Your Guide to the Gabby Petito Case
Gabby Petito is a woman who’s name has been posted all over the world for the past few weeks. On September 11, “Van Life” vlogger Gabrielle Petito was reported missing by her family. She disappeared while on a cross-country drive with her fiance Brian Laundrie.
On September 19, body parts were found that matched those of Petito’s. Laundrie is still on the loose and nowhere to be found. The case is still unresolved and is currently being investigated by the FBI.
Gabby was a popular YouTuber who filmed nature videos and her cross country travels. The case has gained mass news coverage because of her place in the public eye through social media which has played a huge role in this case as it was all over Instagram, TikTok and the news.
TikTok users had already come up with hundreds of different solutions and reasons for what happened to both Brian and Gabby and had begun solving the case even before the FBI did.
This case is prominent for a multitude of reasons: the unknown of Brian’s location, the unknown of what happened to Gabby and why, social media, and also MWWS (missing white woman syndrome). Gabby’s case has been talked about nationally and internationally: online, on social media, on Elon’s campus and in classes.
There are no known whereabouts for Brian and he is currently being looked for around the world. He was said to have gone back to his parents house and returned their van and he is still missing. Many are relating Brian’s case to one similar to Eric Rudloph, a man who the FBI looked for for five years (Fox News). Many have come up with theories that Brian is fleeing to Canada, hiding in the mountains, or dead.
Gabby’s potential body was found by the FBI in Wyoming on Sunday and the autopsy on September 22 confirmed it was her. “Autopsy results have confirmed that the remains found Sunday in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest are those of Gabby Petito, a 22-year-old woman who disappeared while on a trip exploring national parks with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, according to the FBI in Denver” (CNN News).
It is not only a sad case due to the fact that Gabby was only 22 and was so loved—but it is a confusing case as the two were seen to be happily in love and now he is the #1 suspect for the murder.
The use of social media in this case has completely altered the case entirely. Social media has allowed people to reach out to each other, come up with theories and also advocate for Gabby.
“I believe that social media played a huge part in the case because many people wouldn’t know about it without social media, and there have been a ton of conspiracies about what occurred through social media,” Annie Leeper, a sophomore student at Elon who is heavily invested in the case says.
As well, the idea of missing white woman syndrome has been a new phenomenon which has appeared during the case. “Missing white woman syndrome is a term used by social scientists and media commentators to refer to the observed disproportionate media coverage, especially in television, of missing-person cases involving young, white, upper-middle-class women or girls compared to the relative lack of attention towards missing women who are not white, women of lower social classes, and missing men or boys” (Wikipedia).
Many hope that Gabby’s family will be given a peace of mind and Brian is found as soon as possible. The FBI is working as hard as possible to find his location and help solve the case in a timely fashion.