Media attention surrounding Gabby Petito may have helped find the body of a missing man in the same national forest.
According to Teton County police, remains matching the description of a man named Robert Lowery were found at the base of Teton Pass in Wyonming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest on Tuesday.
Petito’s body was found on the opposite side of the forest at the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area. However, Teton County Sheriff’s Deputy Chad Sachse told NBC’s Dateline that the two cases were not related.
“The widespread news coverage of the Gabby Petito search helped bring light to Lowery’s case, and resulted in at least two members of the public calling local authorities this past weekend with new information about his possible last seen point,” a statement read.
“The new information put Lowery on the Black Canyon Trail, wearing a black baseball cap with a gold P, and carrying a black duffle bag with the Nike logo.
“Given this new information, TCSAR initiated a response. The volunteers split into seven teams and combed the thick timbered area surrounding Black Canyon, a popular hiking and mountain biking trail in the summer. At about 1 p.m., a dog team located a body and black Nike duffle bag significantly off trail on a steep, wooded slope. Volunteers spent Tuesday afternoon recovering the body from the mountainside.”
This comes after Petito’s father, Joseph Petito thanked social media users for spreading awareness, but asked that the attention also be placed on other missing people.
“I want to ask everyone to help all the people that are missing and need help. It’s on all of you, everyone that’s in this room to do that,” he said.
“And if you don’t do that for other people that are missing, that’s a shame, because it’s not just Gabby that deserves it.”
In fact, 710 Indigenous people have gone missing in Wyoming between 2011 – 2020, according to a report from Wyoming’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Task Force.
Let’s hope that the media attention brought to Gabby Petito, helps find more missing people in the country.
