Weeks after Gabby PetitoThe body of was found, her family remember receiving the heartbreaking news.

Gabby’s mom Nicole schmidt and dad Joe petito – as well as their respective relatives – sat down with Dr Phil to discuss the shocking disappearance and death of the young influencer, who disappeared after taking a road trip across the country with her fiancé, Brian Laundry. (Brian returned home to Florida alone on September 1 in Gabby’s van.)

At the start of the interview, Dr Phil recalled the last time he spoke with Gabby’s father, noting that it was before authorities confirmed she was dead. The TV personality admitted that he and Joe knew the chances of finding Gabby alive were pretty slim, to which the grieving father replied, “I wasn’t naive. We were just hoping.”

“We had to find her. We had to bring her home,” he said, before recalling how he heard the tragic news. Joe remembers getting a call from Gabby’s stepfather, James “Jim” Schmidt, who was already in Wyoming looking for her daughter-in-law with the authorities.

Jim is the one who identified the influencer body after police showed him an item of clothing that matched one of Gabby’s favorite sweatshirts. He then telephoned Joe and Nicole, who were in Florida and New York, respectively, on the advice of the FBI.

Meanwhile, Jim remained in Wyoming, explaining that he knew authorities were going to find her in the state following a plethora of advice. “Deep down inside I knew she was there,” he told Dr Phil. When authorities finally found Gabby’s remains, “We couldn’t believe it because we were hopeful.”

Remembering the moment Nicole heard the news, she said Jim told her, “‘They found some remains,’ and we knew it was Gabby, although we hoped not. That was the thing. most difficult I have ever had to listen to. “

“It didn’t hit me right away for a few seconds. But I knew she was gone,” she said tearfully through tears. “As a mom, I knew she was gone.”

When asked when Nicole knew her daughter was dead, she said that was the moment she heard Gabby’s van was back in Florida on September 11. “I felt in my heart that she was gone,” said the grieving mother.

The appearance of the Petito family on Dr Phil comes more than a month after their life was turned upside down following Brian’s return from the couple’s trip without the 22-year-old influencer.

Ten days after the fugitive returned to Florida on her own, Gabby’s parents reported her missing upon learning that her van was back in the state. Meanwhile, Brian and his parents quickly called in a lawyer and refused to cooperate with the police regarding the whereabouts of the beautiful blonde.

As the public demanded answers from Brian and his family, the FBI continued to search for Gabby and found her body on Sunday, September 19 in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. Gabby’s death was deemed a homicide two days after her body was found.

As for Brian, he remains on the run with the FBI and Duane “Dog The Bounty Hunter” Chapman looking up and down for the 23-year-old, who has been called a person of interest in his fiancée’s death. .

Brian’s parents reported him missing on Friday, September 17, three days after he told authorities he had gone hiking in the Carlton Preserve, a 25,000-acre wildlife refuge in Florida.

After Brian’s sudden disappearance, it was discovered that he and his family had spent time at a campsite in Fort De Soto Park in Florida from September 6-8. The park is approximately 75 miles from the Laundromat Residence in North Port, Flor.

While his sister, Cassie Luycx, confirmed that she was at the campsite with her family, she said that she and her husband, Jacques Luycx, did not spend the night. Although Brian mysteriously returned home without his fiancée a few days before their family trip, Cassie claimed nothing about Gabby had come up at the time because there were children around.

When asked by reporters if Cassie thought her parents had helped Brian escape, she honestly replied, “I don’t know.” She also said candidly that she did not know if her missing brother was responsible for Gabby’s death.