On Tuesday, the FBI said that the body found in a national park in Wyoming belongs to Gabby Petito.
The coroner determined that the manner of death was homicide; however, the 22-year-old’s cause of death is still awaiting final autopsy results.
“Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue confirmed the remains are those of Gabrielle Venora Petito, date of birth March 19, 1999,” the FBI said in a statement, according to NBC News adding. “Coroner Blue’s initial determination for the manner of death is homicide.”
The search continues for Brian Laundrie, Gabby’s fiancé, the last known person to see the YouTuber alive.
Last week on September 17, Laundrie’s parents said their son was missing after they had not seen him for three days.
Before his disappearance, he was named a person of interest in the case but refused to speak to authorities or Gabby’s family.
Gabby Petito sent ‘odd text’ from her phone
It has also emerged that Gabby reportedly sent an “odd” text message to her mom, Nicole Schmidt, that left her concerned.
According to an unsealed search warrant obtained by People Magazine for an external hard drive in Gabby’s van, the message read, “Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls.”
The warrant reveals that Gabby’s mother told investigators that it was unusual for the 22-year-old to refer to Stan, her grandfather, by his first name.
“The mother was concerned that something was wrong with her daughter,” police wrote.
According to the report, Gabby’s phone was no longer operating after August 27 – one day after her last Instagram post.
The investigation authorities added that Gabby’s lack of social media activity was another cause of concern.
“Per her family, this was not normal behavior for [Gabby], and they became more worried about her,”
Gabby and Laundrie’s social media activity
Gabby’s Instagram account activity leading up to her disappearance and death appears to be inconsistent with the rest of her posts.
Her last two Instagram posts do not have location tags, while the other posts from their adventure do have tags.
On August 19, 2021, the couple uploaded a ‘Van Life’ video to their joint YouTube channel Nomadic Statik. The video has over 4.4 million views at the time of writing this report.
According to the New York Times, Michael Schneider, a special agent in the Denver FBI division, said in the statement that anyone with information about Brian Laundrie should contact the agency.
“The FBI and our partners remain dedicated to ensuring anyone responsible for or complicit in Ms. Petito’s death is held accountable for their actions.”