The search and news coverage of travel influencer Gabby Petito, who went missing on August 27, led to the discovery of a Texas man’s body in Teton Pass, western Wyoming. The case is unrelated but the corpse was found 45 miles away from where Gabby’s body was found, officials confirmed. 

Teton County Search and Rescue in a statement said that a team found a man, recognised as Robert ‘Bob’ Lowery. The 46-year-old went missing on August 20. The body was found on a steep, wooded slope. 

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However, there is no official word on the cause of death. Authorities notified Lowery’s family while awaiting confirmation the body was his.

Petito went missing on a cross country trip she undertook with her boyfriend. They started in July from New York’s Long Island, where both grew up. The two intended to reach Oregon by Halloween. On September 19, Petito’s body was found near Grand Teton National Park. 

The news coverage of the 22-year-old’s disappearance and death sometimes mentioned Lowery’s disappearance. That prompted at least two people to call authorities with information about Lowery, searchers said Tuesday.

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The Houston resident was was wearing a black baseball cap with a gold letter “P”. He was spotted in hotel camera images carrying a black duffel bag. Searchers in the area of a popular canyon trail said they found a bag matching that description with the body, far off the trail.

Lowery’s sister, Leigh , told the Jackson Hole News and Guide that the bag contained a tent and sleeping bag. 

“He was just a sweet, sweet kid,” his sister said.

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Gabby Petito’s parents reported her missing September 11 after she didn’t respond to calls and texts while she and boyfriend Brian Laundrie visited national parks in the West.

The death has been classified as homicide. Her boyfriend Laundrie faces federal charges in Wyoming of unauthorized use of a debit card. He used a Capital One Bank card and someone’s personal identification number to make more than $1,000 in unauthorized withdrawals or charges while Petito was missing, authorities alleged.

With inputs from the Associated Press