Gabby Petito, 22, a vlogger who went missing in late August during a “dream” cross-country road trip from New York to Oregon with her fiancé, was strangled to death, and her body found in a Wyoming national park.

More than a month later, skeletal human remains found inside the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida were confirmed to be those of her fiancé Brian Laundrie. There had been no trace of him throughout a weeks-long hunt.

Travel blogger Jenn Bethune has told how she and husband Kyle “got goosebumps all over our body” when they reviewed footage that captured Gabby Petito’s van parked along the side of a remote road in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park.

The couple had been filming as they drove through the national park on 27 August, and recalled seeing the van’s Florida license plates as they’re also from the Sunshine State.

It wasn’t until weeks later that they learned of Ms Petito’s disappearance when someone tagged them in an Instagram post to say alert them of the missing person case.

After going through their old clips, they saw the distinctive Ford Transit van, and immediately passed what they knew to the FBI.

“We knew it was her van as soon as the footage passed by it,” Ms Bethune told ABC’s 2020.

The sighting is believed to have led authorities to the spot where Ms Petito had been buried in a shallow grave.

Brian Laundrie’s final social media post, around the time of his girlfriend Gabby Petito’s death, shows the cover of a book titled Burnt Out, how to cope with autistic burnout.

While it’s unknown whether Laundrie was on the autism spectrum, he and Ms Petito told officers attending a domestic disturbance in Utah on 12 August they were suffering from a mental health breakdown.

Laundrie’s social media posts often feature macabre drawings and references to violent video games.

In a separate Pinterest post, text at the bottom of an image reads: “Don’t try to find me,” and “I have finally escaped my ‘master’s’ wicked clutches. To the others I say: JOIN ME. Bite the hand that feeds you. Vive La Liberte.”

Read the full story here…

Brian Laundrie’s parents Chris and Roberta left their North Port home last week to grieve privately, their lawyer Steven Bertlino says.

The Laundries’ home was besieged by protesters for weeks as the FBI searched for their missing son.

His remains were found in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on 20 October, after his parents joined the search and led law enforcement to a spot where he regularly camped.

Mr Bertolino said the couple had remained in Florida. They have also decided not to hold a funeral ceremony for their son, and are still awaiting his remains to be returned to them.

Mr Bertolino has said he believes a forensic anthropology analysis of the remains will be complete by the end of November.

Gabby Petito’s father is calling on Americans to raise awareness about the insidious danger of domestic violence.

“1 in 3 woman, 1 in 4 men will be victims and that doesn’t include the kids forced to see it,” Joseph Petito tweeted on Wednesday.

“Over 100 million affected just in USA. Tag all the elected officials you you know to help and share. We need help.”

The Petitos have established the Gabby Petito Foundation charity to help women who are at risk of domestic violence.

Ms Petito was killed in what officials have called a domestic violence homicide.

Brian Laundrie was named a “person of interest” in her disappearance. His remains were located in a Florida reserve on 20 October.

Travel blogger Jenn Bethune has told how she and husband Kyle “got goosebumps all over our body” when they reviewed footage that captured Gabby Petito’s van parked along the side of a remote road in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park.

The couple had been filming as they drove through the national park on 27 August, and recalled seeing the van’s Florida license plates as they’re also from the Sunshine State.

It wasn’t until weeks later that they learned of Ms Petito’s disappearance when someone tagged them in an Instagram post to say alert them of the missing person case.

After going through their old clips, they saw the distinctive Ford Transit van, and immediately passed what they knew to the FBI.

“We knew it was her van as soon as the footage passed by it,” Ms Bethune told ABC’s 2020.

The sighting is believed to have led authorities to the spot where Ms Petito had been buried in a shallow grave.

ICYMI: Criminal behaviour analyst Laura Richards has said that cases of domestic violence and missing persons should be dealt with with “more urgency” in the wake of the Gabby Petito case.

After Petito’s homicide and the death of Brian Laundrie, Ms Richards said: “I think it’s genuinely the problem that there isn’t enough urgency or priority that are afforded to women and girls.”

She told Vox: “I’ve seen that consistently — and if you add in that they’re Black or they’re brown, even less so. I’ve worked in lots of different cases where women have gone missing and no one’s asked questions of the main person who may be responsible.”

The Gabby Petito Foundation is now offering advice on where people in violent relationships can go to for help.

Gabby’s father Joe Petito announced the creation of a new foundation in September to help people in dangerous relationships, and assist families locate their missing children.

In an interview last month, Mr Petito said they had been inundated with messages from vulnerable young women who found themselves in similar situations to his daughter, who was strangled in what police have described as a domestic violence incident.

Now the foundation’s website has been updated to include tips on where people can go to for help.

Under the hashtag #justiceforgabby, the site says: “If you or somewhere you know is impacted by relationship abuse, you are not alone. There are many resources available that can support your path to a safer future.”

It’s provided links and contact details for the National Domestic Violence Hotline, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and the National Sexual Assault Hotline.

Brian Laundrie’s final social media post, around the time of his girlfriend Gabby Petito’s death, shows the cover of a book titled Burnt Out, how to cope with autistic burnout.

While it’s unknown whether Laundrie was on the autism spectrum, he and Ms Petito told officers attending a domestic disturbance in Utah on 12 August they were suffering from a mental health breakdown.

Laundrie’s social media posts often feature macabre drawings and references to violent video games.

In a separate Pinterest post, text at the bottom of an image reads: “Don’t try to find me,” and “I have finally escaped my ‘master’s’ wicked clutches. To the others I say: JOIN ME. Bite the hand that feeds you. Vive La Liberte.”

Brian Laundrie designed what looked to be fake blood-covered bookmarks, which his fiance Gabby Petito tried to sell on her Depop page, shortly before the pair embarked on their road trip, from which only he returned.

Ms Petito listed the custom-made bookmarks for sale on her Depop page, “thingsgabbydoes”, in February 2021.

The bookmarks came in a variety of designs, featuring birds, penguins, and even a shadowed outline of the Marvel Comics character Hellboy.

Another of the bookmarks, called the “Chuck Palahniuk custom”, includes a stamp of two angels facing one another over a fountain. On top of them, is a pink lipstick mark.

Droplets of red and crimson smudges can then be seen splatted over the bookmark.