Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie. Police Department North Port
One camper believes she saw Brian Laundrie at the time Gabby Petito disappeared. She said that he was "acting strange."
Jessica Schultz gave the FBI a tip about the location of a body that was discovered. Authorities believed it belonged to the travel blogger.
Tuesday's confirmation by the FBI and Petito family lawyer was that the remains belonged 22-year-old Petito.
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According to a tipter, she directed the FBI to Gabby Petito's remains. She said that she saw Brian Laundrie acting strangely near the site where she found her body.
Jessica Schultz, a camper, claimed that she saw Laundrie alone driving near Spread Creek campsite in late August. This was two days after Petito's mother last spoke to her.
Schultz said that she was behind a white van, which she later claimed to be Petito and Laundrie's, on August 26. Schultz stated that she drove off the road when the van pulled up in an area not designated for pull-outs.
She noticed that the driver was a young, white, "generic" man as she looked into the vehicle. She stated that she saw the van again August 27 and 28, without the driver or anyone else, and that she and other campers felt that it didn't belong there.
Schultz said that Schultz was acting out of character. "You know what? When you see something unusual, you get a little nervous out there."
Schultz claimed she noticed a straw hat in the van's dashboard. After looking closer, she believed that it was Laundrie. A friend had sent Schultz a photo of the distinctive hat.
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Schultz stated that a friend sent me a photo of the hat on his dashboard. "I just lost my shit," Schultz added. "And that's why I called the FBI to say, 'Guys! Look at Spread Creek.
Petito and Laundrie embarked on a cross-country trip earlier this year. They were due to arrive in Oregon in October. After Laundrie returned to Florida, her mother reported her missing.
A body believed to be consistent with Petito's description was found in the national park, near Spread Creek camping site, on September 19. The remains of Petito were confirmed by the FBI and Petito's attorney on Tuesday.
Schultz said that the FBI agent she gave her the tip to said that they had "talked with hundreds of people, however you guys were the ones who really tipped us off the right way." She thanked Schultz for sharing this information.
"We are triumphant. She said, "We were right, and we led them in a positive direction." It's not something that you want to be right about, but then again, it's not an issue that you enjoy being right about. It was emotionally exhausting, for sure.
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