Body found believed to be Gabby Petito, positive ID pending
Laura Ingle provides the latest from Moose, Wyoming after the FBI holds a press briefing
MOOSE, WYOMING - Grand Teton County, Wyoming, Coroner Brent Blue on Monday confirmed to Fox News that an autopsy of the remains authorities discovered in the Bridger-Teton National Forest on Sunday would be complete by Tuesday.
The body found in the Moran Vista dispersed camping area in Moose, Wyoming, was consistent with a description of Gabby Petito, the FBI said Sunday, adding that the remains matched the description of the missing woman as the search for her fiancé intensified.
No other information about the body, such as the physical state of the remains discovered, have been released. The 22-year-old blogger was one of three people missing near Grand Teton National Park this summer.
The search for Gabby Petito continued Sunday in Bridger-Teton National Forest in Moose, Wyoming. (Audrey Conklin/Fox News Digital)
Cyril Wecht, forensic pathologist, told Fox News that investigators may have concluded Sunday that the remains were likely to be Petito's first because of the location where they were discovered — where Petito's van was spotted by travelers in late August — and because authorities may have discovered personal items belonging to the young woman.
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"I think … that identification was made by something found there of a personal nature," Wecht said, giving examples such as a purse, a ring and so on. "I do believe there was something found there that permitted them to make this determination before they could get into anatomical determination."
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The FBI and other local law enforcement began the search for Petito in the national forest Saturday. Petito visited the area on Aug 27. Her family reported her missing on Sept. 11.
22-year-old Gabby Petito from New York's Long Island. (Steve Petito)
The condition of the remains at the time they were found is unknown, but Wecht said varying weather conditions like those in Moose in September, when temperatures can reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit during the daytime and 40 degrees or cooler by the evening in September, which may hasten the decomposition process.
A medical examiner will also be looking for any signs of trauma to the body, Wecht said.
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Of the three people who went missing near Grand Teton over the summer, two were men. Wecht said that while there are some cases in which "a man's body doesn't have definitive male features and likewise with a woman," officials can differentiate between male and female remains "90% of the time," usually based on pelvic bone structure.
Petito and her 23-year-old fiancé, Brian Laundrie, were traveling from New York to Oregon in a white 2012 Ford Transit, which was spotted near Spread Creek in late August. Laundrie has been missing since Sept. 14, according to his parents. FBI agents removed Laundrie's parents from their home on Monday.
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