Van Lifer couple camping in Utah national park - two weeks later fiancee arrives in FL alone

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's kind of shocking to me with the publicity this case has had, that Brian still hasn't been found. Is it that easy to stay under the radar with the whole country keeping an eye out for you? How is he pullig that off?

Perhaps by being dead.

[Anonymous]

I do think that the AT / Tennessee sighting was real because it’s a similar pattern on Brian’s part to , similar to when he hitchhiked back to the van in WY , to deliberately interact with people and create a narrative/ alibi ie. “ I’ve been out hiking snake river while my gf stays back at the van “ ( I’m telling you this to have you as a witness to my alibi )

Now, Brian’s parents have told him they are looking for him on AT where he camped before -so he pulls over a tourist ( out of state plates ) and feeds him this line that makes it appear that He thinks Gabby is still alive (so he can use this as proof that he wasn’t running because he killed her ) “ my gf called me and wants me to come to CA to meet her “

“ how do I get to CA on back roads only ?” - wanting to falsely tip people that he is headed to CA

Similar pattern to making it look like he went into the swamp

His behavior, his choices are consistent

For sure he is on AT in Tennessee where he went camping before

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of people are secretly rooting for him, not be sure they like him but because they want to see a small fish escape all the big fish...

Agreed. He’s a young, white male and relatable to many of the similar racial makeup in America. Whether it be for themselves, their sons, nephews, grandsons, he’s become a symbol of a modern day Clyde.

I think it’s possible that he’s out of the country. It was just that simple because he is not viewed or perceived as a threat. He lawyered up and refused to speak. He was pretty much handed an opportunity to disappear. It appears that no law enforcement department was tracking him.

[Anonymous]

How could Gabby have called him from CA when she's dead? Perhaps he's gone insane and lost his memory of killing her, just like OJ. You'd think if he really wanted to throw someone off he could make up a totally different lie like it was his wife, or his brother he was meeting up with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sitting here, literally shaking my head.

I am amazed that responses on here are actually defending the police (from August 12th) on this thread.
It is so blatantly obvious to me that the situation in Utah was littered w/mistake after mistake.

Cops should have zeroed in on Brian a little more.
They should have seen right through his transparency but they could not.
Even a typical layman can see he is nervous (& thus hyper), overapologetic, while at the same time minimizing the situation while seeming so indifferent to Gabby’s apparent distress.

Gabby was bawling the entire time.
She kept blaming herself for everything + admitted that she was not taking any medication for her mental issues.

Yet Brian got a free night’s stay in a hotel while the most Gabby received from the cops was a list of places that she could….rather should go to get a four-dollar shower to “cool off, relax and decompress.”
Because that is what helped the officer’s own wife - it would help Gabby as well.
Ha!!
Unfortunately anxiety is a huge mental issue and it takes more than one relaxing shower to help it.

I agree that cops either should be required to get more training on how to best deal w/DV or the police department should hire people who have solid DV skills both through education as well as experience.
Hopefully Gabby’s death will shine a light on how incompetently the current protocols for DV are so screwed up!

+1 she showed them how he grabbed her face!! That level of violence is code red alarm. Grabbing face or neck is chapter one of this will spiral into tragedy.

Right, but she also admitted several times that she struck Brian first. Which was corroborated by Brian. The officer did her a solid by not arresting her on the spot, separating the two, and giving her control of the vehicle for the night and the ability to flee. Expecting a small town, under resourced police department to provide two transients with Cadillac level of service is, sadly, just not realistic. They did the best they could.

+1. I think people are overestimating what police are able to do under the law in this situation. They both identified her as the primary aggressor. The police actually had to do some working around the situation so they wouldn’t be required, by law, to arrest her. Of course, in this situation, we can look back and wish he was arrested but our laws (rightly) require more than the information both parties gave to arrest him.

+2

Right, identifying her as the primary aggressor when the reports were of him hitting her was pretty darn incompetent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Telling someone to take a “relaxing” shower during an anxiety-induced situation is akin to telling a depressed person to sit outside in the sun while chewing on some vitamins.
It is like basically saying “C’mon…. Just SNAP out of it!”

So showering helps the officer’s wife.
That is good for her.
But for many people dealing with anxiety issues ~ they definitely need more than a body cleansing in order to “snap” out of it!

I'm not sure I agree with this. I work on a suicide hotline, and we often use taking a hot shower as a coping tool. It's more about staying safe for the moment, escalating an intense feeling than a long-term fix. I agree that DV experts or a social worker should be part of these kind of calls, but I don't think a hot shower was a bad suggestion. What do you have in mind? Xanax/a trip to the doctor or...?

I cannot see your point here PP. The officer seen in the police cam footage suggesting that Gabby take a shower was a poor example of what to tell a distraught woman, out alone on a desert road.
In other situations, I can see how it might be looked at as a good, temporary solution since hot water has the ability to calm someone down mentally.
By the way, the officer had no business disclosing that his wife suffered from anxiety issues & was taking medication to control it.
If I were his wife - I would be so livid knowing my husband disclosed this private matter w/a complete stranger.

I think a young, beautiful girl 100% on her own going to take a shower in a public place could be dangerous because there could be some random sicko in the area who sees that she is traveling alone and potentially follow her.
The area is obviously dangerous as two women were shot in the area the next day for instance.

Brian was trying to make her look like a nutcase. Like poor me, what a handful she is to deal with.

Very typical pattern, to put the blame for all discord on the woman's emotions.

[Anonymous]

Brian is long gone. If he's still in the US, not sure how he will be able to function under the radar unless his parents send him money. Behavior of someone who knows he is quilty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sitting here, literally shaking my head.

I am amazed that responses on here are actually defending the police (from August 12th) on this thread.
It is so blatantly obvious to me that the situation in Utah was littered w/mistake after mistake.

Cops should have zeroed in on Brian a little more.
They should have seen right through his transparency but they could not.
Even a typical layman can see he is nervous (& thus hyper), overapologetic, while at the same time minimizing the situation while seeming so indifferent to Gabby’s apparent distress.

Gabby was bawling the entire time.
She kept blaming herself for everything + admitted that she was not taking any medication for her mental issues.

Yet Brian got a free night’s stay in a hotel while the most Gabby received from the cops was a list of places that she could….rather should go to get a four-dollar shower to “cool off, relax and decompress.”
Because that is what helped the officer’s own wife - it would help Gabby as well.
Ha!!
Unfortunately anxiety is a huge mental issue and it takes more than one relaxing shower to help it.

I agree that cops either should be required to get more training on how to best deal w/DV or the police department should hire people who have solid DV skills both through education as well as experience.
Hopefully Gabby’s death will shine a light on how incompetently the current protocols for DV are so screwed up!

+1 she showed them how he grabbed her face!! That level of violence is code red alarm. Grabbing face or neck is chapter one of this will spiral into tragedy.

Right, but she also admitted several times that she struck Brian first. Which was corroborated by Brian. The officer did her a solid by not arresting her on the spot, separating the two, and giving her control of the vehicle for the night and the ability to flee. Expecting a small town, under resourced police department to provide two transients with Cadillac level of service is, sadly, just not realistic. They did the best they could.

+1. I think people are overestimating what police are able to do under the law in this situation. They both identified her as the primary aggressor. The police actually had to do some working around the situation so they wouldn’t be required, by law, to arrest her. Of course, in this situation, we can look back and wish he was arrested but our laws (rightly) require more than the information both parties gave to arrest him.

+2

Right, identifying her as the primary aggressor when the reports were of him hitting her was pretty darn incompetent.

She. Said. She. Hit. Him. First.

He. Said. She. Hit. Him. First.

He. Had. Visible. Injuries.

Look, this all sucks. But Moab has 15 police officers for a town of 5000 people and countless backpackers and weirdos that come through the area to visit the national parks. The police did the best that they could under the circumstances.

[Anonymous]

He has generic looks. He has police ties. He will be hidden for a long time. Sadly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's kind of shocking to me with the publicity this case has had, that Brian still hasn't been found. Is it that easy to stay under the radar with the whole country keeping an eye out for you? How is he pullig that off?

Perhaps by being dead.

Dead people can be found too. It's still crazy that he's been under the radar with every other person knowing what his face looks like and that he's on the run (or dead).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sitting here, literally shaking my head.

I am amazed that responses on here are actually defending the police (from August 12th) on this thread.
It is so blatantly obvious to me that the situation in Utah was littered w/mistake after mistake.

Cops should have zeroed in on Brian a little more.
They should have seen right through his transparency but they could not.
Even a typical layman can see he is nervous (& thus hyper), overapologetic, while at the same time minimizing the situation while seeming so indifferent to Gabby’s apparent distress.

Gabby was bawling the entire time.
She kept blaming herself for everything + admitted that she was not taking any medication for her mental issues.

Yet Brian got a free night’s stay in a hotel while the most Gabby received from the cops was a list of places that she could….rather should go to get a four-dollar shower to “cool off, relax and decompress.”
Because that is what helped the officer’s own wife - it would help Gabby as well.
Ha!!
Unfortunately anxiety is a huge mental issue and it takes more than one relaxing shower to help it.

I agree that cops either should be required to get more training on how to best deal w/DV or the police department should hire people who have solid DV skills both through education as well as experience.
Hopefully Gabby’s death will shine a light on how incompetently the current protocols for DV are so screwed up!

+1 she showed them how he grabbed her face!! That level of violence is code red alarm. Grabbing face or neck is chapter one of this will spiral into tragedy.

Right, but she also admitted several times that she struck Brian first. Which was corroborated by Brian. The officer did her a solid by not arresting her on the spot, separating the two, and giving her control of the vehicle for the night and the ability to flee. Expecting a small town, under resourced police department to provide two transients with Cadillac level of service is, sadly, just not realistic. They did the best they could.

+1. I think people are overestimating what police are able to do under the law in this situation. They both identified her as the primary aggressor. The police actually had to do some working around the situation so they wouldn’t be required, by law, to arrest her. Of course, in this situation, we can look back and wish he was arrested but our laws (rightly) require more than the information both parties gave to arrest him.

+2

Right, identifying her as the primary aggressor when the reports were of him hitting her was pretty darn incompetent.

She. Said. She. Hit. Him. First.

He. Said. She. Hit. Him. First.

He. Had. Visible. Injuries.

Look, this all sucks. But Moab has 15 police officers for a town of 5000 people and countless backpackers and weirdos that come through the area to visit the national parks. The police did the best that they could under the circumstances.

Perhaps. It’s still a bad look for them. Hence the investigation and the administrative leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He has generic looks. He has police ties. He will be hidden for a long time. Sadly.

+1

Agree. His "disappearance" was planned in detail, and helped by his police ties. Anyone else, they would be watching him like a hawk, since Gaby's parents reported her missing.

[Anonymous]

Maybe he is dead. if not on AT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's kind of shocking to me with the publicity this case has had, that Brian still hasn't been found. Is it that easy to stay under the radar with the whole country keeping an eye out for you? How is he pullig that off?

Perhaps by being dead.

Dead people can be found too. It's still crazy that he's been under the radar with every other person knowing what his face looks like and that he's on the run (or dead).

They can be, but if he offed himself in a remote wetland area with dense foliage where wildlife takes care of bodies quickly, probably not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I cannot see your point here PP. The officer seen in the police cam footage suggesting that Gabby take a shower was a poor example of what to tell a distraught woman, out alone on a desert road.
In other situations, I can see how it might be looked at as a good, temporary solution since hot water has the ability to calm someone down mentally.
By the way, the officer had no business disclosing that his wife suffered from anxiety issues & was taking medication to control it.
If I were his wife - I would be so livid knowing my husband disclosed this private matter w/a complete stranger.

I think a young, beautiful girl 100% on her own going to take a shower in a public place could be dangerous because there could be some random sicko in the area who sees that she is traveling alone and potentially follow her.
The area is obviously dangerous as two women were shot in the area the next day for instance.

#1 We don't know that is really the situtation with the officer's wife. Cops lie all the time. He may have just been told that is a good thing to suggest to people and it helps to "personalize it" to diffuse a stressful situation.

#2 Even if that is the situation with his wife, surely the cop had no idea this would turn into a national news story. In his mind this was just a conversation between him and a random hiker that he would never see again.