Authorities said Sunday that the bones of a person found in rural Wyoming match the description of Gabby Petito, a Long Island woman who vanished while on a young lovers' road trip from New York to Oregon with her fiancé.
“A full forensic examination has not been completed to confirm that she is 100 percent,” a gloomy statement said. Charles Jones, a senior FBI agent in Wyoming, stated that the situation is becoming increasingly bleak at a news conference. “At this time, the cause of death is unknown.”
On Sunday, the shocking news broke amid a frantic search for Petito, 22, and her Florida fiancé, Brian Laundrie, 23.
Petito's family said the last time they heard from her was in late August when she was touring Grand Teton National Park with Laundrie on a journey that started on Long Island and ended in Oregon.
Petito's family reported the last time they communicated with her was on August 23.
On September 1, Laundrie arrived at his parents' home in North Port, Florida, alone.
Petito's family reported her missing on September 11th.
The hunt for the young woman grew more intense on Saturday when the FBI in Denver announced that they would be focusing on ground surveys of Grand Teton National Park in their search. Officials from the National Park Service as well as local law police assisted them.
Authorities searched an undeveloped camping site near Spread Creek on the park's eastern boundary, where another Florida couple passing through the region in the early hours of Aug. 27 filmed what looks to be Petito and Laundrie's white van.
The van was registered in Florida.
Meanwhile, authorities in North Port, Florida, where Laundrie's family lives, are referring to him as a "person of interest" in the tragic disappearance, even though he has previously stated that "he is not wanted for a crime."
However, in an unsettling message sent out on Sunday, the same officials appeared to have accepted the worst-case scenario.
“I am deeply saddened and heartbroken to learn of Gabby's death. Our goal has been to bring her home since the beginning, in collaboration with the FBI and other national partners. We'll keep working with the FBI to find out additional information.”
The Petito family's pain has since turned bitterly on Laundrie.
“All of Gabby's family wants the world to know that Brian is not missing, he is hiding,” said Richard Stafford, an attorney for the Petito family, in a brief statement to CNN.
Earlier on Sunday, scores of Florida law enforcement officers began a second day of searching a 24,000-acre Gulf Coast wildlife park for Laundrie, whose family says he was last seen on Tuesday.
Authorities said on Saturday that the search effort included the deployment of drones and bloodhounds who utilized parts of Laundrie's clothing removed from his home to track out his smell. Before widening their search to the rest of the reserve, police concentrated their efforts in a nearby 200-acre park.
Petito's relatives had implored the Laundrie family to inform them when and where their son last saw their adored Gabby, but they had been unsuccessful.
According to their social media accounts, the childhood sweethearts had piled into a 2012 Fort Transit Connect van in Long Island on July 2, intending to drive to Oregon by the end of October.
On Sunday night, Gabby Petito's father uploaded a snapshot of their adorable daughter in front of painted angel wings. “She touched the world,” Joseph Petito said besides a broken heart emoji on Instagram.
“As any parent can imagine, this is a very difficult time for the family and friends,” Jones said at a press conference on Sunday. “They are in our thoughts and prayers. We respectfully request that you respect their privacy as they grieve the loss of their daughter."
