'The Disappearance of Gabby Petito': How to watch ITV documentary as her parents speak out

The disappearance of American 22-year-old video blogger Gabby Petito gripped the world back in 2021.

For weeks, her face was all over social media and her name was the most searched on the internet. Everyone wanted to know, where is Gabby Petito and what happened to her? In June of that year, she’d set off on what was supposed to be a four-month road trip across America with her fiancé Brian Laundrie with the intention of visiting some of America’s most picturesque national parks so she could launch herself as a travel vlogger.

She had been documenting the trip through social media and her YouTube channel, Nomadic Statik. When she stopped posting updates or communicating with her family in August, the police were contacted and Petito was declared a missing person. Her body was found in September.

Prior to the discovery of her body, Laundrie returned home alone. When she was then found dead he disappeared. His body was found in October, and the following month authorities confirmed he had taken his own life and admitted responsability for his fiancée’s death in a suicide note. He claimed that he killed her after she injured herself during a fall, and so he thought ending her life would be “merciful”. It was a case that shocked and saddened the world.

Now, a new three-part ITV documentary series called ‘The Disappearance of Gabby Petito’ will follow the twists and turns of the investigation. The show will feature interviews with Petito’s parents, who discuss the torment of being a family at the heart of such a case. The internet sleuths who dedicated their online lives to solving her disappearance will also feature. So, what exactly can viewers expect from the documentary and when can you watch it? Here’s what you need to know.

Episode one of ‘The Disappearance of Gabby Petito’

On July 2 2021, 22-year-old Gabby Petito set off on a road trip across America in a renovated white van with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie. It was meant to be a four-month journey visiting some of America’s most picturesque national parks with Gabby launching herself as a travel vlogger, documenting the trip through social media and her YouTube channel, Nomadic Statik. Her posts appeared to show a young couple on the trip of a lifetime. Her family followed her progress and stayed in touch throughout, until at the end of August, believing the couple were in Wyoming, all communication with Gabby stopped.

Gabby’s parents began a desperate search. But what started as a seemingly simple missing persons case soon turned into a twisting saga creating a whirlwind online as an army of internet sleuths set out to solve the mystery of what happened to Gabby Petito. Adding to the sense of intrigue was the revelation that Gabby’s boyfriend, Brian, had returned home to Florida in the van at the beginning of September all alone.

As attention on the case grew people wanted answers from Brian and his family, yet they resolved to stay silent as the search for Gabby intensified. Everyone wanted to know what had happened to this couple, whose social media posts seemingly showed two people very much in love. However, the release of bodycam footage from Utah police during a traffic stop shows the relationship between Gabby and Brian in a very different light and leads to more questions about what happened on their trip.

Featuring interviews with Gabby’s parents, they shed light on the real Gabby Petito, her childhood and her ambitions as she set off on this fateful journey. They take viewers inside their desperate search for their daughter, as they are thrust into the media spotlight with the case becoming the biggest story in America.

Episode two of ‘The Disappearance of Gabby Petito’

By September 15, 2021, the disappearance of 22-year-old Gabby Petito had become the biggest story in America, with her name the number one internet search subject in every state. Everyone wants to know what happened to this young, adventurer.

What was already a case intriguing a nation becomes a frenzy of theories and speculation when bodycam footage is released by Utah police showing Gabby and Brian being pulled over by officers. It’s revealed that in August, as the couple were on their trip, a 911 call was made by someone who saw a man hitting a woman in Moab, Utah, near the Arches National Park.

While Instagram photos from around the same time show Gabby and Brian kissing under one of the sandstone arches, the bodycam video reveals a quite different side to their relationship. It shows a visibly distressed Gabby being questioned by officers about the incident. The police seem confused about who the aggressor is.

As the police continue their search for Gabby, across the internet people speculate on what every moment of the video indicates about their relationship, but they also begin poring over every inch of the couple’s digital lives. Meanwhile, with everyone believing that Brian is holed up at his parents’ home in North Port, Florida, protesters converge on the house urging the Laundrie family to help the police.

However, it is soon revealed that Gabby is not the only person missing. It turns out Brian is not at the house and has in fact been reported missing by his parents. This is now a case with two missing people. As police, media and digital detectives search for clues, YouTubers emerge with what could be a vital piece of evidence that could help solve the mystery of where Gabby Petito is.

Episode three of ‘The Disappearance of Gabby Petito’

After YouTubers post video showing Gabby’s van at a camping site in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming in late August, it wasn’t long until a body was discovered on September 19, 2021. The search for Gabby Petito had come to a tragic end. There were still many questions to be answered and the focus was on finding her boyfriend Brian Laundrie. He was believed to be missing in a Florida nature reserve, full of alligators, snakes and challenging swampy conditions.

It wasn’t just the police searching for clues; the world of social media internet sleuths continued to be immersed in trying to shed light on a case with so many twists and turns. Speculation was rampant - was Brian on the run? With the world looking for him, where could he be? Multiple sightings of him were reported across the country, from Alabama to Montana, as theories become wilder.

Amidst the circus of the case, Gabby’s best friend was caught up in the crossfire of false information, a celebrity bounty hunter joined the search, and protesters continued to demand answers outside the Laundrie’s home. Throughout, Gabby’s parents remained dignified as they remembered their daughter in moving tributes and began a foundation in her name. But will they ever get justice for her? And will they ever find out what really happened to her out in Wyoming?

How to watch ‘The Disappearance of Gabby Petito’?

The documentary ‘The Disappearance of Gabby Petito’ is available to stream on ITVX from today (Thursday May 9). All three parts are available to watch now.