As the search continues for a missing Florida woman who vanished on a cross-country road trip with her fiancé, authorities are looking into any possible connection with the unsolved slayings of two women who were fatally shot at a campsite near the tourist town of Moab, Utah, according to CBS News.
Gabby Petito, 22, who was documenting her travels on Instagram and TikTok for the last two years, was recently reported missing by her family and is now the subject of a nationwide search.
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Police on Thursday released video showing Petito in an emotional fight with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, 23, in Moab before she vanished.
Police in North Port, Florida, where the couple lived, say Laundrie is a “person of interest” in her case. He’s not been charged, but he’s also not cooperating.
The video, released by the Moab Police Department, shows that an officer pulled over a van on Aug. 12 after it was seen speeding and hit a curb near the entrance to Arches National Park.
Six days later, the bodies of two newlyweds, Kylen Schulte, 24, and Crystal Turner, 38, were found at a campsite near Moab. Schulte and Turner had told friends they feared a “creepy man” they had seen nearby might harm them.
North Port police said they have not “ruled out” a link between Petito’s disappearance and the deaths of Schulte and Turner.
“They’re looking into that potential connection,” said Joshua Taylor, public information officer for North Port police. “I have not heard of any information that links these two cases together. I understand the timing is suspicious. You never know. I’m not going to say we’ve ruled it out.”
Meanwhile, Petito’s parents on Thursday released a letter through their attorney to Laundrie’s parents, asking them to help investigators locate Petito.
“We believe you know the location of where Brian left Gabby,” the letter said. “We beg you to tell us. As a parent, how could you let us go through this pain and not help us? As a parent, how could you put Gabby’s younger brothers and sisters through this?”
Laundrie’s attorney, Steven Bertolino, said the Laundrie family is hoping for Petito’s safe return, but he’s asked them not to speak with investigators.