Parents Say Son Is ‘Unavailable’ To Talk To Police Following His Girlfriend’s Mysterious Disappearance
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Following the mysterious disappearance of a 22-year-old Long Island woman, police in Florida have attempted to get in touch with her last known contact, her boyfriend, but his parents are reportedly refusing.
Gabby Petito was last known to be in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park in late August after beginning a cross-country trip with her boyfriend – identified as Brian Laundrie on social media – only a month prior. According to reports, the vehicle the young couple were travelling in, a white 2012 Ford Transit van with Florida plates, has now been recovered and forensic experts are searching it for clues, evidence and anything else that could help them piece together such a mysterious situation.
Petito was reported missing by her family on September 11 after not hearing from her in 13 days. In a recent statement, police disclosed: ‘We currently have no definitive information that a crime took place here in North Port. With that said, the circumstances are odd.’
Brian Laundrie, who has since returned to his Florida home, has hired an attorney and has refused to publicly comment on matter, MailOnline reports.
Likewise, on Monday, September 13, Laundrie’s father, Christopher Laundrie, refused to comment on his son’s whereabouts while Nicole Schmidt, Petito’s mother, told reporters on the same day she was convinced her daughter will come back home.
‘I believe a mother’s instinct is the most powerful,’ she said during a press conference at her attorney’s office, per New York Post.
‘We have not talked with him, we would love to talk to him. He is under no obligation to talk to us – and he has not. And we don’t even know yet if a crime happened,’ North Port police spokesperson Josh Taylor said.
In the same press conference, Schmidt also stated, ‘As a mom, I had concerns about a daughter going on a road trip in general, but I felt safe, they were together.’ She added: ‘They had a plan, an itinerary, and we were excited for them. Everyone wanted to be doing what they were doing.’
Schmidt said she last communicated with her daughter on August 30, but told Fox News, ‘I don’t know if she left Grand Teton or no. I did receive a text from her on the 27th and the 30th, but I don’t know if it was technically her or not, because it was just a text. I didn’t verbally speak to her.’
Gabby Petito’s father, Joe Petito, has also sent his daughter a message, saying: ‘Gabby, we just want you to come home. Call us. Let us know you’re OK. Come home, please.’
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Topics: News, Brian Laundrie, disappearance, Florida, Gabby Petito, missing, Now
