# 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:** 23
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/442 "2021-09-22T12:23:27Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > In case he is out there watching TV somewhere and hears that he isn’t a suspect, he might decide to quit running and come back. He’s not running. Like O.J., he’s out there hunting for the “real killer”. 🧐 ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/443 "2021-09-22T12:26:44Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > …Florida Everglades by canoe… Would you have gone if he used a kayak instead? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/444 "2021-09-22T12:31:41Z")
OMFG! ---
**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 22, 2021, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/445 "2021-09-22T12:37:39Z")
Right and that’s what courts are for, but people are going to have opinions based on what they think they know. All I ask is that someone be willing to change their mind if new facts come in ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/446 "2021-09-22T12:42:48Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > gone if he used a kayak instead? This was in the late 80s, when the canoe was my boat of choice. Purchased my first kayak in the 90s sometime. I turned down the opportunity for financial reasons (too poor to miss a week of work). ---
**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 22, 2021, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/447 "2021-09-22T13:00:49Z")
My WAG is Laundrie either has killed himself (in which case it’s possible he may never be found, it can be non-trivial to find a body in the wilderness)–and I hold that out as a possibility mostly because the evidence we have suggests his mental health isn’t the best or he will likely end up caught. The reason I think he’s fairly likely to get caught is I think both him and his parents are not very smart. The very fact they found Petito’s body means he did not do a good job of covering his tracks–you’re camping out in the vast wilderness areas of the American West, you can fairly easily hide a body such that no one is ever finding it, the fact he didn’t do that suggests a lot of mistakes are made. Which doesn’t surprise me, I don’t think he sat there and plotted her murder. I think he has mental issues, anger problems etc and things escalated to him killing her. He probably panicked and an amateur criminal in a state of panic makes lots of mistakes. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/448 "2021-09-22T13:57:05Z")
Why would anybody hide in the sticks in a society where most people wear masks in public? Oh, yeah, Florida…never mind. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/449 "2021-09-22T14:15:10Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > It wasn’t CNN that I was flipping by, it was a show called Banfield on some 3rd tier news network. That would be NewsNation, which used to be WGN America; they re-staged themselves as a “non-biased” news channel last year. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/450 "2021-09-22T14:28:02Z")
I’d suspect he’s probably hiding with an acquaintance. These stories don’t occur in a vacuum. The only players we hear of in the media are him, her, his parents, her parents. No mention of siblings, friends, relatives that I’m sure the authorities are looking into but we won’t hear about unless something pops up. More likely to be hiding in his aunt’s basement in Kentucky than the Everglades. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/451 "2021-09-22T15:22:46Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > In case he is out there watching TV somewhere and hears that he isn’t a suspect, he might decide to quit running and come back. He would have to have an IQ lower than his age to believe that, but why not roll with it? I’m not sure which agency said it (probably the FBI) but he was listed as the ONLY person of interest in the case. > [@UltraVires](#): > > He doesn’t seem to have any sort of nature or survival skills, he has no weapon to protect himself or for food, he can’t build a fire to dry his clothes out, etc. We don’t know what he took with him. You can easily fit a lot of survival gear in a backpack. As for calling him a murderer I think he cashed in his get-out-of-jail-free card in the court of public opinion.when he showed up in her car with no explanation. ---
**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 22, 2021, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/452 "2021-09-22T15:26:51Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > More likely to be hiding in his aunt’s basement in Kentucky than the Everglades. Hmmmm… no opinion as to likelihood, but my knee jerk reaction of “only if they want to face charges for harboring a fugitive” is somewhat (completely, I think) undermined by the FBI’s persistent stance that he is “not a suspect.” If law enforcement won’t even call him a suspect, I suspect that means anyone could aid him in doing just about anything that isn’t itself a crime, including laying low. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/453 "2021-09-22T15:28:33Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > But this kid supposedly just wandered in there with his backpack and a pair of flip flops. “Supposedly.” It’s unlikely he was ever there. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/454 "2021-09-22T15:51:50Z")
It is sort of an odd investigative posture, especially given that the police were at his house on September 11 and his parents told them to get lost and contact his attorney. So now, he is still not a suspect, but there are drones and dogs looking for him. What will they do when they find him? Accept that he won’t talk to them without an attorney and let him go on his way? I think that once they find him the “not a suspect” turns into an arrest warrant or a material witness detention. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/455 "2021-09-22T15:54:47Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I think that once they find him the “not a suspect” turns into an arrest warrant or a material witness detention. How is that going to work? “Ah, there you are. We’ve been trying to find you for days. Now, don’t go anywhere, we have to get a warrant. It’ll just be a moment.” This whole manhunt is absurd if the authorities don’t have some proper legal instrument to restrain him once they find him. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/456 "2021-09-22T15:55:59Z")
It’s a felony. I believe that they can make a warrantless arrest for a felony. Or they have a sealed warrant already. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/457 "2021-09-22T15:58:29Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > As for calling him a murderer I think he cashed in his get-out-of-jail-free card in the court of public opinion.when he showed up in her car with no explanation. Agreed. I cannot conceive of an innocent reason why he would return home in her car without her. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/458 "2021-09-22T16:00:09Z")
So, “not a suspect” is a lie and they’re poised to make an arrest as soon as they find him. Could be, but pretty disingenuous. There’s absolutely zero rational reason to disclaim Laundrie’s suspect status. If the authorities are acting like he’s a suspect amd he’s acting like he knows he’s a suspect, what’s with the pointless masquerade? ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/459 "2021-09-22T16:07:27Z")
I’m guessing as much as anyone else. I have no experience with a case like this. But knowing what I do about police tactics, yes, this whole “not a suspect” thing, even if it was partially true a couple of weeks ago, is complete bullshit now. My WAG is that they are continuing to hope that he is just an idiot who will come back when he hears on TV or online that he is “not a suspect.” To flip your question, what is the benefit to changing his designation now and holding a press conference saying that a warrant has been issued for his arrest? I suppose so that they could lecture the public and say that anyone assisting him is guilty of a crime, but that is mostly an idle threat, and they may have jurisdictional issues with an arrest warrant at this time. Is there proof she was killed in Wyoming? When did she die? Did he know he was charged when he fled across state lines? Probably some kinks that can be worked out, but no need to say the wrong thing now and make his arrest, and the search incident thereto, unlawful because of a defect in the charging instrument. But, when they catch him, he’s not going anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/460 "2021-09-22T16:12:10Z")
Well, now that her body was found and declared a homicide, I think it’s obvious that he’s a suspect. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/461 "2021-09-22T16:15:47Z")
IANAL but I’ve watched a lot of Law and Order 😀, and I seem to recall that the police have a lot more leeway when it comes to detaining and questioning a witness than they do a suspect. I wonder if that’s why they’re still maintaining that status. And I also recall that the whole “person of interest” thing started as a response to the law enforcement persecution of Richard Jewell after the Atlanta bombing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604.md?page=24)