Laundrie ‘on his own in wilderness’ as Gabby Petito’s funeral goes ahead

As Gabby Petito’s family prepares for her funeral, a woman who knows Brian Laundrie well says the “friendless” missing man is on his own in the wilderness.

As Gabby Petito’s remains have been cremated ahead of her Long Island funeral, a woman who knows Brian Laundrie well says the “friendless” missing man, who is a person of interest in the case, can easily survive alone.

“He is out in the wilderness, I promise you,” said Rose Davis told People magazine, saying that Mr Laundrie once lived in the rugged Appalachian mountains on the US east coast “by himself for months”.

“He does not have friends, he reads books,” she said.

“He’s out there. He is. If he’s alive, he’s out there, camping out.”

Ms Davis, 21, was Gabby Petito’s best friend on Long Island when the murdered young woman was living there with her fiance, Brian Laundrie.

She became friends with Mr Laundrie through Petito, who sometimes stayed with her when she needed to get away from him.~

Ms Davis described Mr Laundrie as controlling, manipulative and jealous, and said that when he vanished after Ms Petito’s death, she feared he might come after her.

“He knows where I live,” she said. “When he first went missing, there was a small percentage of me that was like, he definitely knows where I live. And he does not like me.

Gabby Petito will be laid to rest on Long Island after her remains were cremated in Wyoming where she was murdered.

Rose Davis, friend of Gabby, says Laundrie is hiking in the hills.

Ms Davis says she is afraid of the jealous and controlling Laundrie.

Services for our sweet Gabby will be held at Moloney Funeral Home in Holbrook on Sunday September 26th from 12pm-5pm. Thank to all for your suppprt and love. pic.twitter.com/rYB0wePoJh

— joseph petito (@josephpetito) September 24, 2021

Gabby Petito will be laid to rest at Moloney’s Funeral Home (above) on Long Island.

“I’ve stayed at their house. I’ve slept in the same house as him.

“I ate dinners with him, played board games with him, gone to the beach. That’s scary.”

As police continue to search for Mr Laundrie, Ms Davis said she didn’t believe the 23-year-old experienced hiker had anyone helping him hide out.

“This is a very heartbreaking tragedy,” Ms Davis said.

“It is so surreal. It is so just horrific. There’s almost a loss of words for it because no one deserves to go out this way, especially not her.”

Meanwhile, Ms Petito’s family is preparing for a public funeral service in Blue Point, Long Island on Sunday afternoon after her remains were cremated in Wyoming.

The 22-year-old’s mother Nichole Schmidt and father Joseph Petito and their partners and extended family will lay her to rest at a funeral home which will be open to the public between noon and 5pm on Sunday.

Joseph Petito posted about arrangements for “for our sweet Gabby” on Twitter, saying “thanks to all for your support and love,” with a photo of the blonde, blue-eyed young woman with stars across her face.

The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to “the future Gabby Petito Foundation”.

Currently accepting donations is the Johnny Mac Foundation, in honour of a 9/11 firefighter from Blue Point and whose board includes Nichole Schmidt.

A candlelit vigil was held for Ms Petito on Friday evening.

Joseph Petito, Gabby’s father and her stepmother Tara at a Florida news conference on September 16, before her body had been found. Picture: Octavio Jones/Getty Images/AFP

Gabby Petito with Laundrie, who Rose Davis said was ‘controlling, manipulative and jealous’. Picture: Instagram

A makeshift memorial dedicated to Gabby Petito in North Port, Florida where Brian Laundrie’s parents live. Picture: Octavio Jones/Getty Images/AFP

Her family reported her missing on September 11, after she went silent during a cross-country “Van Life” tour of national parks which she had frequently posted about on Instagram.

Ms Schmidt’s last confirmed contact with her daughter was on August 27, and she received a text the following day she suspects was written by Mr Laundrie.

Mr Laundrie drove the van owned by Ms Petito from Wyoming back to his parents’ Florida home, arriving on September 1.

He allegedly used Ms Petito’s debit card on August 30 and September 1, presumably during the drive back to the North Port home where he and Gabby had lived before their road tour.

The US District Court of Wyoming issued a federal arrest warrant for Mr Laundrie after a grand jury indicted him for his “use of unauthorised devices” after Ms Petito died.

Brian Laundrie (above) had no friends and was adept at living on his own in the Appalachian Mountains wilderness, says Gabby Petito’s best friend, Rose Davis.

Today's official #FBIDenver statement and the arrest warrant for Mr. Brian Laundrie are attached. pic.twitter.com/eV1IY4l681

— FBI Denver (@FBIDenver) September 23, 2021

“While this arrest warrant allows law enforcement to arrest Mr Laundrie, the FBI and our partners across the country continue to investigate the facts and circumstances of Ms. Petito’s homicide,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Laundrie’s parents Christopher and Roberta told Florida Police he left home with a backpack and plans to go hike in a nearby nature preserve and never returned.

One report said the Laundries claimed their son had left home without a wallet or cell phone.

Police resumed their week-long search of the 10,000-hectare Carlton Reserve on Saturday for Mr Laundrie.

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