Search For Gabby Petito Comes To Tragic End: Body ID'd As Hers

ACROSS AMERICA — It’s Wednesday, Sept. 22. We’re halfway through the workweek, and it’s also the first day of fall. Now is the perfect time to plan a trip to your local pumpkin patch or check out when fall colors peak near you. Meanwhile, here are a few stories we’re following today.

• Human remains found in Wyoming are those of Gabby Petito, officials confirmed Tuesday.
• A school bus shortage forced a Boston school to get creative.
• Two alpacas and a goat lure in vaccine recipients.
• Texas parents defy a school district in an effort to bring normalcy to their kids.

Gabby Petito’s Body Found

The search for Gabby Petito came to a heartbreaking end Tuesday when a Wyoming coroner confirmed the remains found two days earlier in Grand Teton National Park are those of the 22-year-old Florida woman and New York native.

The cause of death was initially ruled as a homicide, though final autopsy results are pending, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Meanwhile, authorities returned to Sarasota County's Carlton Reserve on Tuesday morning to continue their search for Petito’s fiance, Brian Laundrie, who hasn't been seen since Sept. 14.

"The FBI and our partners remain dedicated to ensuring anyone responsible for or complicit in Ms. Petito's death is held accountable for their actions," FBI Denver Special Agent-in-Charge Michael Schneider said in a statement.

• Human Remains Confirmed As Gabby Petito; Death Ruled A Homicide, via Patchogue, New York, Patch
• Grassroots Effort To 'Light The Night For Gabby Petito' Friday, via Patchogue, New York, Patch
• Brian Laundrie Search Resumes At Snake-Infested FL Nature Reserve, via Sarasota, Florida, Patch

Party Bus Turns School Bus

A Boston high school got an "A for effort" last week when, due to a nationwide school bus shortage, the school commissioned a less-than-conventional ride to take a group of 11th graders on their field trip. The ride: a fully equipped party bus, complete with a stripper pole and neon lights. » Read the full story on Wayland, Massachusetts, Patch

COVID-19 Deaths Top 1,900 Per Day

COVID-19 deaths in the United States have climbed to an average of more than 1,900 a day for the first time since early March. Experts say the virus is preying largely on one distinct group: the 71 million Americans who remain unvaccinated. » Read the full story on Across America Patch

A Rogue Homecoming

Parents in a Fort Worth suburb took a different route after their local high school canceled this year’s homecoming dance. While school officials called the decision to cancel “common sense,” parents are defying it by planning a rogue dance, a move they say will restore some normalcy to their children's lives even as the COVID-19 delta variant continues to disrupt it. » Read the full story on Dallas, Texas, Patch

Get The Shot, Pet An Alpaca

A Virginia couple is appealing to the animal lover in us all as a way to entice others to get their COVID-19 vaccine. That’s why two alpacas and a goat showed up Sunday to help the couple draw more people to the CVS-sponsored pop-up vaccination clinic they were hosting in their.

"We just try to do something different that people are going to look for and still get a benefit out of," Kennard Guidry told Patch. "This was one that was a lot of fun last year, so we decided we're going to do it again." » Read the full story on Reston, Virginia, Patch

This Day In History

In 1776, American officer Nathan Hale was hanged by the British for spying during the American Revolution.

Around ‘The Patch’

• COVID Claims Man Who Filmed The Rodney King Beating, via Los Angeles Patch
• Video: Man Hurls Brick In Handyman's Face Outside NYC Pickle Shop, via New York City Patch
• Teen Football Player Dies After Injury During Junior Varsity Game, via Syracuse, New York, Patch
• Funeral Procession Visits Iwo Jima Memorial As Symbolic Gesture For Marine Killed In Kabul, via Arlington, Virginia, Patch
• Weinstein Pleads Not Guilty To Sex Charges In New Indictment, via Beverly Hills Patch
• Hundreds Of U.S. Schools Selected As 2021 Blue Ribbon Schools, via Across America Patch

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