As The Search For Gabby Petito Continues Her Father Went To FL Seeking Help From Boyfriend

NORTH PORT, FL — The father of a 22-year-old woman who went missing during a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend traveled to Florida to make a public plea for information about her whereabouts during a news conference in North Port Thursday afternoon.

Gabby Petito, a New York native who had been living in North Port with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, and his family, before they left for their road trip, vanished while they were visiting national parks in the western United States this summer.

As they traveled the country in her 2012 Ford Transit van converted into a camper, the couple documented their journey and she kept in regular touch with her family on Long Island, who haven't heard from her since the end of August. Her family reported her missing to the Suffolk County Police Department Saturday.

As a national search for Petito continues, her last known location was the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, North Port police said.

“What I need from everybody here is help, because the goal is still not met, and that goal is to bring Gabby home safely,” her father, Joe Petito, said during Thursday’s news conference with the North Port Police Department.

He begged anyone with information about his daughter’s whereabouts to come forward.

“I’m asking for help from everyone here,” he said. “I’m asking for help from everyone at home. I’m asking for help from the parents of Brian, and I’m asking for the help of the family members and friends of the Laundrie family, as well.”

He added, “Whatever you can do to make sure my daughter comes home, I’m asking for that help.”

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Ten days before Gabby’s missing person report was filed, Laundrie returned to his family’s North Port home alone in her van.

Laundrie, who refuses to cooperate with the investigation into Gabby’s disappearance, was announced as an official person of interest in the case Wednesday by authorities.

Her van was recovered from his family's home Saturday night. When investigators tried to speak with him, he refused. Instead, detectives were handed information for the family's attorney, the city's PIO said. "That is the extent of our conversation with him."

In a statement released Tuesday, Laundrie's attorney, Steven Bertolino of East Islip, New York, said his client "will remain in the background" during the investigation.

On Twitter, North Port police Chief Todd Garrison begged Bertolino to encourage Laundrie to speak with police and asked anyone with information about her disappearance to come forward.

"As a father, I can imagine the pain and suffering Gabby's family is going through. We are pleading with anyone, including Brian, to share information with us on her whereabouts in the past few weeks," Garrison said in a statement. "The answers will eventually come out. We will help find Gabby and we will help find anyone who may be involved in her disappearance."

During Thursday’s news conference, the chief expressed frustration with the lack of information available in the case and Laundrie’s unwillingness to speak with police.

“Our focus is on finding Gabby and we’re pleading with people out there to give us information, put us in the direction we need to be and help us find Gabby. Gabby and her family deserve it,” he said. “We share that frustration with the world right now. Two people went on a trip. One person returned. And that person that returned isn’t providing us information.”

This multi-jurisdiction investigation has agencies in various states, as well as the FBI, “working diligently around-the-clock,” the chief added.

As of Thursday, though, investigators are still treating it as a missing persons case and Garrison said there’s “no criminality.”

Any leads into her disappearance should be submitted by calling 800-CALL-FBI, which is 800-225-5324.

Her family is also conducting their own search efforts for her, coordinating it through a Facebook page called "Find Gabby."

Gabby is about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs about 110 pounds, police said. She has blonde hair, blue eyes, and several tattoos, including one on her finger and one on her forearm that reads "let it be."