Rotten Mango - #99: The Case of Gabby Petito & Jelani Day

Episode Date: September 22, 2021

The couple embarked on a cross country trip in their converted van to experience the beauty of the national parks. They documented their trip, posted on Instagram, YouTube, they were in the process of starting their blog.  But only one came back.  How is that possible? Where did Gabby go? Why did Brian - her fiance - come back with the van without her? And now with Gabby’s body found and Brian is now missing - the ongoing investigation is only getting muddier.  If you have any tips or information please reach out to the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALLFBI (225-5324).  Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Check out online therapy at betterhelp.com slash run and be on your way to a little more ease. Butter being butter boo. Welcome to this week's main episode. I'm your host Stephanie Sue and today we're going to be talking about a case that I really did not think that I was going to be talking about. I had a different episode ready to go up tomorrow but today is Tuesday, the day before posting and I need to talk about it. It has been so highly requested. There have been so many people talking about it on TikTok, on Instagram, all of the major news outlets.

That is the case of Gabby Petito. Now, I feel like this gained traction online for a lot of reasons. One of them being that a couple goes on a road trip and only one makes it back home. She's missing and that's kind of how I was introduced into this and I just had so many questions. I'm like, what do you mean she went missing? How do you go missing on a road trip? That's the last put that doesn't even make sense! Imagine I stop at a rest stop and you get out the car at a gas station. This is just my initial thoughts.

You go missing that I wouldn't leave. I wouldn't leave the gas station. I wouldn't. Why did he come home? And then we find out that this person, the half that's not missing, won't talk to the police. Drove across the country after his girlfriend went missing, made it back home and refused his to talk to the police. And there's a lot of developing twists into this, so I'm filming it Tuesday afternoon,

literally right before it goes up. I'm not sure what's going to happen in the next, you know, 24 hours. I almost never cover current ongoing open cases, especially when they get a ton of press coverage, because I'm like, I don't even think I can help. I mean, if there's much bigger podcasts, news outlets are covering it. I just don't think I'm gonna even make a dent in the water, but kind of seeing how many developments and good tips, not the conspiracy theories, but the genuine tips that have come from social media coverage. I mean, if one person who wasn't on TikTok is listening to this finds out about this case

or knows something about this case, I feel like I'm doing my job, okay? I feel like I'm doing something. I think that this case is also a great reminder of every now and then. We've got these cases that really touch the world and somehow they get thrust into the media spotlight and everyone thinks to themselves if we can just get this person home safely. I'll be so happy. I'll have faith in the world.

I'll have faith in justice. But we almost forget that there's over half a million people that go missing in just the US alone every single year. Wow. And this is just one of those cases. So as always, full source notes are going to be available at rotinmangopodcast.com. Wow. And this is just one of those cases. So as always full source notes are going to be available at rotinmingopodcast.com. If you guys have any information on this case, not conspiracy theories, okay? Don't be stuck in people's, we'll get into that.

The number is 1-800-CALL-FBI. For any tips, I will also be linking the GoFundMe's for multiple families in the show notes, including the GoFundMe of a 25-year-old missing college student by the name of JJ. He has not been getting practically any price coverage and just like Gabby's family, his family deserves answers. So what happened? Let's talk about Gabby Petito. She was originally from Long Island and that is where her, well near there, her mom and

stepdad live in New York and her dad is in Florida with his step, her stepmom. And it just seems like she got along with everyone in the family. Her stepdad, Jim, is really active in this case as well. I mean, he went all the way to Wyoming to look for her. She seems like just a very personable person. She's really close with her little brother who has been active on Instagram, trying to get attention for her case. It's Schmidt, underscore happens, underscore 77, go follow follow it. I mean he's always updating about his sister's

case. It's just really intense. Now at this point Gabby Petita moves to Florida in 2019 to move in with her boyfriend Brian Laundry. They had known each other since high school they've been dating for what like three years now and it seems like everyone from both sides was relatively happy. Okay, Gabby's dad wasn't the happiest but he even said to Dr. Phill in an interview, I'm not really ever happy with her boyfriend. Like I'm one of those dads, I'm not gonna see the goodness of these dudes' souls. So in 2019 she decides I'm gonna move all the way to Florida to move in with my boyfriend, Brian Laundry. Now Brian was still living with his parents so she was actually gonna be living

not just with Brian, but Brian's parents. They had known each other since high school, they've been dating for like, you know, on and off for the past two years now. Let's do it. Now, both sides seemed relatively happy about this decision. So Gabby's parents, they were like, yeah, he seems nice, he's polite, he's well-mannered.

Gabby's dad was really the only one that just seemed against the decision only because he said that he doesn't really like any of Gabby's boyfriend. Like that's just him. It had nothing to do with Brian in particular. There was no crazy red flag where the family was like, oh no, we gotta get her out of this relationship. It just seemed like any young couple. So she gets to Florida. She starts working as a nutritionist, I believe at one point, and she was really talented. She starts working as a nutritionist, I believe, at one point, and she was really talented. I mean, if you go through her Instagram, I

think the only thing I can really say about her is that she seemed really positive. All of her captions are positive. She strikes me as someone that would really enjoy even the small things in life like the seasons changing. That was kind of the vibe her Instagram gives, and she had hand-painted a piano at one point. I mean just really creative, really talent it, which is why later she wants to become a blogger. She wants to become a YouTuber. They were very inspired by VanLife YouTubers. So that was their dream. So who's this bar in Laundry guy? He's living in Florida with his parents and a ton of information is from Instagram. He is Instagram? Yes, his Instagram, but in terms of his interest, not the details of this case. So just in terms of like, what does he like? He had been working at an organic juice bar, and they

really just bonded over their love for adventures, hiking, nature, seeing the world. I mean, they traveled all over the place together. Colorado, California, they loved going to national parks. You name it. Whereas Gabby's Instagram was relatively positive. Everything was very happy seeing the brighter sides of life. Brian seemed to be, he was a little bit skeptical about the world. And that's not to say that someone's guilty. That's just to say what his personality was showing on Instagram. Why would you? OK.

For example, his caption said, our mistake has been placing our faith in government rather than put our efforts into sustainable farming. Our force paved over for shopping malls, opposed to everyone living amongst nature his caption said, lot of people in the comments reading into it saying that, ooh, see, his art is so dark, which means we're looking into the mind of a murder right now. I'm not making those comments. You guys are probably at the end of this podcast or you're gonna know how I feel, but I don't think expressing it online is really helpful at this point. I also don't think his art has anything to do with this case at this point and his favorite author, he seems to quote him, bring his book up a lot about his trips, you know, is Chuck Polynick, who is very famous for the book Fight Club.

Now, a lot of his books are really good. They're a little bit different, they're a little bit dark, but this is, I mean, this is a really... Isn't that one of the most popular books? Yeah, and this is one of the most famous authors. He's probably on every book lover, bookworms, like top 10 authors, top five authors. He's one of my top 5 authors. So I do see a lot of people again on TikTok reading into this author trying to dissect every Wikipedia page of every book that he's ever written. Like, oh, there was, look at this. I think he was inspired by this. We're not gonna do that today. Because I don't think that that's helpful. So his Instagram just really shows a lot of his, you know, personality. What he's into, he's entire, he loves reading, he loves nature. So at this point, she's 22 years old and he's 23

years old in 2021. And in July, they decide, let's quit our jobs. Let's try to make this happen. And I feel like we've all been there. We've all felt this experience of like, we're so inspired by these people on social media. We're inspired by VanLive for these natural parks are so beautiful. Imagine just living the dream. Why don't we turn Gabby's van into like a conversion? They're gonna put a mattress in there. They're gonna live off the van. They're gonna go all across the country, visit these beautiful natural wonders.

They're gonna vlog it. They're gonna post it on YouTube. They're gonna make a website. It's gonna be wonderful, right? That's how their cross-country journey started in July of this year. So they start documenting it for social media, but also for themselves. And everything was done inside of Gabby's white Ford van, really getting that van life experience. They had beautiful pictures that were posted onto Instagram. Their whole relationship seemed incredibly wholesome from the social media perspective. It seemed

happy. There was really no red flag that I think anyone would have seen online, being like, oh, this is something weird is going to happen. Now this wasn't the first trip that they've been on. Like I said before, they've done a lot of mini trips before. They loved it a lot. They always kept in touch with their families. Gabby sent so many pictures, and Gabby's family loved it.

She's having the time of her life. She's going to all these beautiful places. Like this is really productive for a 22-year-old. She's not going out and you know getting into crazy things. She's like being one with nature. So that's how the trip started. At one point in time their Instagram shows that they were engaged and Gabby's family said that he did propose and she did accept the proposal, but they were under the impression that she had broken it off. And they were like, okay, well,

I think maybe it's better just boyfriend and girlfriend, but towards their trip, they started telling people that they were running into that they were each other's fiances. Okay. So maybe the trip had kind of sparked a new, light in their relationship, I'm not sure, or if maybe they never broke up,

but just I feel like that's kind of where it gets a little hectic, like, are they just dating, are they engaged feel like that's kind of where it gets a little hectic. Are they just staining, are they engaged? Now, a lot of Brian's pictures with Gabby, they were accompanied by incredibly heartfelt captions. One is, my biggest fear is that one day I'll wake up and it will all have been a dream, because that is what every second has felt like, since the moment we found each other,

till death do us part, or until I wake up, I'm so happy the answer was yes. I love you, honey. So again, imply that they were engaged. All of July goes well. Beginning of August, they end up in Utah. Now August 12th is when things start to take a turn, or at least that we know of as of right now.

There was a domestic incident that happened between the couple. So the MoHAD Police Department in Utah near the Moonflower co-op. Now this becomes kind of important later, the Moonflower co-op is essentially like a grocery store. Think of it like that. Now a report had come in saying this young couple they were fighting in the co-op, they left in their van, we don't know what to do. So the police get to the co-op and at that point Gabby and Brian had already left, but another police officer saw the van on the road and said, hey, listen, I'm getting concerned, the van is swerving a little bit, possibly intoxicated. They're doing 45 on a 15.

Wait, so people calling police because they were fighting in the grocery store? It seems like outside in the parking lot. And it was that intense. Yeah, I mean, I don't know. I feel like even if they were screaming, I might have called you think so. I feel like these days, you got to be proactive. Okay, but that I mean again, it's got to be bad enough. I'm assuming, right? So it's probably not just like, Bay, I can't believe you did that. Like it's probably like, whoa, this is weird. If you do this in public, what's going to happen in private

type of feeling, right? It's kind of what what I'm assuming and they were doing a 45 on a 15 and the officer says oh the subject just hit the curb okay we got to pull them over because this is I mean this is like reckless driving at least right so they pull them over now to give you a preface the witness call was not released until later so I'm gonna kind of give it to you in the timeline that it was released to the public but the body cam footage of this one hour long interaction between the police officer and Gabby and Brian was released. And I watched it, and there's also a transcript of it

in the show notes. Now, a lot of people were under the impression that this was a relatively straightforward call. Now, here's what happens in the body cam footage. Immediately after they're pulled over, you can see that Gabby's crying. And the officer straight up asked her, what's going on with the crying?

And she says, I'm sorry, we've just been fighting this morning, some personal issues. And Brian's like, it was a long day yesterday, we were camping and camping got, you know, they have all the flies and stuff, I'm sorry I hit the bump there. They got all the flies? Yeah, so there was like a lot of flies in Utah, I guess. And like, really, I mean, can you imagine just swarms of flies around you like you would get so agitated I can only imagine right so I sorry I hit the bump over there Gabby's like yeah no I was distracting him from driving and I'm really sorry so she's apologizing she's

saying that was my fault don't blame him like it was all me so they're both being very cooperative first law officer is like okay well Gabby let's get outside the car I want to talk to you alone. So he separates the both of them and he's straight up ask Gabby what's going on. And she is emotional in this clip, so just be where, you know, you might get emotional too. And she tells them that she is really bad OCD. She was cleaning, she was apologizing to him for being so mean because of her OCD, she gets really frustrated. She's not a mean person and she just said that, you know, I'm sorry if I'm in a bad mood. I was just really stressed. I had a lot of work stuff going on. So she was working on building her website for the blog in the van and she also stated that he

doesn't really believe that she can do any of it. So that's been kind of like a, like a, it seems like that's been kind of a sore subject for this couple, right? They've been fighting a lot. He wouldn't let her in the car. Oh, he wouldn't let her in the car. And that's why they started fighting at the co-op. I'm assuming. Like maybe he was like cool off. So his side of the story is, oh, I don't want to let her in the car because I wanted us to cool off first. Like both of us. Okay. Then she said that he told her that she needed to calm down and she estates. But I'm relatively calm. I'm down all the time. He really stresses me out. So the officer is like you're not in trouble. Why don't you go hang out in my car? It's air-conditioned.

It's like hot Utah sun. You know he's like you're I'm not putting handcuffs on you. I'm not locking you in the back of the car Just get in my car while I talk to Brian. So this police right now is investigating because of the phone call They received the news and then they're also driving very strangely like they want to know are you guys intoxicated is this some sort of like drunk couples fight going on is this a domestic violence call like they don't really know at this point other officers arrive at the scene and the officer noticed that Brian had scratches all over his face and so he straight up as like what's going on and so Brian tells the police Gabby had her phone in her hand I tried to push her away

because she wanted to get the keys to the van. But Brian didn't want to. He wanted both of them to take a breather. So she's trying to get the keys to the van and he said, no, no, no, we shouldn't be in the van. Like we should both go our separate ways and take a walk. And that costs scratches to the face? And then he said that she had tried to grab the keys from his hand.

And she had scratched him with like her rings her phone And you know whatever else she was getting worked up and that was what's going on He was just trying to push her away and she got me with her phone now the transcript it seems like they I Imagine maybe it's the adrenaline from the fight or maybe the adrenaline of talking to the police a lot of this Conversation is a little bit confusing in the sense of or maybe the adrenaline of talking to the police. A lot of this conversation is a little bit confusing. In the sense of like, they're kind of jumping topics and that's what Brian's doing.

He's not necessarily explaining what happened at the co-op well, in my opinion, but the police are like, okay, that makes sense. Now, you also have a mark on your hand. What's going on there? He's like, yeah, same thing. Or I think he said like, oh, I hit it on a wire. Nothing related to Gabby. Okay, do you want to tell me about hitting the curb right there? Hitting the curb was her grabbing the wheel. Yeah, she said, I can't believe

we're getting pulled over and then she grabbed the wheel. Noth's, there's like, what about the speed? You're doing a 45 on a 15, you know, did she take over the pedal on you? And he said, if I was going fast, I'm sorry, it was probably just the moment of I'm still freaking out, in general, seeing the lights flashing out there and her grabbing the wheel, and if I was speeding before that, I'm sorry about that. And he continued to apologize multiple times for speeding. Now, when the officers asked Gabby if she grabbed the steering wheel, because they go back and forth, you know, they're like, did you grab the steering wheel?

Like, why'd you do that? And she's just like, no, I didn't. Maybe I had hit him on the arm for like one second because I saw the police, police lights come on and I didn't touch the steering wheel at all. So now the police are like, well, we got to know more about this fight. Now, there's a new officer there

that's gonna be in charge of the case. And it seems to me that he's new. Like, new to the job. I don't know. The transcript said that he said, and I quote, sorry, I'm new. So I don't know if he meant new to the scene, new to the case, new to the job, you know? So he's like, sorry, I'm new. So I don't know if he meant new to the scene, new to the case, new to the job, you know,

so he's like, sorry, I'm new, right? And it almost seems like these officers are training him. So they'll do these side bars where they pull just the officers aside away from Brian and Gabby, and they have these conversations on what to do next, how to handle this case, and he seems like he's being trained.

Now, Brian tells them, the past week, the flies in Utah have been intense. It's been getting to Gabby and it's feet are dirty. So side note, Brian loves being barefoot according to his Instagram. So here's a caption, I choose to only spend my time in places I don't have to wear shoes, hashtag barefoot lifestyle. So what was the disagreement about? Brian says, well I wouldn't even call it a disagreement.

It was just, I'm dirty and I can't change being dirty, I've got dirty feet, and I've got sand and stuff like that. Then he explains that the fight got physical when he suggested that they both take a walk and cool off. And I told her, look, everyone's watching, stop this. And they straight up asked him, are you on any medications for redacted? Or are you normally this hyper? So I don't know if maybe they're trying to say ADHD,

ADD, I'm not sure. And he said my heart rate, whenever the lights flash on, it goes up. So he's just trying to explain, like, I'm really nervous because you guys are police, and I just got pulled over, you know, that's like really nerve wrecking. So the police have their own sidebar conversation about what to do next with this situation. They're thinking, okay, like he has some injuries, there's some scratches, we can visibly see that, but it's not that bad. We also don't think that if Gabby really wanted to hurt this guy, I mean, she's a tiny girl.

She's like really small, they called her and I quote, 110 pounds soaking wet. They even tell Brian straight up, like we get it, like even if she really wanted to hurt you, she probably can't, because she's not physically powerful enough. Right, but because you didn't hit her back, she is the primary aggressor in this instance of domestic assault. They say that to Brian? Well, they're kind of implying it, and then they definitely say it to each other, just amongst the officers.

And they're talking about, to kind of the training officer, whether it be male or female, we have to arrest, we have to, you know, press charges. It doesn't matter that she's a tiny female. He could easily overpower her. It doesn't matter. Our job is to make sure everybody's safe, you know. We can't decide who gets arrested for domestic assault and who doesn't. That could be sexist, just because she's a woman, you know? That doesn't necessarily mean we have to throw Gabby into jail. We just have to figure out what's going on.

We could technically do its citation if it meets one of three criteria, which one of them is that we can assure that they're not going to further risk each other's safety. But the problem with that is that they live in the same vehicle. They're like, okay, yeah. So maybe we can't give them a citation.

Now, he's the one with the injuries, but they both have conflicting stories about why they hit the curb. They're saying, well, I mean, I guess if I'm driving you hit my arm, I might curb it. The truth is probably somewhere between. He's probably saying no hit so that she doesn't get charged with domestic assault. Maybe he's covering for her. They don't want to put her in prison, you know, the police.

They all don't want to put Gabby in prison because I mean, it doesn't. Brian also doesn't look like he want to press charges. It feels like it might ruin this young girl's life just by throwing her in jail. Does it really, is that the best outcome of this situation they're talking to themselves? And it didn't register to them from the evidence that this was a heavy domestic assault case. They just felt like it was a fight that got bad. Both parties didn't seem to be a danger to each other and it was more of a mental health crisis for both of them.

Maybe they were just, you know, they kept trying to talk to Brian and Gabby. Like, you guys are cooped up in this van for a hell long. Like, man, see, you know, of course, you're gonna get into fights. Listen, I, me and my wife, like, they're trying to relate to this couple on a lot of different levels. So they ask Brian, hey, do you have money for a hotel?

What about tonight, we keep Gabby and the van, you get a hotel, and just for this night, we're gonna separate you guys. And he said this is important later that he has very little money for sure. So they start kind of talking about how he's considered a victim of domestic assault so they might be able to get a local shelter to put him in a hotel for the night if he doesn't have the funds. So ultimately they decide it's more of a mental health incident rather than a domestic

assault situation and they talk to Gabby one more time. When you slapped him, were you attempting to cause him physical pain or harm? Think really hard about your answer, okay? Because this is gonna determine what's gonna happen next. And she said, no, no, no, no. Okay, well, what were you attempting to do? Like, what were you attempting to accomplish in two states?

I tried to get him to stop telling me to calm down. Now, again, the police sidebar again, and they're thinking, okay, this definitely doesn't sound like malicious intent. This doesn't sound like she's like, I'm gonna hurt him, I'm gonna run him off the road. It seemed like he wasn't listening and she was more so trying to get his attention. So they say, okay, let's just separate them for the night. And if they find themselves together, what is it to you? You separated them. You provided first safety if he doesn't get enough sense to stay away

and you got them separated, it's on him. We can't babysit them all night. So it's up to them what happens after. Who's talking to who? Cop is talking to the new cop? Yeah, just to the cops. So Gabby stays in her van and the police drive off with Brian. Now there is an instance inside the car where I I don't think that this has much importance, but just to point it out the police mentioned that they're from California One of the officers originally in brands like I love California. I can't believe you grew up there I love all the national parks. Yeah, it's amazing and the police tells them straight up If you don't go to your semit when you're in California, it's a disservice.

Now, it was a passing comment, but could potentially mean something later, I'm not sure. Now, there was one minor detail of this story. This body cam that I wanted to say for last, because I feel like these are just based on my speculations that I'm not like a conspiracy theorist. In the beginning of the conversation, when the officers first had their alone conversation with Brian, they asked him, are you bruised or tender or anything like that? Like, are you injured? And he said, I'm fine and I love Gabby. I hope she doesn't have too many complaints about me. I just thought it was a little weird. I just can't

imagine me saying that about you. Yeah. I don't want to look too deep into it. I'm not trying to dissect his, you know, he didn't say it in a way that was so alarming. Like, it wasn't like he wasn't giving serial killer eyes to the body cam. You know, nothing like that. I just thought it was, it's just an odd thing to say. I just caught it in passing. I don't know if I would ever say that, especially to a cop. It seems more of like a joking situation than like a cocktail party.

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So special offer for Rod and Mangalistiners, get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com slash rotten. Now August 25th comes around. Gabby facetimes her family, so we know that she's alive August 25th. The call was completely normal. Nothing alarming. Gabby told them we're traveling through Grand Teton, and we're heading into Yellowstone National Park. Important. August 27th, two days later, there was an odd text message.

Gabby's mom got a text message from her that said, quote, can you help Stan? I just keep getting his voice mails and missed calls. Now Stan is Gabby's grandfather. She would never call him by his first name. Can you help him? Yeah, like maybe Stan is like, oh, my iPad's not working. I don't know the context of the situation,

but it seems like maybe her grandpa was calling her, and she calls back, he gets voice mailicemail just can you help stand she's not as weird because usually maybe she calls him pop or grandpa just like stand it was a little odd but nothing too alarming she's not calling the cops August 30th rolls around and Gabby texts her mom no service in Yosemite now at first her mom was confused because the couple weren't even supposed to be in Yosemite. Now, at first her mom was confused because the couple weren't even supposed to be in Yosemite. They were headed to Yellowstone. That's what she said like five days ago. Or at least that was a plan when they talked to each other.

Yellowstone and Yosemite are in California, but they're 800 miles apart. It's not right next door. So that's why I'm thinking, well maybe they had a change of plans because, you know, maybe Brian talked to the police officer and he's like, you gotta go to a Yosemite. Or wish you ever at Yosemite, a lot of people don't think so. But why would she make up a location or... She wouldn't make it up, someone else would. Okay, got it.

Because later her body will be found in Wyoming. Then why bring all Yosemite? Just to kind of throw things off? Yeah, throw things off. Maybe have people looking in your semity. That mean the whole thing is confusing. So at first, you know, the parents are concerned, but again, this is my speculation and with a lot of these cases that we research, I think as parents, you're fighting two parts of your brain, like the part that like freaks out at every little

text message, you overthink into things. This is your baby, you love them so much. So of course your brain is like, I'll go into the worst possible scenario. And then you have the other side where you're like, okay, I gotta be logical. I'm being too emotional. I don't want to be such a controlling parent. I don't want my kids to be like, God, mom, what's wrong with you? So I think that these parts were just fighting each other. And as time goes on, Gabby still hasn't made contact.

Okay, this is strange. Then they start thinking back, well, when's the last time you talked her, when's the last time you talked her? Seems like August 25th. Then she sent that text message, August 30th, and everything just feels weird. So September 10th, Gabby's mom starts reaching out to Gabby and Brian, both of them. Like she's freaking out, she's calling Brian at this point so they didn't hear anything from the 30th after that nope message no service that we know of Okay, cuz I feel like with this case. There's even these September September 27th text message of Stan

That came out recently so it's kind of you know Like the no service in your 70 came out first and then there was a new affidavit that said that there was a suspicious text about staying the grandpa. So as of right now, you know, Tuesday, there doesn't seem to be. Now September 10th rolls around and Gabby's mom is reaching out to Gabby to Brian, even

to Brian's parents in Florida. Now Gabby's dad lives in Florida, okay, keep this in mind. So she's like, Hey, have you heard from the kids? Like, have you heard from Brian? We think something might be wrong with both of them, you know, where are both of them? Have you heard from them?

I mean, if something happened to Gabby, it probably happened to Brian too. So let's brainstorm together. Like, that's the energy, right? But Brian's parents, they don't even acknowledge the text message. I mean, it's just so bizarre. They don't even text back like, hey, I'm on it,

or like, hey, let me try to call them Let me see what's going on. Nothing Now, Gabby's family starts freaking out. That's not normal. They even text back. Okay, well, we're gonna call the police now then Still no response. You would think that parents would start freaking out if your kid is involved in something and someone else is saying We got to call the cops. Yeah. Nothing. So Gabby's dad starts getting so frustrated like do you not care what's your deal and since he lives in Florida he drives over to Bryan's parents place. Now, we don't know what took place.

We don't know if he wasn't allowed in. We don't know if he didn't want to go in. We also don't know if they had a conversation or not but we know that the police were called there. And pretty much everything in that report is redacted, since it's an open investigation. The very next day, Gabby's family reports her missing. Now, Gabby's mom had made the report in New York

where they lived. Their police department in New York, Context Florida, Police Department, where Gabby and Brian live, and they asked them to do a welfare check. So they're taking it very seriously. Maybe Brian's there, are they both missing? What's going on? We need to figure it out. Police sat on over there and they're really stressed like, wow, these two, this couple, this young couple are

missing. The parents are gonna freak out, we've got two families involved, this is gonna be hectic. But when they get there, it's weird. Brian's parents don't seem concerned. They don't seem anywhere near as concerned of the energy that Gabby's family was giving. They seem a little bit more calm. Why? Because while Gabby was missing, Brian wasn't. Brian is home?

Brian was home, and he had been home for over a week. So September 3rd? September 1st. he had been home for over a week. So September 3rd? September 1st. What? He had driven. That's crazy.

He had driven Gabby's van back across the country without her across the country and arrived at his parents' place September 1st, 11 days prior to the police getting there, and never reported her missing, never reached out to Gabby's family. Unbelievable. Not just the police, but Gabby's family, you know, friends. They're all confused. They're all shook. Like, we didn't even know he was home. Why didn't he talk to us? Why didn't his parents just talk to us? Why didn't he report Gabby missing? What happened to Gabby? How do you just get home?

Like, I'm sure it's like the same feeling that I was having, what are you talking about? How are you? That doesn't even make sense. How does that make sense? So now Gabby's mom is thinking back and she's certain that Gabby did not send that text message. The one that came August 30th, no service in Yosemite.

Because at that point Gabby's van and Brian would have been nowhere near Yosemite because he couldn't have driven from Yosemite because he couldn't have driven from Yosemite in California all the way back to Florida by September 1st. So that means Gabby would have been alone. Why wouldn't she tell her mom, hey I'm separated from Brian, I don't have the van anymore. Like none of this makes sense. You wouldn't just say no service in Yosemite.

Did they track down where the phone was pinned? So the FBI are going through all of that makes sense. You wouldn't just say no service in your sanity. Did they track down where the phone was, Pink? So the FBI are going through all of that right now. Okay. I mean, it just, I mean, it's bizarre. So the family is like, yeah, that's not from her. So the police and the family, they've got two million questions. Why did you guys separate? Why did you take the van? Why did you leave your 110-pound female girlfriend like a loan in a national park. Are you crazy? What's wrong with you?

Why didn't you tell anyone? Why didn't you tell her family? Where is she? Where's the last place you saw her? And before they can even ask these questions, Brian and his family shut them down. They essentially hand law enforcement a piece of paper, pretty much giving them directions on how to contact the family attorney. If you have questions, you talk to him, not to us. So you could do that. They're investigating. They're like,

here, take this card and go talk to him. I mean, I think it's... Have you seen her cases like that? I'm sure there's a lot, but this is a situation where it, I guess, legally, you can do that. Yeah, but no regular people do this. No regular person would do this Just no regular because on paper it looks makes you look very very guilty, right? Even just on paper, but I can't think of one person who loves their fiance Yeah, and is refusing even the people who try to get away with it They were pretend like oh my god. Yeah, I need to find my girlfriend. Yeah, right? Yeah, but they the way they do it is like, they don't even care about what

people think. I guess not. That's weird. It's bizarre. So September 15th, Brian is officially named a person of interest. Now, a person of interest does not mean a suspect. So that means that, I mean, police can surveil person of interest. They can have surveillance teams follow this person around. but there's no travel limitations There's no saying hey Brian you can't leave the state of Florida or else. There's no hey Brian You can't leave the country or else there wasn't any of that because he wasn't a suspect Now the police take the van into evidence Gabby's van and they said that they found quote-unquote material We don't know what that means. We don't know what they found or if it's helpful to the investigation.

We just know maybe there's something there. What level of importance that is we don't know. So the FBI is searching the Grand Tint in National Park through Wyoming because I mean that's just where they think that Gabby was not seen, but they can't just limit their search there because she may not be in Wyoming. She could be anywhere from Wyoming on the way to Florida. Across the country, they have to track the route that he drove from Wyoming to Florida. So Gabby's parents, I mean, they pleaded to Bryan's family, to the laundry family, and they made a public announcement because they wouldn't talk to Gabby's family. So they said, please, if you or your family have any decency left, please tell us where

Gabby is located. Tell us if we're even looking in the right place. All we want is for Gabby to come home. Please make that happen. We haven't been able to sleep or eat, and our lives are falling apart. I mean, think of this like parent to parent. How can you not?

Like how can as a parent, how can you read this, and not respond? Gabby's dad, Joe, he was interviewed and he said that he had a gut feeling. But he also had a thought in his head. The gut feeling is his fear. The thought in his head is his focus. Because if he goes with his gut, he would be on the floor crying.

Brian's attorney makes a statement. The laundry family attorney make a statement. This is understandably an extremely difficult time for both the Petito and Laundry family. It is our understanding that a search has been organized for Miss Petito in or near Grand Tinten National Park in Wyoming. On behalf of the Laundry family, it is our hope that the search for Miss Petito is successful and that Miss Petito is reunited with her family.

On the advice of council, the Laundry family is remaining on the background at this juncture and will have no further comment. I think the part that irks everyone's gears is fine. Let's say there's this parental instinct where you want to protect your child, you always think that your child is completely innocent of anything and I'm not implying that Brian is not, right? But um, you lived with her. It's not that she wasn't just Brian's girlfriend, like you lived with Gabby. You know Gabby. You spent time with Gabby.

It's not just, oh, I never really met her. I saw her once. You guys all lived together. It's just so bizarre. It was so cold. So Gabby's dad, I mean, he was rightfully upset with this statement, and he said, don't tell me this is a difficult time for you,

because you have reporters up and down your block. You want the search to be successful? I don't know about you, but when I want something to be successful, I will partake and help. Make sure it's successful, not sit in the background. Lead the damn charge, like I should be number one, Brian number two, but he's sitting there behind his mom like a four-year-old. And he's saying, just tell us where to start. Print out a map, circle something, fold it into a paper airplane, and just throw it onto

the front yard. You don't even have to talk to me! Just tell me where to start. From Wyoming to Florida, that's a lot of ground. Then another statement came from Barnes' attorney, after it was made public that he was a person of interest. Quote. This formality has not changed the circumstances

of Mr. Laundry being the focus and attention of law enforcement and Mr. Laundry will continue to remain silent on the advice of council. Why, you know, like? Yeah. Like I am usually the first one to be like, hey guys, don't jump to conclusions because we've had so many instances where even after

a conviction, people turn out to be innocent. I think the only thing that's difficult with this is if this person really is someone that you love. It just seems unfathomable and even with the family feels it just feels confusing. How can you not try to partake in this? And it feels like the whole nation's up in arms about this case because it's frustrating. Just say something, like, what are you arms about this case because it's frustrating. Just say something. What are you talking about?

This is your fiancee. Do you want to go to national parks? It doesn't make sense. Just say anything. Just say something. Now, one of Gabby's friends had told the Daily Mail, like, you know, any couple from the outside perspective, they had some issues. No crazy red flags, but she said that Brian had these jealousy issues and he had

these episodes where he won't sleep, he hears voices, and Gabby would even go to her friend's house when he was going through it. These episodes, and she told the Daily Mail and I quote, when I saw that Brian was back from the trip, that was the first thing that popped into my mind, that Brian had one of these episodes and I was just hoping that he didn't have a snapping moment. Again, that's not really an answer, right? And it's clear if there's a person with some answers, it's Brian. Now, at this point, I think I had briefly mentioned to you that I was getting frustrated

with this case, and this was before I even thought that I was going to do an episode on it. I was just keeping up with it and I was like, I don't understand why I can't... why can't you just say something? And you had mentioned, what do you mean he has a choice? In this investigation, they can't force him to talk. Yeah, that's gonna bizarre. Like, he can just be like, okay. So like side note, I was thinking,

why didn't they just arrest him for stealing the van? Because it wasn't under his name. Right. There was no sign that it was a consensual, oh, like, yeah, yeah, take my car. So couldn't it have been theft of vehicle, you know, across state lines, multiple state lines? But maybe the police just didn't want to freak him out. Maybe they thought that that would instantly make him shut down even more.

I'm not sure. So they didn't arrest him. They didn't really question him. Now, Jim Gabby's stepdad stated, it's absolutely absurd. I fully understand a person's constitutional rights, they're right to not speak in a situation like this, but everything you see on Facebook, Instagram, you refer to her as the love of your life. Everything seemed so happy.

You are on a cross-country trip with her, and suddenly, you're silent. I mean, I guess, fine, it's his right not to say something, but that's why everybody in the nation right now thinks you're guilty. Like you can be silent, but it's gonna make you look suspicious as hell and everyone's gonna be after you. Yeah, that's it. So... But maybe he had a different plan. Maybe he didn't care. So the staff dad said, whatever mayor may not have happened, you need to speak up. This is about Gabby finding her, bringing her home to us so that we know that she's safe. It's unfathomable why, why he's not speaking.

And the police agree with this sentiment. They were interviewed and they said, you say a person is the love of your life, but you are essentially hurting the investigation by not talking. It's up to everyone. But now, the police can't really question him. Because he's gone. Nobody knows where Brian Laundrie is. He fleed?

Allegedly. The police go to Laundrie's house. The Laundrie family home. And Brian's parents tell them, oh yeah, we haven't seen Brian since Tuesday. He went to the call. What was this? This was on Friday.

Which is? Like last Friday. So on the 18th, the parents say that he's gone. He's missing. But the 18th was... Oh no, 17th. Yes, but that was Friday, but they said that we haven't seen him since Tuesday.

The 14th. Yeah. He went to the Carlton Nature Reserve in Florida for hiking. He had a hiking backpack on. He drove the family silver Mustang there. And by the time Thursday rolled around, we went to go get the silver Mustang.

Now, some people think it's probably because he had a toe tag on it. Some people, some sources state that they, the family went to get the Mustang the same day. But they waited till Friday to tell the police that Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in this national missing person's case, is gone. Their own son. It's weird.

Are they searching for their son? Right. So, I mean, it's really weird. It's just not a normal parental thing to do. It's just not a normal reaction. So they said, yeah, we haven't seen him since Tuesday. Now we're telling you on Friday. So Gabby's parents, I reaction, so they said, yeah, we haven't seen him since Tuesday, now we're telling you, on Friday. So Gabby's parents, I mean, they're furious, rightfully so.

They say, Brian isn't missing. Our daughter is the one that's missing, and Brian knows something. He's in hiding. That's very different from being missing. So please, they confiscate bags of Brian's clothes. They're using canine dogs to try to track him down, but the place that they're searching has more than 24,000 acres. The police state that people could spend months out there without being found if they didn't want to be. So he went to a

place that's almost impossible to be found? Yes, but some people speculate maybe he's not even there. Exactly. Yeah, maybe it's a red herring, maybe they just put the car out there and then he went somewhere else. Exactly. Then a confusing development happened. A neighbor allegedly took a picture of someone who looks very similar to Brian, walking around barefoot near his home in Florida. But that picture was reportedly taken September 17th.

Now, his parents claim that they haven't seen him since the 12th. And if that is, indeed Brian Laundry and the picture, and I'm not saying that it is but if it is it's a little weird. It's really weird. I feel like the parents knows a lot. Yeah I mean that's everyone's thought. They know something. We don't know how they feel. Maybe they think that their son is absolutely innocent and this is a witch hunt and I don't know. I can't speak for them because they're not even speaking No one knows what they're thinking, but I mean it's just it would be hard to believe that they had no idea what's going on Then another development Miranda Baker from Wisconsin on tiktok

stated that she had picked up Brian when he was hitchhiking on August 29th in Grandtinton National Park in Wyoming. She said that her and her boyfriend were in the Northern section of Grand Tintin in a car in her Jeep, picked him up around 5.30, 5.50 p.m. near Colter Bay. He wasn't in a van, he was alone, and he was hitchhiking. Now during their ride he had offered them $200 for this ride. He was very nice.

Now mind you, remember in the freaking body cam footage He said, yeah, we don't really have any money. Yeah, and $200 is a lot. Okay, that's like you might as well uber uber black at this point What so he's very nice. He said he was hiking. He left his fiance back at their campsite to work on their vlog Not a regulated campsite and he had been gone for multiple days He was sleeping on a tarp for a few nights. He wasn't clean-shaped, but he didn't look dirty. Only issues were dirty. The rest of us...

Where was he going? He wanted to go to a place called, I believe, Jackson in Grantein, more towards the southern part of the National Park. So he's basically separated from her? That's what he's stating to this couple. We don't know. That's this is just what the couple stated. So the location of where they picked him up is it on the way of going back home? Is it nearby?

Is it nearby? Yeah, nearby. Okay, so the story adds up. Yeah, I mean, at that moment, they weren't like, oh, this guy's a creep. Okay. Near the end of the ride, which was relatively short, they said that he got agitated because he found out that the couple were going to the same exact place that he was going, which is a little odd. So they dropped him off at a dam and he said he was going to get out of here and get a ride with someone else. And they didn't really think of it.

They were like, okay, sounds cool. They later find out about this through TikTok, I believe. And they're like, wait a minute, I think that was that guy. I believe that they did reach out to the FBI and I don't know if this is fitting into the timeline. I don't know if the FBI is using this information, if that really indeed was, Brian Laundry, but there's so many questions if it was. Where is Gabby at this point?

So that location is really important, then, wherever he's trying to go. Well, it gets weirder, because there's more developments. That might be of slightly more importance, right? I mean, I think everything's important, but just you wait, right? So she really was alone by the 29th, is kind of what Brian was saying if that was him, then why did she tell her parents on the 30th, you know, that she's no service in your sanity?

Why didn't you have the van at this point because he has it later? 29th, that's only three days before he ends up back in Florida. So that's a really tight schedule He also told the police he didn't have any money for a hotel, but suddenly he had $200 for a ride So the police stated that they are talking to Miranda from TikTok and potentially using her information to fit into their timeline So it seems pretty credible thus far now NBC, New York interviewed a retired homicide detective and they said, Brian's behaviors, you can kind of look at it through two different lenses. The first is the lens of an attorney.

He's doing exactly what an attorney would want him to do. He is technically innocent till proven guilty and him not talking is what the attorneys would want, ultimately. Meanwhile from a detective or an investigator or even just a regular concern citizen, a rather human perspective, I mean, it's so frustrating. It's definitely not doing him favors in terms of like the general public. Doesn't make any sense. And he also stated that social media, other than those conspiracy theories, seems to be

helping the case, you know, because someone had seen them somewhere along the way at some point. It could be as insignificant as you're at a gas station in Wyoming, or anywhere between Wyoming to Florida, because he needed to fuel up. You see a guy get out of a van, maybe he put something into the trash. Suddenly, you tell somebody they searched the cameras at this gas station, their CCTV footage. So they're saying criminal investigators, state that's how you solve this puzzle. Get it out there, get the public's help, because something as mundane or insignificant as running errands and fueling up your car could give answers to the Petito family.

This is definitely not the same as going through his Instagram and making speculations, okay? This is, you know, you were there, you saw something, right? It's not like a, oh I think that this is what happened. No, tangible evidence, you know, this is what helps solve the case. And someone did see the van, YouTubers. When it comes to weddings, there are moments that you'll always remember, such as, you know, meeting these old friends and enjoying these new traditions. Maybe it's the first

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That's $10 cash back on your first purchase of $20 or more with the PayPal or Venmo app. To see terms and learn more about how to earn $10 cash back, go to paypal.com slash rotten. There was a YouTube channel called Red White in Batoon and they are a VanLife vloggers. A family. What? They were going through their vlog footage. They had gone through Grand Tent National Park around the time that Gabby went missing. They saw her case all over social media. And so they start going through it. And they had seen this white van and they distinctively remembered it because it had Florida license plates.

This family is originally from Florida. So they're like, oh, more Floridians in Wyoming. Like, that's crazy. We should talk to them. It was parked on the side. They remembered and they were actually trying to stop and say hi, but nobody was there. It was dark inside. So whether they had gone on a hike or whether they were sleeping inside, they didn't want to bother them. It's not that big of a deal. So they just kept driving. But when they reviewed the footage, it seems like it was Gabby's van that they had passed.

Now the license plate wasn't clearly in frame, but it does look very similar to her van. Jessica Schultz, another van lifer, had told San Francisco Chronicle that she was in Grantea National Park in late August, August 26th, the day before the YouTubers actually saw the van. And there was a driver in front of her. It seemed like they had no idea where they were going. It was a white man, Florida license plates, really frustrating, so she pulled up beside to pass. And she looked at the driver, and it looked to be a quote-unquote, generic young white guy. Her friends would later see the same van the 27th and the 28th. There was nobody inside.

It looked like it was just park somewhere. They never saw Gabby. They never saw a woman in this van. Now, she did talk to the FBI and they did do a lot of searching in Grand Tate National Park in Wyoming and a body was found not too far from where Jessica told the FBI should spot at the van. The FBI has stated that the characteristics of the body are very similar, they have even alerted the Petito family.

Even though the forensic evidence isn't completely done at this point, the autopsy is going on today, this Tuesday, today. It's not 100% that it's Gabby Petito, but the fact that they alerted the family, the fact that they had stated in a press conference that the characteristics are similar. They also stated that they do not know the cause of death. So at this point, in Florida, Brian's house is rated by the FBI. Now Brian's parents were escorted out into unmarked vehicles. They were without handcuffs, they were allowed to go back inside.

It seems like they were cooperating, right? And the search warrant, if you look it up online, it's that the focus is on electronics. Meanwhile, Brian is still missing. So it seems like the FBI, they're trying to build this digital footprint of where exactly he was, how he came home, if there's any evidence inside these electronics, are there any vlog footage, maybe even?

I don't know, you know, they're just looking for a digital footprint to give better answers. And there's still so many questions. If that is Gabby, what happened to her? Where is Brian? And how did he get away from law enforcement? I mean, that was a big one. How did you not get surveillance on this guy?

That just doesn't make sense. So they again released a statement through their attorney that said, the news about Gabby Petito is heartbreaking. The laundry family prays for Gabby and her family That's it. That's it. It just I don't know. I feel like a no statement would have been better This is like even if I'm not saying that they're guilty But because they had absolutely they gave no help they refused they hindered the investigation It's like really you, you're going to say a tarp breaking.

Then just as I had finished the research for this case, there was breaking news. The 911 call made about their fight near the Moonflower Co-op in Utah, in Moab, Utah, was released. And it makes the whole thing more disturbing and confusing. Because up until this point we thought that, okay, well, yes, Gabby did not intend to her Brian, but the police were looking at her as the primary aggressor in this domestic assault case, right? But the call says, we drove by, and a gentleman was slapping her? Yes, and then we stopped. They ran up and down the sidewalk and he proceeded to hit her, hopped into the car,

and they drove off. Who ran up and down? Like I guess they were running up and down, maybe he was chasing her, we don't know. Okay, so it just said that he ran up and down the sidewalk. He proceeded to a gentleman was slapping the girl. He proceeded to hit her. But how was the police not understand what's going on? So I mean, the only assumption that I can make, right?

And tell me if I'm reading into this wrong, is that maybe there were multiple witness calls, maybe other people at the co-op didn't see the slapping part and had made a call. And the police had only heard from that witness saying, oh, yeah, they were fighting. I didn't see him slap her. You know, like that, not that you say that that makes sense because that was my question.

You don't just call police if you just see two people arguing, bickering on the side of the street unless there's some sort of assault going on. So the caller stated clearly that Brian had attacked Gabby. The operator even tried to confirm like he was slapping her. And they said yes and then we stopped. They ran up and down the sidewalk. He proceeded to hit her.

So they confirmed. This is very different from how the police was handling that situation. Completely different. And now, now with that information, I rewatch the body can footage. And again, these are not assumptions just, you know, the way that I perceived things. She is a lot more emotional than Brian. And if that is true, if he is the primary aggressor, this is heartbreaking. She is now being treated as she is the one assaulting people.

Are the police telling her this or implying this that oh you are hurting him? Not like aggressively. They were trying to be nice with her, right? But I mean, I mean, you know, I get like looking at that footage, I think I don't even know how to feel. The caller also provided really detailed information about the fan, it had Florida license plates, even provided the license plate number, and just wanted the police to take action. And I can't help but feel confused, how did that happen? Where was this miscommunication? Because so much of the body can't footage, I mean if you review the transcripts even,

it focused on Brian being a domestic violence victim and she the primary aggressor. Now they weren't sitting there being like, you're nasty, I can't believe you assaulted him but that's pretty much what was happening. They're thinking, what do we do with her? Do we put her in jail? Do we charge her? Like they're contemplating how do we handle this situation? I mean did the responding officers not get the 911 call? Where Brian was the aggressor? I don't know if in the grand scheme of things this could have resulted in like a different outcome.

So in affidavit it was also released that stated that Gabby's phone had been turned off for 15 days. Now I'm not gonna go into any of these conspiracy theories because some of them are wild and some of them are I just wouldn't even feel comfortable saying it out loud and being like, guys, just remember, it's a conspiracy, like it's not helpful to the situation. One that a lot of people did draw attention to and the police did actually investigate to see if there was a connection is the case of,

there were two people who were murdered near the area in Utah. So there was Kyland Shult, she was 24, and Crystal Turner, who's 38 years old, and they were found murdered early August in the Moab area. Partially undressed, they were shot in a creek near their campsite. They had gotten married a few months prior, they were living a nomadic lifestyle. They were moving from campsite to campsite, they mainly resided in their van. So August 13 rolls around and they start telling their friends something strange is going on, right?

So August 13 is the day after the domestic incident, right? Something strange is going on, there's a creepy guy at our campsite, this guy's really creepy, we might have to move campsites because of him. And they said, if something happens to us, we were murdered. No freaking way. This is an unsolved double homicide. Now the police thought and the general public thought that these two cases were related because Kylin worked at the Moonflower Co-op, where the domestic incident happened. The day before. So August 12th, Gabby and Brian fight at the moon flower co-op.

August 13th, Kylin and Crystal start telling their friends that they're scared. Now, the police initially stated that they were looking at everything and they weren't ruling anything out, but later they came out and said that there was no connection between the two cases. So I'm also going to link their GoFundMe for a funeral expenses. And if you know anything, this is again, still an open investigation. Their family wants and they deserve answers.

So if you know anything, please check the show notes. So that was the only one that I felt like I should state in this episode, because the police did look at it. So it's not just like this crazy internet theory of like, we're going to be internet detectives. But I will be talking about the case of Jelani Day, who went by J.J. So I think what happened with Gabby's case is it got so much social media spotlight, so much just press, right? And people are saying, this isn't fair because we never get people of color in the news. We never get minorities, we never get other people in the news. There have been so many families, families that are, you

know, people of color that have been saying, hey, we have missing people. No one will give us the time of day. What's going on? And that is the case of JJ. So this took place in Illinois and he went missing around the same time as this case and he had virtually no media attention. So Carmen, his mother, has been trying to get help. I mean, just attention on this case. He last spoke with her August 23rd of 2021 and she hasn't heard from him since. And she said, this is so strange because JJ is literally, she calls him and I quote,

a Bill Collector child because he called her non-stop. He's like hello mom where are you all day every day multiple times a day but he stopped calling one day. Two days later the police find his car abandoned in a wooded area with a set of clothes in the back in Illinois and Peru Illinois. Now his mom and his family is like okay this just isn't like him he's young he's 25 years old he just started his semester in graduate school for communications at Illinois State University I mean he was stoked he was getting good grades he was like yes like I can't wait to graduate like I got all these plans his family starts freaking out they go to his apartment there's no signs of a struggle

no signs that he like packed a go bag, which like would be bizarre too because he never really found himself in trouble or like a need for a go bag, you know. The Phylum Missing Persons report. The police go through CCTV, the day that he went missing, the morning of 720 in the morning, he had been at school, wearing a blue button up shirt, black pants, black pelt, and black dress shoes. That just doesn't sound like someone who has plans to go to the woods later that day. Then they keep searching. They find that he was seen entering a store at nine in the morning,

wearing casual clothes, a Jimmy Hendrick shirt, shorts, black shoes with white soles. But these were the same clothes that they found in his car. Wait, so in the morning he was wearing something, and then at nine o'clock he changed his outfit? Yeah, so nine in the morning. Maybe he just wore it for a presentation. Okay.

Then he changed his outfit, went to that store. We don't know what he purchased. Yeah, and then, I mean, so, I mean, it gets a little confusing. So a source states that JJ's mom was able to get into his bank statements and said that he had gone to Starbucks at the student center that morning, but there was no activity after that. Maybe he had gone to a store and then didn't find

what he was looking for, but we don't really know. Maybe paid cash. Now, these were the same clothes that were found in his car. That's just a little strange. The one that he had walked into the store in, with his Jimmy Hendrick shirt, his shorts. Maybe he had a change of clothes. I mean, it's just so weird.

So Carmen's saying, I mean, it's so weird. And she said, and I quote, he may be 25, but he's still my baby. I just want my baby back. You can drop him off in the street. No questions asked. Just bring my baby back. Save to me.

He was excited about his graduate program. He had good grades. There really wasn't anything going on in his life. He never really gets in trouble. Like, it just doesn't make sense. None of it makes sense. She also stated, and I know some people might be like, whoa, where are you bringing this up, right?

No one is trying to take away attention from Gabby's case. But this is just another family who just as much as Gabby's family deserves answers. September 5th rolls around. And a body has been found near Illinois River. By search teams who were looking for JJ. There's been no ID, the coroner said that it could take weeks to ID the body, which opened up another question of, again, we're not comparing cases. But it's the sense of, you know, even if you look up

Jolani Day's case, there's not that much information online. It's not a plethora of information. You can't span days going through Reddit threads and going through all of this social media or even going through these news articles. But the fact that it's gonna take weeks to ID the body, I get that Gabby's case is very different because Brian is, you know, a person of interest, he too is missing, we're trying to get answers, but it just seems, you know, so it could take weeks to identify his body. So for weeks, his family is in limbo. Yeah, that's the worst.

And that's a lot of families in the US who don't get this type of attention. They're just in limbo and they don't really know what to do. So if you have any tips on this case, call the Bloomington Police Department at 309-820-8888. There is a $25,000 reward for information. And also, please go to his GoFundMe. That's linked in the show notes. All of the resources, all of the GoFundMe's are going to be in the show notes, but I just

really wanted to talk about this one. Like I said, I feel like we always have these public cases of missing persons and the whole world is at home, they're praying. Like if we can just get this one person home to their family. But I feel like the work isn't done there. So if you guys have any tips on any of these cases, please refer to the show notes or call 1-800-CALL-FBI. Let's try to get some of these family's answers. And I hope you guys enjoyed this week's main episode. I know this is an ongoing case, so please

keep, if you're interested, keep following up with it. This is As of Tuesday, the 21st. And I will see you guys on Sunday for the mini-sode. Bye.