Witness Who Led FBI To Gabby Petito's Body Is '100 Percent Certain' She Saw Brian Laundrie Alone & Acting 'Weird' Where Fiancée's Remains Were Found
Sept. 22 2021, Published 11:29 a.m. ET
The woman who led the FBI to Gabby Petito's body in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park says she is "100 percent certain" she saw Brian Laundrie alone and acting "weird" near the campsite where his fiancée's remains were found.
Brian has been missing for over a week, and preliminary autopsy results confirmed Tuesday that Gabby died by homicide.
Though Laundrie is reportedly now being considered a suspect in Petito's death, he has only officially been declared a "person of interest" in what was initially considered the 22-year-old vlogger's disappearance.
Jessica Schultz, the 38-year-old graphic designer who urged the FBI to search for Gabby at the Spread Creek campsite, is revealing more about what led her to call the authorities.
She said in a newly released TikTok video that the publicity surrounding the then-missing Long Island native prompted her to come forward with what she saw. She called law enforcement on Sept. 16. Gabby's remains were discovered on Sept. 19.
Jessica has been living in her Airstream for a few years years, so she seems to understand "van life" and camping protocol. She said that she and a group of friends were at the Spread Creek campsite in Grand Teton in from Aug. 22 to 29 and that she recalls seeing Brian and the white 2012 Ford Transit van on Aug. 26, 27 and possibly 28.
"So I saw Brian Laundrie parking his van August 26 at Spread Creek," she explained, adding that she "wasn't 100 percent sure, but now that there is dash-cam footage of the van where I saw it, I'm 100 percent certain that I did see him parking his van."
Laundrie and Petito were seen together in mid-August by a concerned eyewitness in Utah who called 9-1-1 after claiming to see him "slapping" her.
In recently released body-camera footage of the subsequent police stop, Gabby cried uncontrollably while explaining to cops that she suffers from OCD and had been arguing with Brian all morning. The van could be clearly seen in the video.