By Bond Robertson 
On Sunday evening, a dead body was found in the same area where 22-year-old Gabi Pettito was missing.
On Tuesday, the body of the deceased was autopsied, and the FBI is now confirming that the missing Instagram adventurer was the one who was found dead. The cause of death is not yet known, but an initial autopsy report indicates murder, the Denver FBI wrote in a statement.
The family reported Pettito’s disappearance on September 11, having given no sign of life since sending a text message at the end of August.
arguing with his girlfriend
Pettito and girlfriend Brian Laundry, 23, went on a road trip together in July, with plans to cross the US.
Originally, the couple was scheduled to get back together in October, but in early September Laundry came home alone.
Gabe, 22, disappeared without a trace
On August 12, a few weeks before the last sign of life appeared, the couple were stopped by police on their way to Arks National Park in Utah. One Police release in Moab Friday, camera footage shows US police officers in uniform. Petio seems to have had a terrible fight with his girlfriend.
– We were arguing this morning. He said some personal things, obviously Pettito annoyed.
For his part, his girlfriend Laundry said the couple started pushing when he got into the car with dirty feet. He also made it clear that he did not want Pettito to be reported on charges of violence. Police officers at the scene allegedly said Pettito was viewing him as aggressive in the fight.
On Monday evening, police also released an audio recording of an emergency call from someone who saw the couple in Moab on August 12 – before they were stopped by police.
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«The man hit the girl (…). They ran up and down the sidewalk, hit it and then sped away,” the caller was said to have said in the 49-second conversation, according to independent.
Al-Khatib has disappeared
Laundry, who was described by police as a “person of interest,” has since declined to comment on the case, and on Friday it became known that Laundry had also disappeared.
Makes an emergency call: “Hit her”
This was confirmed by both the police and the lawyer for the Landry family, Stephen Bertolino. But Petitto’s family lawyer Richard Stafford denied the disappearance of his girlfriend.
– It hasn’t disappeared. He is hiding. Stafford said on Saturday that only Gabe is missing.
More than 50 police officers have been searching for him for days in a 24,000-acre area in Sarasota County, Florida with many hiking trails and tent sites.
Khatib’s house It is now referred to as a crime sceneWrites NEWSWEEK. Reportedly, the FBI approved a search warrant for the house.
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