Was Brian Laundrie Spotted Scouting the Area Where Gabby Petito's Body Was Found?

Jessica Schultz, 38, who helped police locate Petito's body said that she saw Laundrie "acting weird" in and around the area just days before where Petito's remains were found.

  • Updated

A woman has claimed that she spotted a man, now she is sure of, is none other Brian Laundrie, who was moving around in the area where Gabby Petito's body was found on Sunday. Jessica Schultz, 38, a graphic designer told San Francisco Chronicle that she saw Laundrie "acting weird" in and around the area just days before where Petito's remains were found.

Schultz, who has been living out of an Airstream caravan for four years now, along with a fellow camper, also said that have reported the matter to the FBI. In fact, Shultz also helped police locate the body of Petito. Laundrie vanished last week after he was named a person of interest in the disappearance of Petito, who was found dead on Sunday in Grand Teton National Forest.

Where is Laundrie?

Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie
Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie Instagram

Schulz told the outlet that she saw a young white male and a white van first on August 26 and then on August 27 and also possibly the next day in the area where Petito's remains were found. She claims she saw the van again without the man or anyone around it.

Schultz said that she is now sure that the man not only looked like Laundrie but was actually him. The man, according to Schultz, was scouting the spot where Petito's body was found and he was moving creepily and "acting weird."

Gabby petito's van
Gabby petito's van Twitter

She has informed the FBI about Laundrie's possible sighting and cops are now investigating the claims. That said, Schultz' claim cannot be dismissed given that she helped police to locate Petito's body near the campsite on Sunday.

Following Schultz's tip off, On Tuesday, FBI Denver confirmed a body was discovered in a Wyoming camping area where Schultz claims she saw Laundrie and Petito's 2012 Ford Transit.

Search on for Laundrie

Brian Laundrie
Brian Laundrie seen with scratch marks on his face while taking to police Moab City Police Department

Multiple reports of possible sightings of Laundrie have been reported from not only Florida but also in Alabama. Police have taken these tips seriously but is yet to succeed in any of the leads. FBI is now investigating claims of a photo of a man resembling Laundrie captured on a deer cam in Baker, Florida.

On Tuesday, a Moab City Police witness statement emerged, attributed to a man called Chris, who claimed to have seen the Petito and Laundrie fighting on August 12 and heard Petito call Laundrie "mean." It was the same day, Utah police responded to a call of a "domestic incident" involving the couple, wherein officers questioned both Petito and Laundrie.

Gabby Petito
Gabby Petito Instagram

Meanwhile, the autopsy of the woman's body found on Sunday was completed and it was confirmed that the woman indeed is Petito. A judge also ruled her death as homicide. Laundrie is now being looked for in the homicide case.

Petito and Laundrie were roughly two months into a four-month adventure when Laundrie returned to his Florida home with their van on September 1 but without Petito. The 22-year-old was reported missing on September 5 and Laundrie vanished just a day after he was named a person of interest in the case.

READ MORE