Gabby Petito Warned Against 'Toxic' Relationship With Brian Laundrie Days Before Death

A U.S. park ranger had warned Gabby Petito against her “toxic” relationship with fiancé Brian Laundrie during their Utah trip last month. Petito, the travel vlogger who was reported missing on Sept. 11, was found dead in Wyoming Tuesday while Laundrie is nowhere to be found.

According to authorities, two police officers responded to reports of a “domestic problem” involving Petito and Laundrie in Utah on Aug. 12. Petito had slapped Laundrie during their altercation, causing Laundrie to lock her out of their van. At the time, the couple told the police their tensions were high due to mental health problems. What followed the said encounter remains unknown.

Melissa Hulls, a visitor and resource protection supervisor at Arches National Park in Utah and one of the officers who responded to the domestic dispute involving Petito and Laundrie, told the Deseret News about speaking to Petito days before her family lost contact with her on Aug. 27. Hulls told the publication that on the day they responded to their dispute, she had warned Petito that her relationship with Laundrie appeared to be “toxic” and she should consider changing her path.

“I was probably more candid with her than I should’ve been,” she told the outlet. “I was imploring with her to reevaluate the relationship, asking her if she was happy in the relationship with him, and basically saying this was an opportunity for her to find another path, to make a change in her life.”

During her conversation with Petito, Hulls also found the couple was going through a mental health crisis. However, she said neither Petito nor Laundrie seemed to be in serious danger at the time they responded to their dispute to warrant more serious action from them.

“I wouldn’t have called the relationship unsafe,” Hulls explained. “If we had any reason to think any of them was in danger, we would’ve separated them.”

The couple was apologetic following the incident and they only sustained minor injuries, Hulls said. “It’s not that we didn’t think he was manipulative, but we have to worry about the safety, and not the psychology of it. We have to go by the facts that we were faced with at the time, and not let our emotions drive the decision,” she continued.

A week after Petito was reported missing, a search party discovered remains of a woman in Wyoming on Sept. 19. On Wednesday, authorities confirmed the body was Petito’s. Meanwhile, Laundrie, who returned to Florida alone on Sept. 1 driving Petito’s camper van, is a person of interest in the case and remains at large.