News24com UPDATE Police release body cam footage of missing YouTuber and fianc after physcial altercation

Brian Laundrie and Gabrielle Petito.

Photo: YouTube/Screengrab

Gabrielle Petito has gone missing while travelling cross-country with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie.

The YouTuber had been documenting her journey, but when Laundrie returned home in September, Petito wasn't with him.

Laundrie has since been named a person of interest; police say he is refusing to speak and "hindering" the investigation.

Now, the police have released body camera footage of the couple, with a visibly upset Petito following an argument.

Gabrielle Petito, a popular YouTuber, has gone missing.

The 22-year-old woman from Florida was travelling with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, 23, to Wyoming. The two were documenting their cross-country trip. When Laundrie returned home, however, Petito wasn't with him.

The Utah police have since released body camera footage of an incident that occurred between the couple two weeks before Petito's disappearance, after someone called them when the two appeared to argue outside a food co-op.

In the footage, police pulls the couple over on the road and separates them before interviewing the two about the alleged incident. 

"We've just been fighting this morning, some personal issues," Petito, crying, tells the officer, adding she's been struggling with anxiety.

At some point the also speak about the van hitting the curb; Petito says she didn't grab the wheel during the altercation.

Laundrie tells police he locked the van during their argument and suggested they go for a walk to cool off. The scratches on his face and neck, he says, happened when "she had her phone and was trying to get the keys from me".

The couple separated for the night with Petito keeping the van and Laundrie checking into a hotel. The police chose not to mark the incident as a domestic assault situation, but a "mental health crisis".

According to BBC, Laundrie is refusing to speak to the police about his fiancé's disappearance and has been named a person of interest in the case, with North Port police chief Todd Garrison adding: "The lack of information from Brian is hindering this investigation. The answers will eventually come out."

Laundrie's lawyer, Steve Bertolino, has since responded: "In my experience, intimate partners are often the first person law enforcement focuses their attention on in cases like this and the warning that 'any statement made will be used against you' is true, regardless of whether my client had anything to do with Ms Petito's disappearance. As such, on the advice of counsel Mr Laundrie is not speaking on this matter."

The camper van the couple was travelling in has been "fully processed for evidence", E! News reports.

The YouTuber's mother, Nicole Schmidt, has since pleaded with the public â€" and Brian â€" to assist in the investigation.

"She could be alone somewhere. She could be stranded somewhere in the wilderness and she needs help," she said. "I hope everyone is looking for her."

SEE THE COUPLE AT THE START OF THEIR JOURNEY HERE, AS THEY STARTED DOCUMENTING THEIR TRIP:

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