Business owner says Gabby Petito and boyfriend made stop in Victor after visiting Wyoming
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VICTOR — An owner of a local shop in Victor says Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie came into her store for nearly 20 minutes.
“Brian and Gabby came to Rustic Row. They told me they were traveling from Florida. They had just been to Teton Park and they said they were interested in going to Yellowstone and I told them they could go to the west entrance. They seemed happy and when they left, she hollered back from the door that they were engaged and then I said congratulations,” the owner says.
She told EastIdahoNews.com she reported it to the FBI after she saw Petito all over the news.
The owner of Rustic Row said Petito and Laundrie spent about 15 to 20 minutes in the store and came in either on Aug. 25 or 26 in the afternoon.
RELATED: Urgent search for missing woman who was in Grand Teton National Park
According to KSL TV, a woman and her husband says they spotted Petito and Laundrie’s van at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
“We drove through the Tetons and the only stop we made was at Jenny Lake. Without a doubt, on my husband’s life, I know for a fact that was their van,” Shannon Baker says.
Baker says it was 5 p.m. on Aug. 25, when she and her husband allegedly spotted Petito’s van in the Jenny Lake parking area.
Officials are investigating other tips including whether the couple visited a bar in the Ashton area. EastIdahoNews.com spoke with two people who said they saw the couple and spoke with them at a bar in late August.
Twenty-two-year-old Petito has gained national attention after she went missing during a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend. According to North Port Police in Florida, Laundrie came back home to Florida on Sep. 1 in the van that Petito and Laundrie were traveling in. However, he did not come home with Petito. He has since hired a lawyer and has not spoken publicly about Petito’s whereabouts.
In a news conference on Friday with the North Port Police Department in Florida, public information officer Josh Taylor told the media that they do not have Petito’s cellphone. He also said that they have gotten over a thousand tips on her disappearance. Taylor explained that they are not ruling out a connection between this case, and the recent double homicide case in Utah of two newlywed women.
RELATED: Slaying of newlywed women at Utah campsite investigated
Petito is approximately 5 feet, 5 inches tall and is 110 pounds. She has blonde hair and blue eyes with several tattoos including one on her finger and one on her forearm that reads, “let it be.”
The FBI has set up a national hotline to receive tips, 1-800-CALLFBI (225-5324).
