Police in Utah released a body camera footage on Thursday of officers’ encounter with 22-year-old Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito, who was reported missing by her parents on Saturday after she disappeared on a cross-country road trip with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie.
Here’s what we know so far –
1. Petito, a travel influencer, and her boyfriend started their drive across the United States in July from New York‘s Long Island, where both grew up. The two intended to reach Oregon by Halloween.
2. Petito dissapeared after her last known contact with family in late August from Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
3. Her boyfriend Laundrie drove the Ford Transit van, in which they were travelling in, back to Florida on Sept. 1 alone.
4. Petito’s family filed a missing persons report on Saturday with police in Suffolk County, New York.
5. Police in North Port, Florida, where the couple lived, said Laundrie is a “person of interest” in her case. They said that he has not been charged, but he is also not cooperating.
6. On Thursday, Moab Police Department released a body camera footage that showed an officer pulling over their van on Aug. 12 after it was seen speeding and hit a curb near the entrance to Arches National Park. Inside the van was the couple. The video shows Petito visibly upset when an officer approached them.
“We’ve just been fighting this morning. Some personal issues,” she tells him, adding that she suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder that affects her behavior.
Meanwhile, Laundrie says on the video the two got into a minor scuffle after he climbed into the van with dirty feet. He says that he didn’t want to pursue a domestic violence charge against Petito, who officers decided was the aggressor.
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7. Meanwhile, Petito’s family on Thursday pleaded with the parents of Laundrie, begging them in an open letter to help them find their daughter.
“We are writing this letter to ask you to help find our daughter. We understand you are going through a difficult time and your instinct is strong to protect your son,” Petito’s family said in the letter.
8. As of Thursday afternoon, several teams, including the FBI, were searching for the missing woman.
With inputs from Associated Press