In America, the entire internet was looking for her. Gabby Petito, 22 years old, is the young woman who has officially disappeared since September 11. This Wednesday the worst omens were fulfilled and it was confirmed that she was murdered. This has been preliminary declared by the autopsy after the authorities found the body of the influencer in a Wyoming national park. The macabre news is a point and a follow in the investigation that has kept the entire United States in suspense ; and has made YouTube and TikTok users a major part of the case.
Petito went on a trip with his partner, Brian Laundrie , through national parks across the United States. The influencer published almost all the experiences of the trip with the van, the van with which they traveled a part of the western United States. Until the situation began to get complicated. At the moment, it is known that there was a fight between the two and that a person called the emergency department after seeing how Laundrie slapped Petito . In the end, the 22-year-old missing girl claimed that it was she who had attacked her boyfriend and it all came to nothing. It was just after that when he began to not show signs of life and stopped calling his family.
Brian Laundrie's whereabouts are unknown since September 1 and, after authorities classified Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito's cause of death as “homicide” on a preliminary basis , finding it has become a priority. It is possible that TikTok users can help the authorities in this search, just as they have done to find the influencer.
The youtubers find the key clue
Since Petito disappeared, the case has become a sensation in the United States. Most have followed all the news in real time, with thousands of reactions and publications , as well as possible explanations of what could have happened to Petito. From interested in the case they have even become investigators. A couple of influencers have come to give the key clue for the authorities to find the body of the 22-year-old girl.
Jenn and Kyle Bethune were also traveling the country in a van when they learned about the case of the missing girl through social networks. They realized that they had been in the same park in which the couple chose Grand Teton National Park, in Wyoming, as one of the destinations of their road trip. Quickly, they began to review the video they had recorded for their channel when they were there because they remembered seeing a white truck that could be Petito and Laundrie's. So it was. They quickly notified the authorities, who went there and found the human remains that belonged to Petito.
“We came across a white van that had Florida license plates, a small white van. We were going to stop and say hello because we are also from Florida, but the van was completely dark, there was no one there , so we decided to continue on our way, “said Jenn Bethune.
The video of the couple in which they believe they have seen the van has, as of the time of publication of this article, more than 2.5 million views.
Gabby Petito and the hashtag that marks the investigation
Informal investigators on the case also abounded on TikTok. The New York Times gave as an example Paris Campbell , a girl who has posted about 40 videos on TikTok with the latest news, as well as an analysis of the possible causes of the disappearance of Gabby Petito and possible clues. One of the missing girl's relatives, who claimed to be her cousin, wrote to Campbell to thank her for her interest in the case.
Like Campbell, thousands of others have published theories about the Petito case. They have searched his Instagram account and even his Spotify playlists for possible tracks. As information about the young American increased, interest in social media grew. Until this Tuesday, the hashtag #GabbyPetito had more than 500 million interactions. Although it is not the first time that a case like this has attracted attention on the different platforms, Petito's is being developed in real time and efforts to find it -before the authorities did- And now for knowing what has happened to him has few precedents.
'Instagram is like the photo in the milk carton' The positive part of this involvement in social networks by the Petito case are the clues that users have given to the authorities, such as the location of the van provided by Jenn and Kyle Bethune. The not so good part is the misleading information that some users have given. Especially those who say they have seen Laundrie while he is still missing and that he has confused the police authorities.
The publications have given clues to the Police, but they have also confused it
Despite everything, the truthful information about the case has compensated for all the misinformation that the publications, opinions and possible clues about what has happened to Gabby Petito may have caused. If the impact of the case had been less, it would never have been possible to know where the body of the young influencer was.
Michael Alcazar, a retired detective in New York, told the Associated Press that Petito's Instagram account was a key piece in getting investigators to begin the investigation, and social media was generally a source of advice for them. “Instagram is like the photo in the milk carton, except that it reaches a lot of people quickly” , he opined.
The others 'Gabby Petito' from TikTok
It is not a new phenomenon, however. Vox magazine recalled that there is a subreddit called UnresolvedMysteries dedicated to investigating unsolved cases. In the case of Gabby Petito, the novelty is that TikTok has become the most used channel for sharing opinions and information.
Amateur investigators or detectives have found their place in the great world of the internet. Especially when it comes to unsolved crimes. This is the case of Lauren Spierer, a 20-year-old girl who disappeared on June 3, 2011 after a night out with friends.
A TikTok user posted a video that went viral in which he referred to a network of trafficking in women orchestrated by an online casino . The tiktoker, with more than 3 million followers and with other publications related to conspiracy theories, compared the image of a woman victim of this alleged network with that of Lauren Spierer.
The mother of the missing girl, despite announcing that the hypothesis was ruled out, sent the TikTok video to the authorities . The publication of the tiktoker was, however, a way for the case to have a greater echo on social networks on the 10th anniversary of the disappearance of the young American.
Another case of a missing person was resurrected thanks to TikTok. This is the case of Brian Schaffer , a medical student from Ohio who disappeared in 2006. The American went out with his friends one night and, after separating from the group, a security camera recorded him speaking with two women. Then, apparently, he went back into the bar. He was never seen again.
The police investigation has failed to find a clear clue as to what happened to Schaffer that night. The possibility that he went to live somewhere else without notifying anyone is even being considered. The case has not taken long to be remembered in a TikTok video.
Gabby Petito does not live, but the fight continues
These cases, among others, have had a significant impact on social networks. Although it has little to do with the viralization and interest in the disappearance and death of Gabby Petito in such a short period of time. It is probably due to the ability to follow the case practically live and to be able to “collaborate” with the investigation from the first moment.
A key clue from a couple of youtubers was what the police needed to find Petito's body. Now we need to know how and why the 22-year-old died and, above all, the involvement and whereabouts of Brian Laundrie.
There are already several tracks. A TikTok user explained that she drove Laundrie into her car after he hitchhiked. Another girl also says that she saw him with the van and reported it to the Police. With an almost entire country pending Brian Laundrie , it could only be a matter of time before they found him. Social networks are attentive.
