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FBI Confirms Body Found In Search Matches Description Of Missing Gabby Petito. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired September 19, 2021 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[17:58:59]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM on this Sunday. We have major breaking news in the search for Gabby Petito. The 22-year-old who went missing during a cross-country trip with her fiance. Investigators searching for her in Wyoming say they have found a body.

CNN's Leyla Santiago joins me now from Northport, Florida. That's where police have just wrapped up another day of searching for her fiance.

Leyla, what do we know?

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, the day is wrapping up here when it comes to the search. North Port Police saying that they are ending their day wrapping up. Right now you can actually see the command center, the North Port Command Center coming out of where we have seen search teams going in and out all day today.

We have seen the canine units. We have seen the teams on ATVs and helicopter circling above as teams went in there to search for 23- year-old Brian Laundrie. Now why were they here? That's because that was the latest development. After Friday the Laundrie family contacted police to say they were concerned on his whereabouts, said the last time they had seen him was Tuesday.

He had a hiking bag and said he would be coming here to this reserve. It's this 25,000 acres of a wildlife reserve that is lush, it is hot and humid, and certainly poses a lot of challenges if you're in this area trying find someone. So that was the latest development as of Friday. Of course, we've learned new information since then that they have found a body in Wyoming. Still no details as to the age, the gender or the identity of who that may be.

But remember, it was the Grand Teton National Park where you had a lot of search teams looking for 22-year-old Gabby Petito because that was the last that they had sort of pinned her to on the whereabouts. So that is a major development, and within the next few minutes, we expect to hear from the FBI who have said that they have an update to provide on the case. 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time is when we're expecting that, so any minute now.

But, you know, there has been sort of development after development, and I'm getting a sense of frustration among the community here because, you know, it was Tuesday that the Laundrie family said they last had a good idea of the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie, and it wasn't until Friday that it was reported. So, of course, a lot of people are hoping they can find Brian Laundrie to get more answers regarding Gabby Petito.

But right now a lot of eyes right here and a lot of eyes on Wyoming where we are waiting to hear the latest on the development given that a body has been found in the very area where search teams were looking for 22-year-old Gabby Petito. Two different search teams, two missing persons, and a lot of questions yet to be answered.

BROWN: Certainly. Leyla Santiago, thank you for bringing us the latest.

And Randi Kaye has been following this story from the start.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GABBY PETITO, MISSING WOMAN: Hello, hello. Good morning. It is really nice and sunny today.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 22-year-old Gabby Petito in happier times, documenting her travels with her fiance cross- country on social media.

PETITO: Gabby Petito never goes outside.

KAYE: But along the way the trip turned into something else.

PETITO: Hi. We've just been fighting this morning. Some personal issues.

KAYE: Police in Moab, Utah, released this body cam video after someone called them August 12th to report disorderly conduct involving Gabby and her fiance, Brian Laundrie. The police report noted the couple engaged in some sort of altercation. Gabby told police she struggled with OCD.

PETITO: And he wouldn't let me in the car before, and then I --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why wouldn't he let you in the car?

PETITO: Because he told to me I need --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because of your OCD?

PETITO: He told me I needed to calm down. Yes. But I'm perfectly calm.

KAYE: The police report described her as confused and emotional and manic. The officers didn't file any charges, but suggested the couple separate for the night.

TODD GARRISON, NORTH PORT POLICE: Yes, they had a disturbance. Yes, it was captured on body camera, their interaction with law enforcement. But beyond that, you know, I don't know what it has to do with the disappearance. KAYE: It all began on July 2nd when the couple set out from New York

in Gabby's converted white 2012 Ford Transit van with Florida plates. Their plan, according to police, was to drive all the way to Yellowstone National Park, but they never made it.

We've also learned Gabby was reportedly last seen at this Salt Lake City hotel on August 24th. That same day, the family's attorney says she Facetimed with her mom telling her she was leaving Utah and heading to the Grand Tetons. The following day, Gabby texted multiple times with her mom, likely from the Grand Tetons.

[18:05:00]

On August 30th, a final text from Gabby's phone, though the attorney says her family doubts she actually wrote it. Then on September 1, her fiance showed up at the home he and Gabby shared with his parents in North Port, Florida, in Gabby's white van. Ten days later, on September 11th, Gabby's family reported her missing.

GARRISON: Two people went on a trip, one person returned, and that person that returned isn't providing us any information.

KAYE: Gabby's family is desperate for answers.

JOE PETITO, FATHER OF GABBY PETITO: Whatever you can do to make sure my daughter comes home, I'm asking for that help. There's nothing else that matters to me now. This girl right here, this is what matters. That is it.

KAYE: Brian Laundrie, Gabby's fiance, isn't talking. He's hired a lawyer and has not spoken with Gabby's family or police. His own sister told ABC she hasn't even spoken with her brother.

CASSIE LAUNDRIE, SISTER OF BRIAN LAUNDRIE: All I want is for her to come home safe and sound, and this could be just a big misunderstanding.

KAYE: Cassie Laundrie told ABC her brother and Gabby had been known to fight.

LAUNDRIE: Typical of both of them, whenever they'd fight, they would take a little break and come back and be fine.

KAYE: The FBI in Denver has also joined the search aiding FBI and local authorities in Wyoming and Utah. But as the hours and days tick by, the search for answers grows and doubts are beginning to creep in.

J. PETITO: My gut tells me that something bad happened. And I never -- I'm never going to be able to hold my baby girl.

KAYE: Right now, it is still a missing person investigation since police have no evidence of a crime.

GARRISON: We don't know what happened. You know, we don't know where she's at. We don't know if a crime has been committed.

KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, North Port, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And I want to bring in former Baltimore acting police commissioner and CNN law enforcement analyst Anthony Barksdale. Also joining us, CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson.

Thank you both for coming on tonight to talk about this. We are waiting for the FBI's press conference, so we may have to interrupt this segment. But let's just kick it off with you, Anthony. If this is indeed Gabby's body, this case just changed significantly.

ANTHONY BARKSDALE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Absolutely. If, if, and I pray that it's not, but let's be realistic. If this is Gabby, then that gives police something to work with. The forensics part of this then becomes crucial. You can establish how the homicide occurred. You can collect other evidence, possibly DNA, and get to work changing it from a missing person to a homicide investigation.

BROWN: It's just agonizing, you have to imagine, for the family, Joey, with this latest news and not knowing, and of course we do expect an update soon, but it's just such a difficult situation. If this is Gabby Petito, and we do not know, does this give police probable cause to arrest her fiance Brian Laundrie as a suspect? Of course, he is missing right now, but if they are able to locate him alive, should he be arrested as a suspect?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: There's no question. Pamela, I know, good evening to you. If you have to interrupt me, by all means, I know we're going to the press conference. This is a game changer, as you noted, and with respect to them finding a body, understand that in order for the police to make an arrest, you don't need to demonstrate someone is guilty, you don't need to demonstrate that they absolutely did anything, you just need reason to believe that a crime was committed and the person who is being accused and arrested is the one you believe to have done it.

So without question, that would give them the probable cause to go and arrest him. There will be other evidence, and Anthony alluded to some of that as well. You know they're going to do a sweep of that whole area where they found her. A lot -- there will be a treasure trove of information not only as to DNA but potentially cause of death, right, when the forensic examiners do an autopsy on the body.

They'll be able to determine how she died, right? They'll be able to make other assessments as evidentiary issues concerning the state of the body, which we don't know, right? But I think that will be very important.

In addition to that, Pamela, briefly, remember here, we have that digital blueprint, right? There is so much evidence that is circumstantial. It doesn't have to be direct. In many cases, yes, you have three or four eyewitnesses who say the person in the blue shirt did it. In other case law enforcement has to piece it together by the nature and circumstances. This was a cross-country trip and there was a digital blueprint on Instagram. It showed who she was with, what they were doing, everything, right,

cataloging the trip. At some point it stopped.

[18:10:00]

The question becomes why? What were the circumstances that led it to stop? What did her text messages say? What did any triangulation of the phone lead them to the location where they found her? There's going to be a lot of information brought to bear and he, Pam, to end this, right, will now go from a person of interest, he being Mr. Laundrie, the person who accompanied her, from a person of interest to a defendant in a criminal case.

BROWN: And Anthony, this is a massive national park, 310,000 acres where this body was found. Does it seem like perhaps some more information may have come in to direct researchers to this specific location?

BARKSDALE: I believe so, and I'm going to go back to what Joey was saying. He's spot on with his assessment. So when you have something like this, you can rely on technology. Cell phone records, you can track cell phones, so there are a lot of things with technology that could help police figure out where someone is or where they were. So, yes, that's a lot of territory to have a search, but I think that it's wonderful somehow law enforcement used what they had on hand to locate this body.

BROWN: And how does this change the search for Brian Laundrie, Anthony? As Joey just pointed out, this clearly could be a game changer if this indeed is Gabby Petito's body. How would this affect the search for him?

BARKSDALE: This goes from a boyfriend to a suspect. That's a big difference. And law enforcement then can pour it on, you can get the marshals involved. You can already get the FBI. You have every jurisdiction looking for Mr. Laundrie, and whether or not this is easy, it has to be done. We've got to find him.

BROWN: What do you make, Joey, of Laundrie's family? Apparently he had left on Tuesday but they did not report to the police -- oh, we're going to the press conference now. Let's listen in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us. We'll have time for a brief statement because this is an ongoing investigation, we won't have time for questions. Please.

CHARLES JONES, SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT, FBI DENVER: Good afternoon. My name is Charles Jones. I'm the supervisory senior resident agent here in Wyoming for FBI Denver. Standing with me here today are acting Chief Ranger Matt Wilbur with the National Park Service, Hunter Bailey who is chief of the National Park Service Investigative Services branch. We also have Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr and Jackson Police Chief Michelle Weber.

First and foremost, on behalf of the FBI personnel and our partners, I would like to extend sincere and heartfelt condolences to Gabby's family. Joe and Tara Petito and Jim and Nicole Smith. As every parent can imagine, this is an incredibly difficult time for the family and friends. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. We ask that you all respect the privacy as they mourn the loss of their daughter.

As you are aware, FBI personnel in coordination with our partners at National Park Service, the Forest Service, Teton County Sheriff's Office and Jackson Police Department have been conducting investigative activity in the vicinity of the Spread Creek Dispersed camping area. Earlier today human remains were discovered consistent with the description of Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito.

Full forensic examination has not been concluded to confirm 100 percent that we found Gabby, though her family has been notified of this discovery. The cause of death has not been determined at this time. We appreciate your continued support and patience as we work through this process.

The vicinity around Spread Creek campsite will remain closed to the public until further notice. This is an active investigation, so we ask everyone maintain distance from law enforcement personnel and equipment, vehicles and related activity for their own safety as well as to protect the integrity of our work, and respect privacy for Gabby's family. We appreciate the tremendous support from the public -- the support from the public's response to request of tips has been remarkable.

We continue to seek information from anyone who utilized the Spread Creek Dispersed camping area between the dates of August 27th and August 30th. Anyone who may have had contact with Gabby or her boyfriend or whom may have seen their vehicle in that area, please share any new information with the FBI at Tips.FBI.gov or 1-800-Call- FBI. And finally the Denver Field Office direct is 303-629-7171.

[18:15:06]

Photos and videos can also be uploaded at FBI.gov/petito. We thank our partners at the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, Teton County Sheriff's Office and Jackson Police Department for their collaboration and diligence in this investigation. They surged their resources in a very short amount of time and their personnel have been intimate or have intimate knowledge of the rugged terrain that we're dealing with which made this process much more difficult.

We great appreciate the invaluable skill and expertise of the Teton County search and rescue team. We also think the community of Jackson and the surrounding areas for their hospitality and for accommodating a rapid influx of law enforcement personnel in the area. In order to protect our investigative process and increase probability of successful prosecution should it be necessary we have no additional comments.

We appreciate your cooperation and respect for Gabby's family, loved ones during this difficult time. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Sir, can you please tell us why you -- what led you to that campsite in particular as opposed to the -- JONES: It's an ongoing investigation, sir. We cannot answer those

unfortunately at this time.

BROWN: We just heard a very sad update from the FBI there that human remains have been discovered consistent with the description of Gabby Petito in Grand Teton. We just heard there from the agent that the cause of death has not been determined at this time.

They are waiting for final confirmation that what they found, the body, the human remains, that that is indeed Gabby Petito. But as we just heard there from the FBI, the remains discovered are consistent with the description of Gabby Petito and her family has been notified about this.

Our hearts, our thoughts are with her family during this incredibly difficult time.

I want to bring back Joey Jackson and Anthony Barksdale. Given this significant development that we just heard there, Joey.

JACKSON: Yes. Pamela, this is very significant in so many particulars, but let's begin with one that's very important. We know that the boyfriend apparently came back home to Florida. He came back home in her absence, and then the questions began. At that point she was considered missing. We know also, Pam, that the police wanted to speak to him. He has a right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment.

He exercised that right, right, even as a person of interest and therefore did not speak. In the absence of any information that he would have given the police that could have narrowed down where she was, we have top law enforcement, of course, the federal government in addition to other agencies which assisted them that got the body.

Now that we're here, he goes from a person of interest to a criminal defendant. Make no mistake about it, this now goes from a missing persons investigation to a homicide investigation. That now gives the police the ability to go and get him. We also know, Pam, that he apparently is missing or he's hiding or some such thing, we don't know his exact location. There is an imperative for law enforcement to find him.

Last point. Remember that the police, in order to make this arrest, do not need every shred of information that would indicate his guilt. They just need reason to believe that a crime was committed, they have that, and that he's the one that committed it. In making that assessment they're going to use all types of circumstantial evidence which would indicate he was potentially the last person to see her alive, and if that allegation holds up, you know what, why is he on the run?

His running will evidence consciousness of guilt. Meaning, if you didn't do anything, why can't we find you? Long way to go. Everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence, but boy, oh, boy, this looked like it's pointing in his direction as to a nefarious act.

BROWN: I want to just go to you to get your thoughts, Anthony, on what he just laid out. As he said, this turns the fiance into a suspect. That means that the search for him has escalated. Now law enforcement can bring in more help like the marshals to track him down. One thing that stood out to me, and I don't know whether to read into it or not, is that the FBI agent there said human remains. He did not say body. Should we read into that at all?

BARKSDALE: Yes. I mean, there are things, decomposition that can occur. I mean, it's something -- it's something I just don't want to say out of respect for the family. But over time things happen to a body.

[18:20:02]

I really can't add much there, but I can say that Joey's analysis was spot on, on each issue that we have to deal with moving forward.

BROWN: Right. It's just so sad, and you just think about their family as they absorb this information, that human remains that were discovered there in Grand Teton consistent with the description of Gabby Petito as this search has been going on.

I want to bring in Randi Kaye. She has been covering this story from the very beginning. She joins us now by phone. What can you tell us, Randi?

KAYE (via phone): Well, Pamela, I was listening to that presser just as you were. I was listening to it, though, here out west. We are in Utah making our way to Wyoming, to the Grand Tetons. We are basically replaying her steps, Gabby Petito's steps and her fiance as they made their way from Utah to Wyoming, and eventually they'd wanted to go to Yellowstone. We know now they certainly never got there.

But we just let this Fairfield Inn in Salt Lake City where she was reportedly seen checking out on August 24th, spoke to a staff member there who confirmed that FBI and police officers had come to that hotel recently as part of this investigation. So as you know, they've been getting more and more information about this Spread Creek Dispersed camping area as it's called in Teton County. That's where these human remains were found as you heard them say, consistent with the description of Gabby Petito.

Again, not 100 percent confirmed it's her but her family has been notified. That camp ground is where the FBI in Denver had said all week look they were searching, that camping area, the National Park Service was involved, the U.S. Forest Service, Teton County Sheriff, Jackson Police, they were all conducting ground searches there at that camping area, and they were asking for help.

They were asking for tips, anybody who might have seen people -- who might have seen Gabby and her fiance between August 27th and August 30th. So whether or not they got a solid tip, or not sure exactly what brought them there, but certainly they have had some movement in this case, certainly.

So we know that they left the New York area together on July 2nd and we know that he returned to Florida in her white van on the 1st of September, and then she was reported missing on September 11.

So we also know she was in touch with her parents. Certainly her mom along the way. On the 24th of August, she told her mom she was leaving Utah and heading to the Grand Teton National Park which is where these human remains were discovered.

So the last post on her Instagram, Pamela, which, you know, is a way of tracking here movement where she might have been posting if it was her indeed posting, or even her indeed texting her mom, we don't know that for sure, even her family doesn't know that for sure.

But her last post on her Instagram page is August 26 from an arts and entertainment venue in Hobbs, Utah, about four and a half hours south of this campground. So somehow, they made their way up there from this arts venue -- Pam.

BROWN: A lot more questions for law enforcement, for the FBI in this case. The FBI didn't take any questions but they did give the significant development that human remains have been found that matched the description of Gabby Petito.

Randi Kaye, thank you for bringing us up to date of what's been going on with this case up until now.

I want to bring in CNN's Brian Stelter.

Brian, let's talk about how this story played out on social media. You heard Randi there talk about her last post and how there's been essentially this digital trail throughout her travels there with her fiance that abruptly ended in late August. What was the role that social media has played?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Right, and the images were seeing on the screen of this happy young couple living a dream life. You know, in the pandemic era, this idea of going out and renting or buying a van and driving across the country, it's a fantasy for so many young people, and Gabby Petito was living that fantasy. And yet, some of what we learned in recent days contradicts or challenges that dream that was posted on Instagram.

Some of the reports about the couple possibly fighting, some of the reports from observers who said they saw, you know, a dispute in the relationship. So we see, you know, these beautiful images from Instagram being contradicted by the ugly reality. And because of social media, the timeline here is very clear and the timeline is key. Both police and amateur armchair investigators have been able to set a very detailed timeline.

As Randi said, that last post on August 25th, that was almost a month ago at this point. So when we hear authorities on the scene talk about human remains, we have to remember we're talking about possibly a nearly month-old crime that has happened here. And that also relates to the timeline in Florida of the fiance arriving on September 1st.

[18:25:02] You know, a lot of time has passed since something happened, something went wrong in Wyoming. I think it was notable to hear the authorities today thanking the public for so many tips. They said, we appreciate the tremendous support. The response has been remarkable.

And Pamela, I think that's partly a response to the outpouring on Instagram, and Reddit, and Twitter, and TikTok. There are tens of thousands of people trying to join the search for Gabby Petito right now in this kind of participatory experience that wasn't possible 10 or 20 years ago. Whether that's good or bad, net negative, net positive, time will tell, but I wonder if one of the reasons why the authorities were led to this location today in this national park was possibly because of amateur tips.

I think time will tell, but we've had so many people going through their phones, going to their cameras trying to see, hey, I was at the Grand Teton Park in late August. Did I happen to see that van? And that's a remarkable kind of new form of crowd sourcing that we are seeing when it comes to criminal investigations.

BROWN: Yes, it's remarkable the role that these digital detectives, if you want to call them that, played in this case, and I think we're going to learn more about the role that they played. But you're right, the FBI made a point to mention that, to mention the public and the public's role in all of this.

If you could, tell us a little bit more about how that played out and why this story gained so much attention so fast, how social media really brought it to the forefront very quickly after she was reported missing on September 11th.

STELTER: One of the theories I've seen out there among commentators is that, you know, some people are still mostly at home due to the pandemic, bored, looking for something to do. And when you can engage in something that is, you know, the worst kind of true crime, real news, that that might be more interesting than listening to a fictional show or watching a fictional show.

I think there is an element of truth to that in the same way that court cases and other crime stories have always captured the public's imagination. The difference now versus 20 years ago is that you can scroll through the victim's Instagram feed and get to know her, or at least you think you get to know her through Instagram.

But I've also seen some troubling versions of this, Pamela. People for example may be taking it too far trying to reach conclusions before any conclusions can be reached. And there were people speculating about the fiance wearing a necklace, then suddenly not wearing the necklace in his Instagram photos. You know, listen, we'll see if that turns out to be anything.

But there's that kind of attempt to put the puzzle pieces together in ways that may not fit that may actually prove to be a net negative for investigators, for authorities. I noticed on Friday, you know, when the search was beginning in North Port, the North Port Police said, please, we ask for calm because there was so much chatter and so much interest. So there's certainly an upside here. There could be a downside as well.

BROWN: Right, and especially when you're trying to filter through all the tips, what's credible, what's not if you're law enforcement.

STELTER: Right.

BROWN: It's just such an interesting mixed picture about the role social media played in all of this.

Brian Stelter, thank you for bringing on your -- analysis, I should say, and your perspective of this case.

And I want to go back to our panel now. We have the former Baltimore acting police commissioner and CNN law enforcement analyst, Anthony Barksdale, and CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson.

Commissioner Barksdale, do you think the social frenzy made the detectives' jobs easier or harder like we were just talking about there with Brian?

BARKSDALE: I think that the social media involvement, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, whatever, is a plus for law enforcement. Imagine that someone you love was a homicide victim and you have thousands of people who don't know your relative now making that important to them. So if you're going to spend time on social media and you're using that time to be concerned about the homicide of someone, then I think it's a plus.

Regardless of what information comes into law enforcement, they still must have evidence. They still have to prove a case. So yes, it can be a lot sometimes, but you have to work through it. So I don't see it as being a negative. I see it as a plus.

BROWN: How do you see it, Joey?

JACKSON: Yes. There's no question. I'm in accord with Anthony on this for the following reasons. When you look at prosecuting this case, Pam, you're going to look at that very blueprint, you're going to look at social media. Look at what that does with respect to the evidence that will be established. There was a cross-country trip taken. That trip was cataloged in every regard. We are at this location, this is what we are doing, this is who are with. This is what we are eating, right?

These are the circumstances of our present moment and what's occurring. And then you have the next day, the next day, the next day. You have that blueprint. And prosecutors are going to say at some point that blueprint disappeared.

[18:30:02]

We can all understand why. This is a case of circumstantial evidence. Remember, there are some crimes that have committed in the light of day where there are surveillance cameras everywhere perhaps unbeknownst to people. There are other crimes that have committed in national parks where perhaps surveillance is not as, right, abundant in those locations. And so you need to demonstrate the circumstances that underly the particular crime.

And here you have a person who's dead. You have a person who is very much alive and wonderful and having the time of her life, and then it went cold. And it went cold, the prosecutor is going to say, at the hands of the person. Again, innocent until proven guilty, of course. But prosecutors are going to lay this out saying the reason the trail went cold is because he killed her, and let's talk about why.

And then they'll get into other issues that we're not tracking about right now, Pam, but that will be very important in terms of the forensics, in terms of the cause of death, the DNA, everything else to isolate it, and to demonstrate, you know what?

There is a body here, she's gone, and he's the person, Mr. Laundrie, who's now missing, who did it. All allegations at this point, but this is what prosecutors will say as they look to him to demonstrate, you know what, what happened here, sir, I think you know something about it.

BROWN: And just to update our viewers again who may just now be tuning in, the FBI says that human remains have been found in the search for Gabby Petito and said that those remains match the description of Petito. But they are still waiting on final confirmation and her family has been notified about this. Again, our hearts are with her family tonight. I can't imagine how difficult this must be to absorb.

Commissioner Barksdale and Joey Jackson, stay with us. Our breaking news coverage continues after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:55]

BROWN: Back now with tonight's breaking news. FBI officials say the body found at Grand Teton National Park matches the description of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old who went missing during a cross-country road trip with her fiance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Earlier today human remains were discovered consistent with the description of Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito. Full forensic identification has not been completed to confirm 100 percent that we found Gabby, but her family has been notified of this discovery. The cause of death has not been determined at this time.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: CNN's Leyla Santiago joins me now from North Port, Florida.

Leyla, what are police saying given this new development?

SANTIAGO: Well, Pamela, we just received a statement from North Port Police. In it they say, and I quote, "We are saddened and heartbroken to learn that Gabby has been found deceased. Our focus from the start along with the FBI and national partners has been to bring her home. We will continue to work with the FBI in the search for more answers."

And that last part is key, right, the search for more answers. There are still a lot of questions left unanswered. I can tell you that earlier today we watched as they wrapped up the search for the evening, just for today here, a little earlier than they had wrapped up yesterday.

But we were here watching as we saw helicopters circle over, canine units coming in, ATVs coming out, all sorts of equipment to really focus the search here in this reserve, a wildlife reserve, 25,000 acres, where the Laundrie family claims that they believe their son is.

According to police on Friday, they reported him missing, saying they were concerned about his whereabouts and said that Tuesday was the last time they had seen him with a hiking backpack and intended to come here to go on a hike. Now police have not said that in that conversation with the Laundrie family that they were able to get any more details as to -- more information on what happened to Gabby because that will be the central question now.

What caused this? What happened? And they're hoping that in finding Brian Laundrie that they will be able to get more answers as to what led to this death, to this disappearance of both of them now -- Pamela.

BROWN: And how does this change the search for Brian Laundrie?

SANTIAGO: So the search will continue according to at least one of the teams we talked to that coming out of here. Brian Laundrie has had a lot of focus on the home where he lived with his family as well as with his fiance, Gabby Petito. I can tell you that area has been blocked off. They've also had some folks there that are yelling some not so nice things and questioning the family that lives there as they were searching for Gabby Petito.

So the search, according to at least one team that we talked to, will continue, and a big part of that is trying to get to the root of where is Brian Laundrie today and what caused all of this? What happened?

BROWN: Still so many questions. And like you point out, the search is continuing, escalating tonight for Brian Laundrie, the fiance of Gabby Petito. Thank

you so much, Leyla.

And I want to back to our panel, former Baltimore acting police commissioner and CNN law enforcement analyst Anthony Barksdale and CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson.

So, Joey, Gabby's fiance has named the person of interest but not a suspect yet by law enforcement. And Anthony, I'm going to go to you. We just lost Joey. How does this change things?

[18:40:00] BARKSDALE: It changes things now because it's no longer, oh, the boyfriend, oh, the girlfriend. We now have a homicide. And it appears he's the last one who saw her, so he now becomes more than a person of interest. It leans more towards a suspect. So law enforcement can start to apply even more of their efforts towards finding him, locating him. He needs to be talked to. We need to talk to him and find out what he knows about this homicide.

BROWN: And so far he has not spoken to law enforcement at all in this case, and his family reported on Friday that he was last seen on Tuesday, that he was seen with a hiking backpack and they're looking for him right now as we speak.

If you would, walk us through what additional resources, how this has escalated the search for him? What can police now do given this significant development?

BARKSDALE: Well, you want to start going, you want to look at what you can find on subpoena phone records. You can serve search warrants on certain things that you deem necessary to the investigation. Look for more evidence. So that is the key. Look for evidence while at the same time look for him.

So you're doing two things, and I believe that there is enough law enforcement involved at the federal level, the state and local level now, that this case will be closed. I believe they're going to close this case.

BROWN: Wow. And if you would, just walk us through given your experience what the challenges might be where you have so much going on, right, that you have the investigation going on there in Wyoming after the body was found that matches a description of Gabby Petito, and then you also have this search that is ongoing there in Florida, and there is a lot of pieces to the puzzle that still need to be put together.

What is that like in terms of coordinating with law enforcement? What are the challenges in that?

BARKSDALE: Well, a big thing is delegation. Who's responsible for what? Which forensics team has to work certain crime evidence? Who is doing the search for the boyfriend? How are we going about that? That's delegated. And all information that is found as they go rises and goes to one central spot. Whatever detective is assigned this case, whatever prosecutor is working with the police department, the information goes to them.

So, yes, it's a lot of moving parts, but you delegate those to your appropriate resources and that's how it works. But you've got to stay on top of it.

BROWN: All right. Well, and no doubt they will. So we're going to --

BARKSDALE: Yes.

BROWN: And we are staying on top of it, every new development, and this latest significant development that we're just learning about tonight, that the FBI is saying a body has been found in the search that matches the description of Gabby Petito.

Anthony Barksdale, thank you. We're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:47:44]

BROWN: We're covering breaking news out of Wyoming tonight. FBI officials say the body found in Grand Teton National Park matches the description of Gabby Petito. She's the 22-year-old who went missing during a cross-country road trip with her fiance, Brian Laundrie. Right now law enforcement is searching for him. They've been searching for him for several days now.

Joining me now on our breaking news tonight is Lawrence Kobilinsky, professor emeritus of forensic science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Thank you so much for joining me, Lawrence. A short time ago officials said they found human remains that match the description of Gabby Petito. What has to happen before they make a positive identification in this case?

LAWRENCE KOBILINSKY, PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF FORENSIC SCIENCE, JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Well, they already know her age, 22. They know her height, her weight. They know of her gender of course. They obviously are going to be looking for a tattoo. I believe she has a tattoo on her right arm, the inside of her right arm. They know her hair color, they know her eye color.

They certainly can check dental records, although that takes some time, and they certainly can do DNA testing and that takes some time. It's not clear what the condition of the body is, whether it was exposed to the environment for a certain period of time. They don't know exactly that length of time, but the autopsy will reveal a great deal and allow a positive identification to be made. The fact that they already consulted with Gabby Petito's family indicates that they have a fairly good idea that it is her.

Now, of course, the autopsy is going to declare a cause of death. Now we can only speculate at this point what the cause of death might be. It might be blunt force trauma, for example. It might be strangulation. And of course, even the autopsy is not going to complete the analysis. There needs to be a toxicology report that takes additional time to complete, but it's the medical examiner that will declare that this is a homicide rather than an accident which of course, Mr. Laundrie may say she died of an accident then he got frightened and ran.

[18:50:14]

So that's all up to the medical examiner at this point. BROWN: The last time Gabby Facetimed with her mother was on August

24th. So we're coming up on a month since that date. There were subsequent text messages but no definitive eyes on her after that date other than I think an Instagram post. What kinds of complications are there for forensic teams given that timing, given the fact this is a wilderness area?

KOBILINSKY: Yes.

BROWN: Talk me through some of the considerations ahead for investigators in finding the cause of death.

KOBILINSKY: Well, first of all, I think with that length of time, I mean, we don't know that she died on August 24th. I mean, it could have been sometime after that but for that length of time exposure of a body to the environment could result in complete skeletonization. You know, a lot of soft tissue will be gone. So it's not a simple matter to say well, it looked -- the body looked like it could be Gabby. You need more analysis than simply that.

They described it as human remains. I don't know if that really indicates a certain level of decomposition or not, but if she was deceased around that time, the end of August, I would expect to have serious decomposition in that body making the identification that much more difficult. But of course the way we do DNA analysis nowadays it can be done on different kinds of tissues including bone, so there's no doubt that her -- this body will be identified in a very quick time.

They will put a high priority on the analysis. And as I said even dental records could reveal it. The tattoo alone could reveal that this is Gabby. So it's going to be observation. If the body is intact at least a part where the tattoo was made then the coroner, the medical examiner will declare that it is her.

BROWN: And we just again our hearts and our thoughts, we're just thinking about her family tonight given this devastating news from the FBI. And you know, they're waiting for the, you know, formal confirmation but also as we just discussed the cause of death.

Given what you laid out with the potential for significant decomposition, what are the challenges in figuring out the cause of death and being able to determine whether it was an accident or if it was a homicide?

KOBILINSKY: Well, if we -- let's make an assumption that there's complete skeletonization, which may not be the case because in a dry environment you can get a mummification which kind of preserves the soft tissue. But even if there's only skeleton left, blunt force trauma can be seen in fractured bones. Strangulation can be seen in damage to the hyoid bone in the neck so the coroner will still be able to determine a cause of death even if it's advanced decomposition.

BROWN: And what about timeline? How long do you think this could take to find out more? KOBILINSKY: Well, an autopsy can be done in a matter of a few hours, a

couple of hours. DNA is going to take longer but again this is a top high priority case so that can be done less than a day. There's a rapid identification that could be made as soon as they can extract DNA from bone, less than a day.

Dental records if they have her prior dental records, they may have that already and then it would be a simple comparison of the dead tissue, on the remains, and a comparison is made. This could be done very quickly.

BROWN: My goodness. Just a significant development in this case. Is there anything else, Professor, that we did not talk about that you think is important to convey?

KOBILINSKY: Well, I think like in any criminal matter, you know, there's a suspect, a suspect that has risen to the top. He may be a person of interest but he certainly -- it's very peculiar that he would disappear. I mean, it's one thing not to talk to the police because his attorney advised him not to but to disappear when the FBI is looking for him, it kinds of -- you put two and two together and you get four.

[18:55:03]

BROWN: Right.

KOBILINSKY: So I think this case -- I agree with the commissioner. This case will be resolved fairly quickly.

BROWN: OK. Thank you so much, Professor Lawrence Kobilinsky. We appreciate it.

And we want to note, Gabby's father just tweeted, quote, "She touched the world," and included a picture of her with angel wings.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

BROWN: Top of the hour now. I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.