Gabby Petito: YouTuber Jenn Bethune who filmed NY vlogger's van says 'I got chills'
A travel blogger who had filmed Gabby Petito’s converted white van near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming last month said that she felt "chills" when she realized she had captured it. This is the same area where a body that investigators believe is 22-year-old Gabby Petito's, was found. Gabby Petito went missing while on a trip with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie and her whereabouts remained unknown until her body was found this week.
The travel blogger, Jenn Bethune, found the footage of Petito's white van on September 18, Saturday, and alerted authorities. Her body was discovered on Sunday, September 19. Bethune said in an interview with TV’s “Fox & Friends” that she was tagged on a social media platform by someone who urged people who were in the national park on August 27 to go through their videos and pictures in an attempt to help police look for Petito. “I got chills all over my body and ran right straight back to my laptop, got my GoPro footage, and lo and behold, Gabby’s van was on there,” Bethune said.
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Bethune and her husband Kyle saw the van and drove past it, and “didn’t think anything of it” at the time. “The reason why we noticed the van is because we’re from Florida, and the van had Florida plates, and we wanted to stop by and say hi,” said Bethune. “But the van was very dark, closed up, looked like no activity, so we ended up just keeping driving."
“Each of these dispersed camping spots are kind of tucked away behind the trees,” Bethune added. “It was very busy. It was pretty full that day we were there.” Bethune claimed that she realized that something was not right about the van only after she was tagged on social media.
Before authorities revealed that they had found a body matching Petito's description, Bethune had posted the footage on her YouTube page. After she realized that she had seen the van, Bethune spoke to Petito's mother over a call. “It was beautiful, we got to share some moments together on FaceTime. Just two moms, really just have a great cry,” Bethune said. “I am so sad that we couldn’t bring her back alive. To be able to bring her home to her family, or help with that, is everything,” she added.
Meanwhile, hours after the human remains were found, police swarmed Brian Laundrie's home which has been declared a "crime scene" on Monday morning, September 20. FBI agents removed Brian Laundrie's parents from the residence after announcing they had a search warrant.