These are beautiful pictures that Gabby and her boyfriend share with the world. A converted delivery van, a journey across the vastness of the USA. But what apparently began well ends horribly for Gabby’s family.
North Port – 22-year-old Gabby Petito looks happy. She’s sitting in a tent somewhere in Utah, USA, and her boyfriend is doing yoga outside. “I think our plan for today is to just hang out here in the tent,” she says.
The young couple from Florida left in the summer and documented the road trip on social networks. It’s a trip across the United States – in a converted white Ford Transit. It’s a trip Gabby won’t return from. And whose idyll is possibly deceptive.
“Two people went on a trip, one came back,” said Todd Garrison, North Port Florida police chief. Where is Gabby? The investigators don’t know. And what role does your boyfriend play? Investigators don’t seem to know that either. People in the United States are watching the case with awe – videos and photos of Gabby and her 23-year-old partner are on all the major news channels. “We just want Gabby to come back home,” the family lawyer pleads.
Gabby and her boyfriend wanted to drive their car from the east coast of the USA to the west coast and visit the famous national parks there. According to the police, the friend returned home on September 1, and ten days later, Petito’s parents reported their daughter as missing. Police believe Gabby was in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming before she last had contact with her family.
The friend is silent
The investigators have now confiscated the delivery van of the two. Both the missing family’s family and the police are calling on Petito’s friend – who is also referred to as her fiancé in some reports – to speak up. According to the US media, his lawyer said that he had silenced his client because the police often initially focus on the partner during investigations. The 23-year-old is considered a “person of interest” by the police. Police chief Garrison believes the young man has information.
The beautiful pictures and videos of the young couple’s trip are in stark contrast to what has become of the trip: A criminal case and the fear that Gabby may no longer be alive. The couple kiss in a hot spring in Utah, Gabby’s boyfriend relaxes in a hammock – the two biggest problem seems to be that the chocolate for breakfast has melted in the desert heat. But is it all just an appearance?
There is another film that documents part of the couple’s journey. However, the two did not shoot it themselves – they are recordings from a police body camera. In mid-August, around two weeks before their disappearance, Utah police were reportedly called over to the couple and their car over a possible domestic violence case. The 22-year-old is crying and upset.
In the over an hour long video, the couple reported, among other things, disputes. Gabby says she has obsessive-compulsive disorder and an argument broke out. There were also fights – Gabby slapped her boyfriend. This did not file a complaint. The couple agreed to spend the next night separately.
On the Instagram account attributed to Gabby by the US media, photos of the trip were uploaded after the incident. And since the young woman is now being sought nationwide, many in the country also want to solve the riddle of Gabby and become self-appointed detectives. “I’m not convinced that she posted that,” writes one user. Another is certain: “That was not posted by Gabby.” The police are checking whether the account should be switched off. dpa
