Search warrant documents released Monday reveal “odd texts” sent from missing Gabrielle Petito’s phone in August, though her parents believe they were not sent from their daughter.
One of the final messages sent from Petito’s phone to mom Nichole Schmidt was received on August 27, Fox News reported. “Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls,” the text message read, according to the search warrant.
“The reference to ‘Stan’ was regarding her grandfather, but per the mother, she never calls him ‘Stan.’ The mother was concerned that something was wrong with her daughter,” the document explained.
The text was apparently one of a dozen used by local law enforcement to gain probable cause to conduct a search at the home of Petito’s boyfriend Brian Laundrie and his parents, Fox noted.
Laundrie went missing last week while the search for his girlfriend intensified. Police in North Port, Florida, named the 23-year-old as “a person of interest” in the disappearance case last week, before the FBI raided Laundrie’s home and removed his parents amid reports that remains have been found near where Petito is thought to have disappeared, The Daily Wire reported.
The family home has reportedly been declared a “crime scene.”
According to released 911 audio from a Utah witness made on August 12, Laundrie apparently slapped and repeatedly hit Petito before authorities become involved in the incident.
The audio, first obtained by Fox News, “portrays Mr. Laundrie as the aggressor in the incident,” The Independent reported Monday.
“I’m right on the corner of Main St by Moonflower… I’d like to report a domestic dispute,” the caller says in the recording. “The gentleman was slapping the girl… they ran up and down the sidewalk, he proceeded to hit her and then they drove off.”
Following the alleged incident, authorities pulled over the couple but decided not to press charges on either Petito or Laundrie. Body camera footage from the stop shows a distressed and crying Petito; Laundrie seemed somewhat calm as authorities looked at the marks on his face and arm, supposedly from Petito.
The FBI Denver, the National Park Service, and law enforcement announced Sunday during a news conference in Grand Teton National Park that remains found in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park are believed to be consistent with Petito, ABC7 reported. The local outlet added that “Charles Jones, the FBI’s supervisory senior resident agent, said that a full forensic identification hasn’t yet been completed, but investigators did notify Petito’s parents.”
“We continue to seek information from anyone who utilized the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area between the dates of August 27 and August 30,” Jones said. “Anyone that may have had contact with Gabby, or her boyfriend or who may have seen their vehicle in that area, please share any new information with the FBI.”
The cause of death remains undetermined at this time. An autopsy is planned for Tuesday.
Related: Listen: 911 Caller Witnessed Brian Laundrie ‘Slapping,’ ‘Hitting’ Gabby Petito