The death of Gabby Petito has been ruled a homicide after an autopsy firmly confirmed the body discovered in a Wyoming national park as that of the missing Long Island native, according to the FBI.
Petito's body was discovered in a remote area of a national forest in Wyoming. A homicide conviction implies someone was responsible for the death of another person, and charges can range from murder to manslaughter to negligent homicide.
Authorities continue Gabby Petito's case investigation
The FBI is seeking information from anybody who visited the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area between August 27 and 30 and may have encountered Petito or Laundrie, as well as anyone who may have spotted their white 2012 Ford Transit vehicle.
The 22-year-old from Blue Point disappeared abruptly late last month while on a cross-country journey with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, who is now in the wind.
Petito last talked to her family on August 25, and she was reported missing on September 11, 10 days after Laundrie returned to their North Port, Florida home without her.
Last week, Laundrie, who had been recognized as a person of interest in Petito's case but had not been charged criminally, went missing, prompting a massive manhunt over a huge Sarasota County nature preserve.
Per The NY Post, the young couple was recorded on police body camera after being pulled over in Utah on August 12 for potential domestic violence. Brian Laundrie has been classified as the sole person of interest, and his whereabouts are unknown. On Tuesday, authorities in Florida returned to the Carlton Reserve, a large nature preserve, wetlands, and leisure area in Sarasota County, to look for Laundrie and try to solve the mystery surrounding her death.
North Port police announced on Twitter that the search had turned up "nothing of note." Officials intended to conduct another search on Wednesday, USA Today reported.
On Monday, FBI investigators and police investigated the North Port, Florida, house the couple had been living with Laundrie's parents for evidence. The FBI declined to comment on the search, which involved at least a dozen officers, although investigators did take numerous boxes and hauled away from a car. The parents of Laundrie were spotted getting into a police car.
Rumors of Brian Laundrie's whereabouts surge
Sam Bass told authorities that while setting up his deer camera in the forest in Baker, Florida's Okaloosa County, early on Monday morning, he observed a man who looked like Brian Laundrie. However, the local sheriff's office stated that it investigated the complaint and found "no one - and nothing - of significance," as per Daily Mail.
Bass gave authorities a photograph of a man strolling through the woods in the Florida Panhandle with a backpack. The man has Laundrie's physical characteristics, such as a thin frame and a bald head.
The backpack used by the man saw on Monday does not appear to be the same as the one worn by Laundrie when police stopped him and his girlfriend in Utah on August 12.
When Laundrie and Petito were stopped by authorities in Moab, Utah last month, the unidentified man was observed wearing a light-colored REI Co-op Stuff Travel Pack, while Laundrie was seen wearing a dark-colored REI Co-op Stuff Travel Pack.
A number of sightings of Laundrie have been claimed in recent days, but none have been confirmed. Several people in the Mobile, Alabama region have reported seeing a man who fits Laundrie's description, with several of them voicing their concerns online.
His house in North Port, Florida, is more than 600 miles northwest of the city. Captain Paul Burch of the Mobile County Sheriff's Office informed Fox 10 News that Laundrie has no ties to the area.
Rumors about Laundrie's location have subsequently spread on social media, with some believing that he was the body discovered in a dumpster outside a Walmart in Mobile over the weekend.
However, police stated on Monday that they were looking into the claims but that nothing has come up thus far. They said the remains in the dumpster belonged to an unnamed homeless man.
Related Article : FBI Searches Gabby Petito's Missing Boyfriend Brian Laundrie; Could His Parents Be Charged?
