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911 call details Laundrie 'slapping' Petito during Moab altercation

Posted at 12:40 PM, Sep 20, 2021
and last updated 2021-09-20 18:53:28-04

MOAB, Utah — A person who called 911 in August detailed a dispute between Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie, adding that "the gentlemen was slapping the girl" during the altercation.

WATCH: Travel blogger captured video of Petito van during Wyoming trip

In the recording of the 911 call from Aug. 12, a man described what he believed was a "domestic dispute" between Petito and Laundrie on Main Street near the Moonflower Community Cooperative.

Listen to the 911 call from Aug. 12 below

The man said the two people involved in the incident were in a white van with Florida license plates, which Petito and Laundrie had used to travel through the area.

"We drove by him, a gentleman was slapping the girl," the caller said, adding that the two people "ran up and down the sidewalk" before the man "proceeded to hit her."

WATCH: Body cam video shows Petito upset during fight with boyfriend before she disappeared

The caller said the two, later identified as Petito and Laundrie, got back into the van and drove off.

The call contradicts a Moab Police report issued from the same incident in which an officer wrote, "it was reported the male had been observed to have assaulted the female," but later wrote that "no one reported that the male struck the female."

Minutes later, Moab police came in contact with both Petito and Laundrie outside Arches National Park in which Petito was seen "crying uncontrollably." An officer said the incident was described "more accurately as a mental/emotional health ‘break’ than a domestic assault."

That night, Petito spent the evening in the van while Laundrie stayed in a hotel.

A body believed to be Petito was found Sunday in Wyoming, with an official autopsy scheduled for Tuesday. FBI agents served a search warrant on the Florida home of Laundries' parents Monday, although he remains missing.