Gabby Petito Tipsters Lead Searchers to Missing Man’s Body in Same Forest
A Wyoming search-and-rescue team said two tip-offs came in following the intense interest in Gabby Petito’s disappearance.
Facebook/Find Robert Lowery
A search-and-rescue team in Wyoming has credited the intense coverage of the Gabby Petito case with helping to bring the search for another missing person to an end.
Robert Lowery, a 46-year-old dad of two, was last spotted on Aug. 20 holding a black duffel bag and a tent in Bridger-Teton National Forest—the same location where Petito’s remains were discovered earlier this month. Teton County Search and Rescue confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that a body matching Lowery’s description has been recovered.
An investigation to find out what happened to Lowery has been ongoing since he vanished, but the rescue team said new tips started to come in following the media frenzy surrounding Petito’s disappearance in the same area. The two cases are only connected by their shared location.
“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,” said Teton County Search and Rescue.
The team went on to say that it used the new tip-offs to begin a fresh search this week that came to a tragic end on Tuesday afternoon. “At about 1 p.m., a dog team located a body and black Nike duffle bag significantly off trail on a steep, wooded slope,” it said, adding: “Volunteers spent Tuesday afternoon recovering the body from the mountainside.”
According to KPRC2, the Teton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Lowery went missing 40 miles from where Petito’s body was found, but authorities don’t believe the cases are connected beyond that.
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Lowery’s family confirmed on Facebook that they have been informed about the discovery of the body matching his description and are awaiting a coroner’s report. The family said in a statement: “Bob has been a wonderful father, son, brother and friend. Our family wants to thank the news media and others involved in the search for our privacy at this difficult time.”
The cause of Lowery’s death remains under investigation.
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