Tourist Finds Water Bottle Matching Gabby Petito’s Near Where Brian Laundrie’s Remains Were Discovered
Are police overlooking evidence?
Twitter / YouTube Online sleuths who have been closely following Gabby Petito’s case are taking the investigation into their own hands after the news that Brian Laundrie’s remains have been discovered.
During a search involving law enforcement and Laundrie’s parents, partial human remains and several items belonging to the missing person of interest in Petito’s homicide were found.
But now, ordinary people are discovering evidence of their own which appears to have been neglected by police.
A water bottle similar to Gabby Petito’s was found at the Carlton Reserve.
TikTok user Olivia Vitale and her mother were in the newly-reopened Carlton Reserve looking for evidence when they made the discovery.
In the video, Vitale is making her way across a clearing in Myakkahatchee Park when she sees the bottle which has distinctive patterns and markings on it.
Fox News reporter, Michael Ruiz, claimed bone fragments were also discovered in the clearing — possibly belonging to an animal — and also stated that the bottle was near where Chris and Roberta Laundrie found their son’s dry bag.
The bottle looks like one seen in Gabby Petito’s YouTube video.
Screenshots taken from an August video on Petito’s Nomadic Statik YouTube channel show a bottle that looks identical to the one found.
It appears to be a Nalgene water bottle that was purchased in a Seattle REI co-op, according to Ruiz.
It is unclear if the bottle is definitely one that belonged to Petito or Laundrie but it does raise some concerns as to why potential evidence is being left in the reserve.
The Petito’s lawyer expressed concerns about missed evidence.
The Petito’s family attorney told Ruiz that the bottle may have been hers.
"We have a picture that's from before she left for her trip. It looks like the bottle. I don't know why it would be left there. It boggles my mind."
Initially, it appeared that the police were not investigating whether the bottle was evidence in Petito’s homicide or Laundrie’s death.
“As far as I know, nothing related to this case has been found,” said North Port Police Department spokesman Josh Taylor.
“Bunch of false reports. However, this is an FBI-led investigation and they should speak to anything such as that located. They may know more.”
However, reporter Brian Entin later confirmed that the bottle had been taken in by police as potential evidence.
The discovery comes at the end of what has been a long and, until last week, fruitless investigation into Laundrie’s whereabouts and Petito’s death.
Now as things appear to be wrapping up, many are hoping Petito’s family will be able to get answers about her death.
However, if crucial evidence is being abandoned in the reserve, these answers might be further away than we hoped.
Alice Kelly is a senior news and entertainment editor for YourTango. Based out of Brooklyn, New York, her work covers all things social justice, pop culture, and human interest. Keep up with her Twitter for more.