'Till death do us part': Brian Laundrie's eerie post darkens Gabby Petito mystery
Brian Laundrie, boyfriend of Long Island woman Gabby Petito who went missing during their cross-country trip, reportedly shared a cryptic post about his lover on Instagram last year.
Florida authorities are desperately looking for Petito, 22, and are trying to get her boyfriend Laundrie to cooperate with them after her last known location was in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park in late August. Police are also bracing themselves for odds that something “sinister” might have happened to Petito, who was on a cross-country road trip in a converted van with her lover.
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“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,” Laundrie posted in July 2020 about Petito. “Til death do us part or until I wake up,” he continued. “I’m so happy the answer was yes. Love you hunny.”
Petito was reported missing by mother Nicole Schmidt on Saturday, September 11, and was last seen in August with Laundrie, her boyfriend of two and half years. Multiple reports have stated that Laundrie, who abruptly returned to Florida by himself, has hired a lawyer and is refusing to cooperate with the police.
While authorities have located the 2012 Ford Transit van the couple used to travel since leaving New York in July, they have no idea about Petito's whereabouts. “We’re not looking for the van,” Schmidt said at a press conference. “We’re not looking for the two of them. We need to find her and bring her home.” The embattled mother chose not to comment on widely reported claims that her daughter and Laundrie were engaged to be married.
Speaking to Inside Edition prior to the presser, Nicole and her husband James Schmidt pleaded with the public to help bring Petito home safely. “We don’t eat, we don’t sleep, we are constantly on social media talking to everyone we can trying to get leads,” Nicole Schmidt told the show.
According to her, Petito's trip was documented in part on Instagram and initially "looked like a fairy tale". The couple was last seen checking out of a Salt Lake City hotel on August 24. Petito later told her mother she was in Wyoming and on her way to the Yellowstone National Park. The family hasn't heard from her since.
Meanwhile, the missing woman's father Joe Petito solicited the public's help to locate his beloved daughter. “There are 350-plus million people in this country, and even more outside,” he told Inside Edition. “I’m asking for everyone’s help.”
MEAWW previously reported how Petito's parents said in a statement that her boyfriend was "refusing to tell Gabby’s family where he last saw her.” They added: “Brian is also refusing to explain why he left Gabby all alone and drove her van to Florida. These are critical questions that require immediate answers. The Schmidt and Petito family beg the Laundrie family to not ‘remain in the background’ but to help find who Brian referred to as the love of his life. How does Brian stay in the background when he is the one person that knows where Gabby is located?” The family also pleaded with Laundrie “to come forward and at least tell us if we are looking in the right area.”