Gabby Petito was an American social media star who is known for documenting her travels across the country in her camper van with her fiancé Brian Laundrie on various platforms like Instagram and YouTube. After she went missing in August 2021, both her and Laundrie’s physical remains were recovered by police. Fans continued to flock to her Instagram even after her death, pushing her profile past one million followers.
Early Life
Gabby Petito graduated from Bayport-Blue Point High School in 2017.
Career
Gabby Petito had been very passionate about travel and often documented her trips through her Instagram profile @gabspetito and her YouTube channel, Nomadic Statik. She had been sharing pictures from her travels across the United States and Costa Rica on her Instagram. In late 2019 and early 2021, she and her boyfriend Brian Laundrie embarked on a cross-country drive from New York to California, visiting places like Las Vegas, Yosemite National Park, and Pismo Beach along the way. In the only video on her YouTube channel, titled VAN LIFE | Beginning Our Van Life Journey, she had stated, “After our first cross country trip in a little Nissan Sentra, we both decided we to wanted [sic] downsize our lives and travel full time”.
She bought a 2012 Ford Transit Connect van in December 2020 and converted it into a camper in order to start her cross-country “vanlife” trip with Laundrie, which she documented in the hopes of becoming an online influencer. Following a visit to her native Blue Point for her brother's graduation ceremony on June 17, 2021, she and Laundrie embarked on another trip, during which her final update was on August 25, standing in front of a butterfly mural at The Monarch, an event venue in Ogden, Utah.
Family Life
Death
Gabby Petito disappeared on August 27, 2021 and her fiancé Brian Laundrie drove back to his parents' Florida home, alone, on September 1st. On September 11, her parents reported her missing to the North Port Police, who described Laundrie as a “person of interest”, although he didn’t reveal anything. After her parents and grandparents made a public appeal to the community on September 16, Laundrie’s parents reported him to be missing since 13rd. Petito's remains were found in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest on September 19, while Laundrie’s skeletal remains were discovered in Florida's Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on October 20. He had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and admitted to killing Petito in a notebook found near his body, according to the FBI.
Early Life
Gabby Petito graduated from Bayport-Blue Point High School in 2017.
