some mandatory arrest provisions in the law, so the police were careful to state that the circumstances had not quite risen to the level of a domestic violence incident. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/399 "2021-09-21T15:46:06Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > She killed herself, he panicked and called home, they told him to come home immediately while they got ahold of the family lawyer, If my child were in this situation, “hide the body and tell no one until you get here” would strike me as being an utterly insane thing to say. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/400 "2021-09-21T15:48:54Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > Yet when the Moab police question the pair, they both claim Gabby was the aggressor. Why did Gabby lie? Maybe she didn’t. Maybe she did slap him at some point. Maybe she slapped him first. Maybe she was the sort of person prone to taking responsibility. Maybe she was really worked up and emotional and didn’t remember the sequence of events. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604.md?page=21)