Gabby Petito's Mom Reacts to the Last Text She Got From Her Phone
Published Date: 9/21/2021
Source: NBC New York
Investigators have gained court permission to access the contents of an external hard drive they say was found in the van of a 22-year-old Long Island woman who disappeared while on a cross-country trek and is believed dead -- as the search continues for the still-missing boyfriend said to be a person of interest in the case. The search warrant confirmation from Florida's 12th Judicial Circuit court in Sarasota County says the external hard drive was discovered during the Sept. 14 execution of another search warrant linked to the case of Gabby Petito. That Sept. 14 search warrant applied to the van she and Brian Laundrie traveled across parts of the western United States in -- and it was the same white van that Laundrie returned to his home in Florida driving alone, 10 days before Petito's parents reported her missing. Investigators said in their warrant request they believe the hard drive to contain evidence connected to her disappearance. They also included newly public details -- that the last text message Petito's mother received from her phone was "odd." It read, "Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls." The reference to Stan was regarding Petito's grandfather, but Petito's mother said she never calls him "Stan," which made her concerned there was something wrong with her daughter. The phone was turned off that same day, more than two weeks (15 days) ago, the filing said. The initial filing also said investigators believed there was a probable cause that the hard drive contained "evidence relevant to proving that a felony has been committed," according to the document.