NORTH PORT, Fla. — UPDATE (Sept. 23, 2021): A federal arrest warrant was issued for Brian Laundrie following a grand jury indictment in connection with the Gabby Petito case. Click here for the latest information.
UPDATE (Sept. 21, 2021): The Teton County Coroner's Office did a forensic examination on Tuesday and determined the body found in Wyoming belonged to Gabby Petito. Her death has been ruled a homicide. Click here for the latest updates.
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The father of Gabby Petito appeared in a Dr. Phil episode Monday where he discussed the disappearance of his daughter, Gabby Petito.
The show was recorded prior to the FBI finding human remains that matched the description of Gabby and before the FBI executed a search warrant at the family home of Gabby's fiancé Brian Laundrie.
This summer, Gabby and Laundrie set out on a cross-country road trip in Gabby's Ford Sprinter van, stopping in national parks along the West Coast. However, Gabby's family began to feel uneasy after they stopped hearing from her.
Laundrie is considered a person of interest in the case, but his whereabouts are unknown.
After conducting a search for Gabby in the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area, one of her last known locations, the Teton County Coroner's Office confirmed a body was found in that section of Bridger-Teton National Forest where crews had been looking for the 22-year-old woman.
In an emotional news conference, the FBI said the body matches the description of Gabby Petito. However, full forensic testing is needed to confirm with 100-percent certainty that the human remains are hers.
Now, law enforcement agencies are working to find more information.
In the midst of the painful events that unfolded over the last week in the search for Gabby, her father, Joe Petito, spoke with Dr. Phil about the disappearance of his daughter.
The missing case gained national attention after the public learned about the strange events that led up to her disappearance.
During the interview, Dr. Phil asked Joe Petito if he believed that Laundrie has hurt his daughter.
With a deep sigh, Joe Petito hesitated to say yes.
"Ye-,yeah- I..." Joe Petito exclaimed. "She wouldn't do this. It's too long, all right. In my gut, I believe something bad happened but if I go with my gut right now, Dr. Phil, I'm going to be on the floor crying man and I can't. I got a job to do, and I'm not gonna stop until I have her. I can't focus on it, and I apologize. I can't focus on it."
In another clip, Joe Petito said sternly, "if she's hurt or worse," as he pressed his fist against his palm, "I hope they get what's coming... and that includes his folks."
He continued, "Because I'll tell you right now they are just as complicit in my book. That is not how you raise a child. You raise your children to stand up and own up to their mistakes. As a man, that is what I do. As a father-from father to father- he should be doing that to you. and I'm sorry I understand protecting your kid and all that other stuff but right now, in my opinion, you're a coward."
Flipping the script, Dr. Phil asked Joe Petitio how he would handle the situation if he were the parents of Laundrie.
"Wouldn't you pick up the phone and call them and tell them everything you knew?" Dr. Phil asked.
Joe Petito answered, "If my son's back at my house without the person who lives in my house... I'm on the phone with the parents saying 'we got a problem.'"
"Let's expand on that a little bit more, so my son comes home without his companion who lives in my house. Remember, Gabby lived there. So my son's back at my house without the person who lives in my house and he gives me an explanation—I'm on the phone with the parents saying, 'we got a problem.' Because I'm a good person. We got a problem and we got to handle it quick. And whatever this problem is or whatever the scenario is, I teach my son and my youngest son and Gabby to stand up for your mistakes. If you do something wrong, you apologize and you take what's coming because that's what decent people do. Obviously, they skipped that role in parenting."