Gabby Petito has been missing since September 24, 2021, halfway through her and her fiance’s cross-country road trip in their travel van. In a statement on September 21, the FBI confirmed that remains found in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming are those of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old who was reported missing on September 11. Many people suspect that Gabby’s fiance Brian Laundrie is the reason she went missing. A massive search for Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of slain 22-year-old travel blogger Gabby Petito, took a dramatic twist Thursday with the announcement that human remains found in a Florida nature preserve are those of the wanted fugitive, according to the FBI. The remains were recovered 5 weeks after Gabby’s body was recovered in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming. The Teton County Coroner ruled her death a homicide by strangulation. The search for Brian Laundrie has been centered around Nort Port, Florida where investigators said he returned September 1 without Gabby, driving her 2012 Ford Transit.  

Brian Laundrie has been the top suspect for Gabby’s death from the beginning, but him alleging unauthorized use of her credit card has spiked police’s interest even more. Brian refused to talk to the police and disappeared on September 13. His parents told police he could be heading for the Carlton Reserve in North Port. 

As of October 20, police found human remains that have not been identified, the FBI said Wednesday. The police have even found some of Laundrie’s things such as a backpack, a notebook, and possibly a water bottle. The FBI said “items of interest” in connection to the search for Laundrie were found at the Carlton Reserve Wednesday morning and an evidence response team is processing the scene. A detection team was called to identify the remains; the team consists of one dog, a handler, and two spotters. Bertolino said the articles were found while his parents searched off a trail that Laundrie frequented in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, Florida, a nature park that’s been the center of the search for Laundrie. The search for Brian Laundrie still remains, but the police are getting closer and closer with every piece of evidence.