Gabby Petito homicide update – Funeral held in Blue Point as $20,000 bounty offered to catch Brian Laundrie

LAST PHOTO BECOMES MEMORIAL

Gabby Petito's last Instagram photo that was "posted by her fiancé after her death" has become a memorial for hundreds of mourners.

A memorial site has been set up outside The Monarch, a restaurant and retail space in Ogden, Utah, where the snap was taken, as visitors paid tribute to the late YouTuber.

The's final snap shows her smiling  in front of the distinctive butterfly mural and is captioned  "Happy Halloween."

The 22-year-old YouTuber's photo was shared on August 26, two days after she was at the Grand Teton National Park in , her last known location.

GABBY'S VIGIL

Mourners gathered in Blue Point, , Friday afternoon as a vigil was held for  ahead of her Sunday memorial service.

"Brian, if you're still around and out there, please, please, I'm begging you to give yourself up and your family," Amityville resident Anne Kroll, 71, exclusively told The Sun from at the Friday observance in Gabby's hometown.

"Please, please, give yourself up or anybody has any information, please help us find him."

'MAKESHIFT MEMORIAL'

 has since been spotted at the campsite where Gabby's remains are believed to have been found.

The makeshift memorial was situated just east of where Gabby's body was located at the Spread Creek Dispersed Campsite.

It is not clear when the cross, seemingly dedicated to the 22-year-old travel vlogger, according to a , was created.

'FREE SPIRIT'

Speaking exclusively to The Sun from Blue Point, New York, Jennifer McNamara shared what Gabby was like.

"She was a free spirit. Very much a free spirit. She was adventurous, she did things to the beat of her own drum," said McNamara, 54, whose 14-year-old son Jack was babysat by Gabby.

"You know, she didn't want to be like everyone else. She was incredibly artistic. She was fun. She was really really fun."

BLUE RIBBONS

Jennifer McNamara, 54, chose the color of the ribbons based on the color of Gabby's eyes, she exclusively told The Sun from the 22-year-old's hometown of Blue Point, New York.

he said: “Her eyes, she had these incredibly blue sparkly eyes, her mother described them as like a teal color.

“When we bought the ribbons, we had to buy turquoise because the teal was a little more green than blue. So it took us quite a bit of poking around to find the right color, but that’s what it’s meant to represent.”

WHAT WAS GABBY'S CAUSE OF DEATH?

Authorities have not yet released the cause of death for the 22-year-old vlogger, but have said it was a homicide.

WHAT HAPPENED TO GABBY'S REMAINS?

 as her family prepares for a memorial to say a final farewell to the 22-year-old vlogger.

The Sun understands the family planned for the cremation to take place in Wyoming before the service in New York.

WHERE WAS GABBY'S BODY FOUND?

The remains were discovered in Grant Teton National Park, where she had been camping with her fiancé when she disappeared.

"I want to personally thank the press and news media for giving the Petito and Schmidt family time to grieve," lawyer Richard Stafford said in a statement.

"We will be making a statement when Gabby is home. I will contact you to arrange a time and location."

$25,000 IN DONATIONS

The organizer of a vigil for Gabby Petito expects to make $25,000 in donations to support of the YouTuber's grieving family – "ten times" the original goal.

Speaking exclusively to The Sun from Gabby's hometown of Blue Point, New York, Nora Garvey said they originally planned to raise a few thousand dollars but the response from the community has been overwhelming.

"Oh, my goal was $2,500. And I think I will have done. I think I will be more than 10 times," shared Garvey at the solemn Light the Night For Gabby Petito event.

"I just wanted to do something that they can see that would show them how much support they had in the town like something visual, rather than just the luminary just kind of came to my head," she added.

WHAT DID GABBY'S FATHER SAY?

Petito’s father Joseph posted a touching tribute to his daughter on Instagram amid authority’s news.

Joseph shared a photo of Gabby standing before a wall with painted wings, writing: “#gabbypetito she touched the world.”

The rest of Petito's family has yet to address the media regarding her death.

POIGNANT MEMORIAL HELD FOR GABBY PETITO IN FLORIDA

Neighbors in the town of North Port, Florida organized a butterfly release and candlelight memorial on Saturday evening for Gabby Petito.

Jason and Dena Sternquist provided live butterflies to the crowd to release in memory of Gabby.

Music played and people dropped off flowers and other items at the memorial site.

As the sun set, the crowd held up candles, some cried and hugged while others held up a photo of Gabby.

‘LIVING IN HELL’

Mark Burrow, a local survival expert, believes Laundrie is “living in hell” if he’s in the Florida wilderness, reports.

He warned that starting a fire would be “impossible” due to the heavy rains that have hit the nature reserve in recent days.

And, drinking water is likely to be full of tannins after the downpours. They are commonly found in the roots and bark of trees but high concentrations can be harmful to humans.

GABBY AND BRIAN SEEN ARGUING AT RESTAURANT

Nina Celie Angelo, of New Orleans, said she had been visiting the state with her boyfriend on  when they stopped for lunch at Merry Piglets, a Tex-Mex restaurant in Jackson Hole between 1 and 2pm.

Speaking to Fox News, Angelo claims she watched on in shock as an agitated Laundrie began arguing with a waitress. Petito was with him at the time, she said.

While she said she couldn't hear what words were being exchanged between Laundrie and the woman, she believed the spat was either over the bill or about money.

Angelo described as "aggressive" and said that he left and returned to the restaurant around four times, continuing the conflict.

LAST SIGHTINGS OF GABBY

On August 24, she was seen leaving a hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah as she and Laundrie made their way to Wyoming.

The following day, Gabby Facetimed with her mother for the final time. In a later police report, Schmidt said her conversations with her daughter revealed "" between her and Brian as the trip went on.

She also uploaded what would prove to be her final Instagram post, showing her holding a small pumpkin with the caption: "Happy Halloween."

Then, according to a new bombshell claim, Gabby and Laundrie were seen for the last time at the on August 27.

‘WANT JUSTICE’ – DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER

New drone footage reveals the  as Dog the Bounty Hunter and bloodhounds also try to track him down.

The TV star said his “heart goes out” to the family of homicide victim Gabby Petito, and he “wants to help bring justice for her death”.

CHARGED LAST WEEK

Petito’s boyfriend Laundrie, 23, was charged last Thursday with fraudulently using her bank debit card.

Police have sought him for seven days in connection with the 22-year-old travel blogger’s death during their cross-country road trip.

He remains missing after returning to his home in North Port, Florida on September 1 without his partner.

GABBY'S AUTOPSY

The coroner's van was seen leaving the national park after FBI and National Park Service officials held a press conference regarding the remains.

The body was confirmed as 's on September, 21, 2020. with the  the same day.

FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Michael Scheider said in a statement as Petito's identification was confirmed: "The FBI's commitment to justice is at the forefront of each and every investigation.

"The FBI and our partners remain dedicated to ensuring anyone responsible for or complicit in Ms Petito's death is held accountable for their actions."

TIKTOK THEORY ABOUT 'BUTTERFLIES' IN GABBY'S POSTS

One TikTok video highlights how 22-year-old Petito used butterflies across her social media, before showing a clip comparing her fiancé, Brian Laundrie discussing flies to the cops.

Laundrie - who is considered a  in the investigation - says to police in the video, "and the flies here are pretty intense, so the flies have definitely been getting to her".

One person commented on the video, claiming: "I think sometimes butterflies can be used as a signal that someone is experiencing or survived domestic abuse".

SWAMP SEARCH IN WILDERNESS CONTINUES

Drone footage shows dozens of local and federal officers searching for Laundrie in a swampy Florida nature reserve.

Police and FBI agents using divers, tracking dogs and helicopters have been hunting for the missing man in the Carlton Reserve wilderness area near North Port since Friday, when his parents told them that he had gone there to hike three days earlier.

Search teams have been searching through the alligator-infested wilderness with costs reportedly spiralling to $200,000 a day.

‘TELL DOG’ RE LAUNDRIE

 and his new wife Francie Frane are searching where Laundrie was allegedly last seen by his family on September 14, when he told his parents he was going for a hike in Carlton Reserve, near Venice, but never returned.

Dog the Bounty Hunter asked for “anyone with information on Brian Laundrie’s whereabouts to call me at 833-TELLDOG” and added that “all information will be kept confidential”.

GABBY AND BRIAN SEEN ARGUING AT RESTAURANT

Nina Celie Angelo, of New Orleans, said she had been visiting the state with her boyfriend on  when they stopped for lunch at Merry Piglets, a Tex-Mex restaurant in Jackson Hole between 1 and 2pm.

Speaking to Fox News, Angelo claims she watched on in shock as an agitated Laundrie began arguing with a waitress. Petito was with him at the time, she said.

While she said she couldn't hear what words were being exchanged between Laundrie and the woman, she believed the spat was either over the bill or about money.

Angelo described as "aggressive" and said that he left and returned to the restaurant around four times, continuing the conflict.

INTERNET SLEUTHS' THEORY ABOUT GABBY'S LAST MESSAGE

Gabby’s last text from her phone was released by the FBI and uses the word "Stan" which internet sleuths claim is a codeword for “danger”.

In the August 27 text to her parents, the vlogger wrote: "Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls."

POSSIBLE LAUNDRIE IN ‘HOMETOWN’ – DOG

Just a few days ago TV bail bondsman Dog the Bounty Hunter suggested how he would track down Laundrie.

He advised investigators to start with the missing man’s family and friends before looking into his connection to the Florida reserve.

Dog said Laundrie “isn’t an experienced runner or criminal” and it’s possible “he’s right there in his hometown”.

But he added: “Suicide is a very likely possibility.”

BIZZARE THEORIES

Petito's funeral is scheduled for Sunday, September 26, from noon to 5pm, at Moloney's Holbrook Funeral Home in Holbrook, New York.

The service will be open to the public, and could also be streamed online as her death has made international news.

NOT CHARGED IN GABBY’S DEATH

A search warrant was issued for Brian Laundrie after a grand jury in US District Court in Wyoming recently indicted him on a single count of unlawfully using the Petito’s debit card and her personal identification number.

He was not charged in her death.