GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, Wyoming, Sept. 19, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — A couple traveling in Grand Teton National Park at the same time missing woman Gabby Petito and boyfriend Brian Laundrie were believed to be camping there has posted video that could prove Petito’s 2012 Ford Transit camper van was indeed there.
The man and woman, Jenn and Kyle Bethune, noticed the parked van because they are also from Florida, the video says, and it was unusual to see a Florida plate in a semi-wilderness area so far from home.
The video — shared at the bottom of this article — was shot between 6 and 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27 in the Spread Creek Dispersed area of Grand Teton National Park, the narration says. The couple was looking for a campsite.
At 1:30 into the video, the white Ford Transit van comes into view. Video after 2:03 is about the makers’ travel, and is unrelated to the case.
“We came across a white van that had Florida plates, a small white van. We were going to stop and say hi because we’re from Florida too, but the van was completely dark there was nobody there so we decided to continue on our way,” Jenn Bethune says.
Kyle Bethune speaks next.
“Yeah, the van looked like it was pretty much kind of a van and we figured maybe they were out hiking or they were just chillin inside there was no doors open, you know, it was just, just kind of, you know, neat to see a Florida plate, you know, on the other side of the country is not something you see all time,” he says.
Then Jenn Bethune speaks.
“But we wanted to include this in the video just in any way that we can help and get this out there to be able to find Gabby Petito,” she says. “So if you could share it if you know anything, please don’t hesitate.”
The Bethunes didn’t end up finding a campsite, and left the area.
Kyle Bethune said he realized later the video was significant.
“Kind of freaky for a late Saturday evening, but we just kind of had a brain fart oh my god there’s a van,” he says. so if you get anybody can help I know the FBI is looking for all the help they can get on their case.”
Authorities have not yet confirmed that the van on the video is that of 22-year-old Petito, whose 23-year-old boyfriend, Laundrie, returned to his Florida home on Sept. 1 without Petito in the van.
Petito’s family filed a missing person’s report on Sept. 11, and Laundrie’s family attorney issued a statement declining to talk about the case. On Sept. 18, Laundrie’s parents revealed he had gone missing three days earlier.
On Sunday, FBI and North Fork Police officers are on their second day of a search of the Carlton Reserve, a nature reserve of nearly 25,000 acres, where Brian’s family believes he went before disappearing. For more details and a timeline of the case, click here.
