Brian Laundrie manhunt: Gabby Petito's parents say fugitive fiancé still alive, recall learning tragic news
Fox News
NORTH PORT, Fla. – The parents of Gabby Petito described in heartbreaking detail the moments when they heard the news that their 22-year-old daughter’s remains were believed to have been found in Wyoming after she had been missing for weeks, and say they believe her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, is still alive.
Nearly all of the four parents were spread out throughout the country when the FBI told them on Sept. 19 that they "had some information that they wanted to share," Jim Schmidt recalled.
With Jim Schmidt in Wyoming, he met law enforcement agents at a conference room of the hotel where he was staying, he said. As he entered the room for the meeting that day, Jim could see through a window an FBI agent rushing in to meet him. He later learned it because he wanted to share the news before word got out of their discovery.
"They described a piece of clothing to me that matched one of her favorite sweatshirts that we knew was, that we knew was hers," Jim Schmidt recalled. "We were all crying in the room. You know, couldn't believe it, because we were holding out for hope. I knew what we were potentially going to find when we came here."