Couple were involved in incident at Wyoming restaurant in late August, witnesses say
Nina Angelo told CNN on Wednesday that she and her boyfriend, Matt England, saw a “commotion” as Petito and Laundrie left The Merry Piglets Tex-Mex restaurant on August 27.
Angelo said Petito was in tears and Laundrie was visibly angry, entering and leaving the restaurant several times, continuing to show anger towards the staff around the hostess booth.
The couples waitress was also visibly shaken by the incident, according to Angelo, who told CNN she had not seen any violence or physical altercation between Petito and Laundrie.
A Merry Piglets official told CNN she saw “an incident” at the restaurant and called the FBI on Wednesday. The manager declined to give CNN his name or describe what happened and said the restaurant did not have surveillance video of the incident.
When asked by CNN if they had received any information about Petito and Laundrie’s presence at the Merry Piglets, an FBI spokesperson replied, “To protect privacy, we do not comment on contacts that the FBI has or has not had with individuals. “
Florida Police said in a recent search warrant affidavit that Petito’s mother received a strange text message on August 27 and that this was the last communication from her. Petito, who was chronicling the couple’s trip to national parks, also stopped posting on social media at the time.
Laundrie, who arrived at his parents’ home in North Port, Florida three weeks ago, has not spoken to police about the case. His parents told authorities they had not seen him since last Tuesday.
The FBI asked the public for help in locating Laundrie as a Florida task force searched a large nature reserve in Venice.
Diving team brought in
On Wednesday, a law enforcement scuba diving team joined efforts at the Carlton Reservation in Florida.
A large pickup truck and boat from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office arrived at noon on Wednesday at the reservation, a 25,000-acre swamp reserve in Venice, Fla., Where Laundrie told his parents he was heading during the week. last.
North Port Police said the arrival of the dive team “does not mean anything has been found. It is part of the overall search process.”
The team, made up of a dozen divers, were approached by North Port Police on Wednesday morning, said Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kaitlyn Perez.
“These divers are specially trained and very talented in low visibility water bodies,” said Perez. “They dive where you and I can’t see a thing at all. They use technology and other special equipment to help them sink deep into really deep bodies of water, so they’re over there in this. moment to retrieve what it is, they might find.
The fourth day of excavation of the reserve ended Wednesday evening, officials said.
“Nothing found. We will be back on Thursday, similar operation,” North Port police tweeted.
Petito’s remains were recovered from the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming.
Laundrie’s parents then reported his disappearance on September 17, saying he had left home three days earlier to go to the reservation and had not returned.
The FBI said the office would like to get information from anyone who may have been in contact with Petito or Laundrie, anyone who visited the scattered camping area of Spread Creek in the Bridger-Teton National Forest between the 27th and 30th. August or anyone who may have seen their vehicle.
Given the national attention to the case, several people have come forward to say they interacted with the couple in late August. And evidence from a 911 call regarding a “domestic conflict” involving Petito and Laundrie shows that the couple’s volatile relationship was not as ambitious as their sunny Instagram and YouTube lives suggested.
Laundry research focused on the nature reserve
The marshy and wild landscape of the reserve made the search particularly difficult.
“Please know that the Carlton Reservation is a vast and ruthless place at times. It is currently (size) deep in the water in many areas,” police said. “It’s dangerous work for search teams as they wade through alligator and snake infested swamps and flooded hiking and biking trails.”
Additionally, Laundrie’s parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, were questioned at their home by the FBI.
Witnesses tell police about their interactions with the couple
In a series of videos on TikTok, Miranda Baker said that she and her boyfriend drove Laundrie on August 29 in Wyoming – and that he claimed he was camping alone for several days while Petito was back in their van working on social media posts. .
Baker said they picked up Laundrie while he was hitchhiking in Colter Bay, Wyoming, which is not far from where Petito’s remains were found. He offered to pay $ 200 for the ride before even getting in the car, she said.
In his TikTok videos, Baker said that when Laundrie found out that she and her boyfriend were going to Jackson Hole instead of Jackson, he fidgeted, asked for the vehicle to stop and got out near the roadblock in Jackson. She said they dropped him off within 30 minutes of picking him up.
Baker said she spoke to law enforcement about the interaction with the laundry. North Port Police confirmed to CNN that Baker spoke with the department before posting the videos to TikTok.
“His testimony is plausible, it seems,” said North Port Police spokesman Josh Taylor.
CNN has not been able to independently verify Baker’s claims. The FBI did not return CNN’s requests for comment.
Moreover, evidence also emerged suggesting that tension was mounting between the couple.
A man who saw the marital dispute between Petito and Laundrie in Utah last month said, “They were talking to each other aggressively, and something seemed to be wrong.”
In a handwritten affidavit, witness named Chris – whose last name was redacted in the document provided by Moab City Police to CNN – said it appeared the two were arguing over control of the Petito’s phone. “At one point she would hit him on the arm and / or face and try to get in the van.”
The witness said he heard Petito say, “Why do you have to be so mean? Though Chris added that he couldn’t be sure the comment was meant to be taken seriously. Moab City Police responded to the incident and the couple agreed to stay the night separately.
“We walked past and the gentleman slapped the girl in the face,” the caller said. “Then we stopped. They ran on the sidewalk. He started hitting her, jumped in the car and they drove away. “
CNN’s Randi Kaye and Kari Pricher reported from Jackson, Wyoming and Madeline Holcombe and Amanda Watts reported and wrote in Atlanta. Eric Levenson has reported and written from New York. CNN’s Jason Hanna, Steve Almasy, Gregory Lemos, Rebekah Riess, Jennifer Henderson and Andy Rose contributed to this report.