Gabby Petito was last seen alive on August 27 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming trying to defuse a heated argument between fiance Brian Laundrie and a hostess at a Tex-Mex restaurant, according to a witness, which shifts the timeline in the tragic case of the 22-year-old ‘van lifer’ from Long Island.
Investigators were initially operating under the assumption that Petito, whose body was found at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on Sunday, was last seen alive on August 24 leaving a Salt Lake City hotel with Laundrie.
Petito was reported missing on September 11 after she and her 23-year-old fiancé, Laundrie, set out from New York on a cross-country road trip in her white van two months earlier. They were documenting their travels on social media platforms including Instagram and YouTube.
Laundrie is considered a person of interest since he is believed to be the last person to see Petito alive. He returned home to Florida on September 1 without her, and refused to cooperate with authorities.
Nina Celie Angelo (left) of New Orleans says she saw Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie (right) on August 27 at a restaurant in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Her account has been confirmed by the restaurant. Petito was reported missing on September 11 after she and her 23-year-old fiancé, Laundrie, set out from New York on a cross-country road trip in her white van two months earlier. They were documenting their travels on social media platforms including Instagram and YouTube
Angelo, a photographer, was with her boyfriend, financial adviser Matthew England, when they stopped to have lunch at Merry Piglets sometime between 1 and 2pm. The couple was in Wyoming in late August to attend a wedding. While dining at the restaurant, they overheard a loud conversation in which another customer, Laundrie, was heard screaming at wait staff in what appeared to be an argument over the check
Angelo's account means that Petito was last seen alive on August 27. It was previously assumed that she was last spotted alive in Salt Lake City three days earlier
He was reported missing on Friday. A massive search for Laundrie is underway in Carlton Reserve, a 25,000-acre swampy region just miles away from his North Port, Florida home.
Nina Celie Angelo of New Orleans recalled the August 27 incident in Jackson Hole during an interview on Thursday with ABC's Good Morning America.
She and her boyfriend, Matthew England, were traveling through Wyoming in late August to attend a friend's wedding.
England provided a credit card statement to Fox News which indicates that he spent $60.88 at the restaurant on August 27.
According to Angelo, she and England stopped to have lunch at Merry Piglets sometime between 1 and 2pm.
Angelo, a photographer, was with her boyfriend, financial adviser Matthew England, when they traveled to Wyoming for a wedding in late August
Angelo says England recognized Laundrie and Petito after seeing news reports that included police body cam footage of the couple during an August 12 incident in Moab, Utah (above)
A restaurant employee told DailyMail.com on Wednesday: 'We have already talked to the authorities about the situation and we are not allowed to comment on it further.'
Merry Piglets officials later posted on Instagram: 'Yes, we can confirm Gabby and Brian were in Merry Piglets.
'We have already notified the FBI and they are aware. We are letting them do their jobs and we are respecting Gabby's family and have nothing further to comment.'
While dining at the restaurant, Angelo and Matthew overheard a loud conversation in which another customer nearby, Laundrie, was heard screaming at wait staff in what appeared to be an argument over the check.
Angelo said that the man involved in the dispute displayed ‘aggressive’ body language.
Laundrie left the restaurant and then returned around four times, she said. Afterward, Petito came into the restaurant and apologized to wait staff for his behavior.
Angelo said she didn’t think much of the incident. When she and her boyfriend returned to New Orleans, the region was ravaged by Hurricane Ida, and they had forgotten about the altercation at the restaurant.
Earlier this month, Petito’s disappearance made headline news. Soon afterward, police body cam footage surfaced showing Petito and Laundrie being interviewed by an officer after a domestic incident in Moab, Utah.
Jenn Bethune, who runs 'Red, White and Bethune' on YouTube, said she found footage of Petito's van when she parsed over her videos from Grand Teton National Park after she was tagged in a post urging anyone who had filmed or photographed the area to search for clues. This image was taken hours after the restaurant incident on August 27
Jenn Bethune (pictured left), who travels the country with her husband Kyle (pictured right) and her three children in a 1983 Silver Eagle bus that they call 'Blue Betty' (also pictured) said she remembered driving past the van because of its Florida plates - she and her travel partner, she said, are originally from the state.
As England watched the images of Petito and Laundrie in the body cam footage, it began to dawn on him early on Wednesday morning that they looked familiar.
'He goes, "Nina, that was the couple fighting at the restaurant",’ Angelo said.
'And it stopped me in my tracks. I felt like the blood left my body.
'I was like, "Oh my God, I completely forgot about that incident".'
The memory of the argument is particularly powerful in light of the news that Petito's body was found nearby at Grand Teton National Park on Sunday.
'I have chills right now,' Angelo told Fox News.
'It's crazy because it wasn't just like we passed them on the street — it was a full blown incident.'
On Instagram, Angelo posted a story describing what she saw.
‘Excuse my French, but I am freaking the f*** out,’ Angelo said on her Instagram page.
‘Matt and I just realized - I don’t know cause I’m a dumb a** and I did not put two and two together - that we saw a blowout of a situation between Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie in Wyoming when we were there.
‘How I did not put two and two together that this happened? I don’t know.’
Angelo said that she had contacted authorities about the incident.
She said that her boyfriend ‘has an insane photographic memory.’
England has told her for days that he ‘knows this guy, Brian’ and that he had ‘seen him before.’
Angelo said England told her: ‘They were the couple fighting in the restaurant.’
‘We were sitting right next to them,’ she said. ‘They got kicked out of the restaurant and were fighting with the hostess.’
Angelo says Petito was 'hysterically crying' and 'walked out.'
'She was crying as she was standing on the sidewalk and I was watching the whole thing unfold,' according to Angelo.
'And he walked back in the restaurant and he's fighting with the hostess.'
Laundrie walked in and out of the restaurant 'four more times' to 'talk to the manager' and 'tell the hostess off,' according to Angelo.
In another video, Angelo says she is 'freaking out' and 'having an