Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie: The Mystery that Unified the Internet
In a nation consumed by it’s politics and overwhelmed with tension about everything from controversial laws to COVID-19 ; the mystery of Gabby Petito seems to have unified not only a generation but the entire internet. If you’re like me then your schedule seems to include randomly scrolling through TikTok during your downtime. This alone seems to be common ground for most young adults. Well, unless you’ve been living under a palm tree or in a cave in a foreign country the last two weeks; you’ve most likely heard of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie.
From the outside, Gabby Petito was the epitome of what it means to be a trendy twenty-something year old in America. She was obsessed with traveling, photography, making YouTube videos, eating healthy, and ironically true crime podcasts. Most of these hobbies she shared with her fiancé Brian Laundrie. Their adventures were told through their social media accounts. They were the perfect couple, captivating their growing social media platforms with their latest journey across the country living out of their van. But, unknown to their followers this couple wasn’t nearly what they appeared to be.
The couple appeared to have mental health struggles, both having abnormal obsessions with true crime and even murder. This wouldn’t be shocking or incriminating if Gabby never went missing.
On August 25th Gabby’s mother and step-father had a FaceTime call with her. Little did they know this would be their last time ever hearing from her. Days later, her fiancé returned home with no trace of her.
And the FBI, multiple state and federal agencies, and seemingly everyone on the internet has been working tirelessly to solve the mystery ever since. Everyone from prayer warriors to atheists to lawyers and investigators have come together to not only solve this modern mystery but also to support Gabby’s family. Seemingly overnight the internet put aside our differences to focus on the well-being of a girl most had never known.
This unity was something I had personally only seen immediately after national tragedies. This was the unity I saw after 61 innocent people were killed in Las Vegas in 2017 or most recently when 13 of the world’s bravest died in Afghanistan. This time it was the internet who rallied together to find a girl who was full of creative energy and excitement to for the future.
Unfortunately, the body of Gabby Petito was found by the FBI on Sunday September 19th. While this remains an ongoing investigation and the mystery remains unsolved; the internet and the nation has continued in an outpouring of love and support for Gabby’s family.
Sources: nytimes.com