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Eerie detail in YouTuber's dashcam of Gabby Petito's van

An 'eerie' detail in dashcam footage has emerged showing what appears to be the rear door of Gabby Petito's van closing as a vehicle approaches.

The detail was discovered by eagle-eyed viewers who watched the video, which was posted to YouTube by a vlogging family known as Red White & Bethune.

The family of five were driving through the Grand Tetons area in Wyoming on August 27 when they found a white van, which matches the description of the vehicle Ms Petito was travelling in with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, before she went missing.

The video captures the rear door closing as the vehicle approaches.  Source: YouTube
The video captures the rear door closing as the vehicle approaches. Source: YouTube

In zoomed-in footage of the video, the van door appears to close as the family's van draws closer.

Followers urged them to check the footage

Jenn and Kyle Bethune, along with their three children, travel around America in their van, vlogging their travels in a YouTube channel called Red White & Bethune.

In their footage voiceover, the Bethunes say they spotted the Florida number plates and wanted to say hello to the occupants of the van, as they are from Florida too. But thinking the van was unoccupied, they kept driving.

YouTubers found footage of what they believe to be Gabby Petito's van, near the area where authorities found a body. Source: Red White & Bethune
YouTubers found footage of what they believe to be Gabby Petito's van, near the area where authorities found a body. Source: Red White & Bethune

"The van looked pretty much abandoned. We figured maybe they were out hiking, they were just chilling inside. There were no doors open," Kyle Bethune says in the voice-over.

In a Facebook post, Mrs Bethune explained that she decided to look through their videos after their followers urged them to.

'I INSTANTLY got a bone-chilling feeling. I leapt up and ran to my laptop. I watched the rest of my footage and sure enough, her van was in the video," she wrote in the Facebook post.

The van was parked near the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping, with a body matching Ms Petito's description found in the same area on Monday.

A body matching Gabby Petito's body was found on Sunday. Source: Facebook
A body matching Gabby Petito's body was found on Sunday. Source: Facebook

On the 'Find Gabby' Facebook page, which was set up by the Petito family, a post said they and the FBI had the Red White & Bethune footage and they believed it was Ms Petito's van "for multiple reasons".

When the authorities announced they had found the body, they could not confirm it was Ms Petito, but FBI Supervisory Special Agent Charles Jones said her family had been notified.

Chilling 911 phone call before disappearance

Ms Petito and her boyfriend Brian Laundrie left on a cross-country trek in a converted van July 2021.

He returned back to his parent's home in Florida on September 1, with the white van, however Ms Petito was nowhere to be found.

Ms Petito’s family filed a missing persons report on September 11 with police in Suffolk County, New York.

Mr Laundrie has been identified as a person of interest in the case.

Before Ms Petito disappeared, someone called 911 to report a man had slapped a woman in Moab, Utah.

The audio from the phone call has since been obtained by multiple US media outlets and it details the chilling altercation Ms Petito and Laundrie had on August 12.

Gabby Petito cries as she talks to an officer after being pulled over. Source: The Moab Police Department via AP
Gabby Petito cries as she talks to an officer after being pulled over. Source: The Moab Police Department via AP

The caller explained he was driving along Main Street and informed the operator he wanted to report a "domestic dispute".

He begins describing a white van with Florida licence plates which had driven off.

"What were they doing?" the operator asked, with the witness saying he saw a man "slapping the girl".

"We stopped, they ran up and down the sidewalk, he proceeded to hit her, hopped in the car and they drove off," the man said.

The man then gives the operator the licence plate, which matches the one listed on the FBI's missing person description — QFTG03.

The 911 caller said he saw the dispute happen near Main Street in Moab. Source: Google Maps
The 911 caller said he saw the dispute happen near Main Street in Moab. Source: Google Maps

Police later pulled the pair over. Police footage shows Ms Petito crying and her admitting the couple had been fighting that morning, though insisting Mr Laundrie had not been violent.

Mr Laundrie went missing last week, after he declined to speak with investigators and authorities are still trying to find him.

As per CNN's reports, the FBI searched Mr Laundrie's parents' home in Florida on Monday, in relation to Ms Petito's case.

Funds raised through GoFundMe to aid the search for Ms Petito will continue to cover general expenses incurred during the search and now also help the family with legal fees.

"The worst fears of any parent have been realised with the recovery of Gabby. We are devastated and heartbroken," the update on the authorised GoFundMe says.

"On behalf of the entire family, we send a heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed and donated to help in our search for Gabby."

With Associated Press

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