Gabby Petito’s father calls for new missing persons database law

Brian Laundrie has been described as a “weirdo,” and a “chameleon” by a former co-worker, who also noticed how “possessive” Laundrie was over his girlfriend Gabby Petito.

Michael Livingston, who allegedly worked with Laundrie in a garden centre on Long Island painted a disturbing picture of his former colleague, saying: “he did have that tendency to be — I don’t wanna say the wrong thing and make him sound worse than he already is — he was kind of a guy who would get pissed off pretty quick.”

At a fundraiser for the Gabby Petito Foundation, Mr Livingston told Fox News that Laundrie was “very possessive” over Ms Petito, and seemed jealous when she spoke to other men.

“He would come over and do the boyfriend thing, put his arm around her, give her a kiss, very possessive,” he said.

Investigators may be able to glean more information about the fate of Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito by examining Laundrie’s “digital footprint,” according to a homicide expert.

Paul Belli of the International Homicide Investigations Association said: “When you look at what an average download on a phone is, it’s thousands of pages when you actually put it into a PDF. While it’s fairly searchable by keywords, there’s a lot of sitting there minute-for-minute reading.”

Mr Belli told CNN that finding phones in a case like this could also offer an “incredible amount of information,” and that police are likely to have “gathered mountains of video footage” to comb through.

“I don’t think people realize the sheer volume of information that we now get on every case,” Mr Belli added.

Human remains have been found during the search for geologist Daniel Robinson who disappeared in the Arizona desert four months ago, but his father has said that the bones discovered don’t belong to his missing son.

The Buckeye Police Department also said that evidence found near the remains suggested that the bones may not be Mr Robinson’s. The intense search for Gabby Petito renewed interest in the case of Mr Robinson and numerous other missing persons across the country.

Gustaf Kilander has the full story

Gabby Petito’s mum shared a heartbreaking message after Hulu recommended that she watch a show about her daughter’s murder.

“When you turn on Hulu, and your daughter’s story is the recommended show to watch,” Nichole Schmidt tweeted on Sunday. “It’s still shocking, feels like I’m outside looking in, this cannot be our life. We must keep going!!” Gustaf Kilander has the full story here.

Chris and Roberta Laundrie led authorities to personal items belonging to their son Brian in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, marking one of the most significant updates in the hunt for their fugitive son since he disappeared in mid-August and became a person of interest in the Gabby Petito case.

Prior to the discovery, the parents had remained steadfastly silent amid intense public scrutiny as their son Brian became the subject of a nationwide FBI manhunt.

Bevan Hurley has the details here on these key players in the case.

“There are some occasions that require journalists to be extremely careful, sensitive and cautious. One such event was the search in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park for missing YouTuber Gabby Petito.”

Revisit Andrew Buncombe’s important commentary on how The Independent covered the discovery of Gabby Petito’s body, and larger issues about equity and media that have been raised by her story.

The Petito family has some advice on what to do if a loved one goes missing.

Through their “Find Gabby” Facebook page, they recommended to their 231,000 followers they contact groups like The AWARE Foundation and We Help The Missing, as well as raise awareness on social media, a crucial factor in bringing attention to their own loved one’s story.

“It takes a huge village of family, friends, law-enforcement, and social media to aid in the search, and provide support,” they added.

Social media users are trying to call attention to the disappearance of 14-year-old Jashyah Moore of New Jersey, who hasn’t been seen since mid-October, saying her case deserves as much attention as the round-the-clock coverage that went to Gabby Petito’s story.

Over the weekend, New Jersey officials searched a body of water within Monte Irvin Park in Orange, New Jersey, for Ms Moore, using sonar technology. The teen hasn’t been seen since she went out to a neighbourhood store to pick up some items for her family on 14 October.

More than 3,400 people have signed a petition calling for a formal investigation into the North Port police department’s handling of the Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie investigation, calling the police work “highly suspicious.” Maroosha Muzaffar has the story here.

Brian Entin is finally taking a day off.

After spending every waking moment of the past seven weeks on the road covering the Gabby Petito case, Mr Entin is back in Miami, reacquainting himself with his golden retriever Shelby. “I get really into these deep stories,” he tells The Independent.

The NewsNation correspondent can recall the moment he first heard Ms Petito’s name. The date was 14 September, and he got a call from his station chief to say there was a missing person case that he should look into.

Read more here: