Was Gabby Petito's body buried? Helicopter footage shows discovery of remains
After the FBI found human remains 'consistent with the description of Gabrielle Petito' from close to Spread Creek Dispersed camping area at the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming on September 19, reports suggested that the 22-year-old's body may have been found buried.
Helicopter footage of the moment when the authorities discovered the location of missing Gabby Petito's remains, fueled speculation that the missing travel vlogger's corpse might have been buried. The development comes just days after Petito's boyfriend Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the case, escaped police and media and went missing. He was reportedly not seen since September 14 but confirmed missing only on September 17. That led police to search the nearby Carlton reserve for Laundrie, but with no luck so far. Laundrie, who allegedly hit and slapped his girlfriend last month, a 911 caller claimed, returned home to Florida on September 1 without her after a cross-country road trip.
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Was Gabby Petito's body found buried?
According to the aerial video taken from a helicopter captured the moment a group of investigators started pointing at something in the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping area when the search for Petito was ongoing, according to KSL5TV. KSL anchor Morgan Wolfe, who was in the chopper over the scene, tweeted: "From KSL5TV chopper 5– we saw a group of investigators in the Spread Creek area that all started pointing towards something. Then — a large group of them walked back to the road as we saw another investigator walked over with awning that they set up."
From @KSL5TV chopper 5– we saw a group of investigators in the Spread Creek area that all started pointing towards something.
— Morgan Wolfe (@MorganWolfeKSL) September 19, 2021
Then — a large group of them walked back to the road as we saw another investigator walked over with awning that they set up.
The helicopter crew noticed that the authorities were looking at something after flying into the area from KSL in Salt Lake City, Utah. In a follow-up tweet, Wolfe noted that she and her crew saw investigators wearing blue gloves walking over to the area near the awning and clicking pictures.
From the air— @KSL5TV chopper 5 watched investigators work this scene around noon. Myself and @GarnaMejiaKSL have been making calls to @FBIDenver since and they have not publicly announced what they found on this area yet — but have a press conference scheduled for 4 p.m.
— Morgan Wolfe (@MorganWolfeKSL) September 19, 2021
The body believed to be Petito's was recovered after a joint operation by the FBI, National Park Service, US Forest Service, Teton County Sheriff's Office, and Jackson Police Department. While a positive ID is yet to be made, the FBI did add a condolence message to Petito's family in its statement, indicating it is pretty confident the body is that of Petito. It has not been revealed how Petitio died or how her body was found, but an autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the chopper footage has prompted people to wonder whether Laundrie buried his fiance. Investigative reporter Nancy Grace anchored "A Gabby Petito Investigation" on Fox News -- a one-hour special where she said she was "very concerned about the condition" in which Petito's remains were found. She then asked: "Was she buried? "Was she at the bottom of a ravine? Was she attacked by animals? Did she die from the elements? Because if Gabby was buried, then she was murdered. That's what I need to find out." Grace added "If she’s buried, he did it," alluding to Laundrie's involvement in Petitio's death.