Timeline in Gabby Petito’s case: Hunt for her fiancé Brian Laundrie continues in Florida wilderness

Search teams fanout at Carlton Reserve park near North Port, Flaa Florida wilderness park to search for Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of Gabrielle Gabby Petito, on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. Petito, 22, was reported missing Sept. 11 by her parents after they she did not respond to calls and texts for several days while the couple visited parks in the West. Her body was discovered Sunday at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. (North Port Police Department via AP) (Uncredited)

MIAMI – FBI special agents are investigating the death of 22-year-old Gabby Petito and searching for her 23-year-old fiancé, Brian Laundrie, in Florida’s Carlton Reserve.

The two had been traveling cross country in Petito’s white 2012 Ford Transit Connect van since mid-June, police said. Petito documented their journey on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.

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“She maintained regular contact with her family members during her travels. However, that communication abruptly stopped around the end of August,” North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison said.

Sept. 22

FBI special agents are asking anyone who was in the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area from Aug. 27 to Aug. 30 and who may have seen their van or had contact with Petito or Laundrie to call 1-800-225-5324 and upload photos or videos on this page.

Sept. 21

A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission helicopter flies overhead during a search for Brian Laundrie in the Carlton Reserve, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021, in Venice, Fla. Laundrie is a person of interest in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

FBI reports autopsy identified Petito’s remains. The coroner determines Petito’s manner of death is homicide. The cause of death is pending. Read more here >

Sept. 20

FBI agents search Laundrie’s home in North Port, Fla. He and Petito lived with his parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie.

FBI special agents in Denver report the human remains found are consistent with Petito’s description.

A U.S. Park Ranger vehicle drives in the Spread Creek area in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, just east of Grand Teton National Park off U.S. Highway 89, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, in Wyoming. Authorities say they have found a body believed to be Gabrielle Gabby Petito, who went missing on a trip with her boyfriend. (AP Photo/Amber Baesler) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Sept. 19

FBI reports a body was found in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest. Read more here >

Sept. 18

Officials search for Laundrie at Carlton Reserve.

FBI collects evidence at Grand Teton National Park

Sept. 17

Laundrie’s parents report him missing. Laundrie’s sister Cassie Laundrie told Good Morning America she hadn’t talked to him. “My children love her,” she said about Petito.

FBI agents issue a missing poster for Petito.

Sept. 16

Petito’s family makes a public plea for help. Officers executed a search warrant at Laundrie’s home.

Sept. 15

Sarasota County Circuit Court Judge signs a search warrant in the case. Detectives identify Laundrie as a person of interest.

Sept. 14

Officers search the 2012 Ford Transit van and Laundrie’s parents tell police their son left his home with a backpack.

Sept. 11

Petito’s relatives reported her missing to the Suffolk County Police Department in New York. Laundrie and his parents refuse to answer questions from Petito’s family or North Port authorities.

Sept. 1

A license plate reader detected the van about 10:26 a.m. on I-75 at the North Port exit.

Aug. 29

Miranda Baker and her boyfriend believe they gave Laundrie a ride while he was hitchhiking in Colter Bay, Wyoming, and dropped him off near the Jackson Dam.

Aug. 27

Petito’s mother, Nicole Schmidt, received a suspicious text message from her phone. Schmidt said her daughter never referred to her grandfather as Stan, so she doesn’t believe she sent it.

The text message: “Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voice mails and missed calls.”

Aug. 25

Petito text messaged her mother and published her last photographs on Instagram.

Aug. 24

During a conversation on FaceTime, Petito told her mother they were leaving Utah and going to Wyoming.

Aug. 19

Petito uploads a video to her YouTube channel and shares a picture on Instagram.

Aug. 13

Laundrie published his last photo on Instagram and tagged it in Utah.

Aug. 12

Petito shared photos on Instagram from Archer National Park.

A witness called 911 in Grand County to report Laundrie “was slapping” and “hit” Petito.

This police camera video provided by The Moab Police Department shows Gabrielle Gabby Petito talking to a police officer after police pulled over the van she was traveling in with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, near the entrance to Arches National Park on Aug. 12, 2021. The couple was pulled over while they were having an emotional fight. Petito was reported missing by her family a month later and is now the subject of a nationwide search. (The Moab Police Department via AP)

Officers later stopped Laundrie while he is driving erratically in Moab, Utah. Bodycam video shows Laundrie had scratches and Petito told officers she had hit him in the face with her phone because she suffers from OCD.

An officer decided to separate the couple for the night and took Laundrie to a hotel. Read more here >

July 30-31

Petito shares photos on Instagram from Mesa Arch, Canyonlands.

July 26

Petito shares photos on Instagram from Mystic Hot Springs.

July 21-22

Petito shares photos on Instagram from Bryce Canyon National Park.

July 16-18

Petito shares photos on Instagram from Zion National Park.

July 10-11

Petito shares photos on Instagram from the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

July 8

Petito shares photos on Instagram from Colorado Springs

July 4

Petito shares photos on Instagram from the Monument Rocks in Kansas. It was the first time she used the van life hashtag.

July 3

Laundrie shares engagement photo on Instagram. The caption: “My biggest fear is that one day I’ll wake up and it will have all been a dream, because that is what every second has felt like since the moment we found each other. Till death do us part or until I wake up, I’m so happy the answer was yes, Love you hunny.”

June

Petito visits her family at Blue Point, New York before departing on the trip with Laundrie.

March 27

Petito shares photos on Instagram from the Appalachian Trail Georgia and wrote she went hiking for her 22nd birthday.

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About the Author:

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.