When social media user and van-life blogger, Gabby Petito, was reported missing on Sept. 11, her followers turned to social media to express their concern, ask questions, and share theories about her sudden disappearance. The #GabbyPetito TikTok page became a home for online crowd-sleuths who shared the case with such a large audience that the social-media platform actually turned up leads and assisted the FBI in their investigation.
While scrolling through her TikTok feed, Wisconsin native Miranda Baker came upon a video of Petito and Laundrie. Watching the photos of the couple, Baker recognized Laundrie from a strange encounter and became a crucial witness in the case.
After contacting the FBI, Baker shared a series of videos on her TikTok page in which she described picking up Laundrie on Aug. 29, on her way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
In the short clips, which have received over 30 million views, Baker explained that Laundrie suddenly asked to get out of her car at 6:09 p.m. and claimed he would find a ride with someone else.
In addition to contacting the FBI, Baker felt it was important to share her story on the social-media platform where she first heard about the case.
“I first heard about this on TikTok a few days ago, which is why I’m putting this up on TikTok: to hopefully, you know, reach out to someone who might have seen him that day and picked him up before or after we did, and I’m just hoping that this helps find Gabby and bring her home safe,” Baker said.
Baker’s videos spawned posts of other potential Laundrie sightings, including one in which Jen Bethune, a travel blogger, came across Petito’s van on her camping trip and released photos of the Ford Transit on her Youtube and TikTok pages. She found the photos in her camera footage days after her trip, when Petito had been reported missing.
The footage of the van circulated on social media, and the hat on the dashboard caught the eye of Jessica Schultz, another witness.
“A group of friends and I were camped at Spread Creek from the 22 to the 29, and in that time frame we all independently noticed that van,” Schultz said.
Schultz paid particular attention to it because she is a “van-lifer” and was admiring the van. She also recognized it because she noticed that Laundrie had parked in an “undesignated spot,” but thought it was strange that he was not asked to move.
“My friend texted me a picture of the hat on the dashboard and I just lost my s***, and that’s when I called the FBI and said, ‘Guys, look at Spread Creek,’” Schultz said.
The next day, Petito’s body was found in the spot where Schultz saw the van.
bzzy girl 