Missing NY Woman, FL Boyfriend Argued In Utah Police Body Cam Video Shows: Report

MOAB, UTAH — The city of Moab released police body camera footage taken during their response to an Aug. 12 incident between a missing 22-year-old and her boyfriend while they were traveling in Utah.

The incident took place weeks before Gabby Petito disappeared during a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie.

Prior to the trip, the New York native was living in North Port with Laundrie and his family. They left Florida in early July, traveling in her 2012 Ford Transit van that was converted into a camper and visiting various national parks in the Western United States.

They documented their journey on social media, and Petito kept in regular contact with her family, who haven't heard from her since Aug. 25.

Her family on Long Island reported her missing to the Suffolk County Police Department Saturday. Ten days before that missing person report, Laundrie returned to his North Port home alone in Petito’s van.

As a national search for Petito continues, it’s believed she was last in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, North Port police said.

Before that, though, they were traveling through Utah, where police responded to an argument between the couple outside the Moonflower Community Cooperative in Moab, the Washington Post reported.

In the body camera video released by police Thursday, an emotional Petito told officers that she was struggling with her mental health and the couple had been fighting over personal issues, according to NBC News.

Police also said that Petito slapped Laundrie, but he never hit her, ABC 7 Eyewitness News reported.

"The male tried to create distance by telling (her) to take a walk to calm down," according to the police report. "She didn't want to be separated from the male and began slapping him. He grabbed her face and pushed her back as she pressed upon him and the van."

Neither wanted to press charges, though, and there were no serious injuries, reports said. Police categorized the incident as a “mental/emotional health break.”

The Moab City police chief told ABC 7 that "officers conducted an investigation and determined that insufficient evidence existed to justify criminal charges."

The couple was urged to separate for the evening, though. Police helped Laundrie get a hotel for the night, while Petito stayed with the van, reports said.

Laundrie, who refuses to cooperate with the investigation into Petito’s disappearance, is now officially considered a person of interest, North Port city public information officer Josh Taylor said during a news conference Wednesday. "I think most people would come to that conclusion in this case."

Her van was recovered from his family’s home Saturday night. When investigators attempted 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.

North Port police, who are now leading the search for Petito, are "pleading with (Laundrie), at this point, to please speak to us," Taylor said.

He added, "We don't know what Brian knows. I mean, that's the bottom line. We're hopeful to talk to him. He needs to talk to us. We need to know exactly where he was, where she was, their last locations."

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.”

Taylor asks that any leads into her disappearance 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."

Petito is approximately 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."

Patch reached out to Moab City Police Department for additional information.