Attention on Gabby Petito case helps bring a different missing person case to an end

A rescue team in Wyoming said the heavy attention paid to the Gabby Petito case helped them find remains believed to be of another missing person that vanished in the same national forest where Petito's remains were found.

Remains matching the description of Robert "Bob" Lowery were found Tuesday at the base of Teton Pass, more than a month after he was last seen. The father of two from Houston traveled to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Aug. 19, according to CNN affiliate KPRC.

Lowery, 46, was last seen on Aug. 20 carrying a black duffel bag and having a sleeping bag and tent, according to the Teton County Sheriff's Office. He was said to be on the Black Canyon Trail in Bridger-Teton National Forest, near Grand Teton National Park. The trail is popular with hikers and mountain bikers in the summer, according to police.

Bridger-Teton National Forest is the same location where Gabby Petito's remains were discovered on Sept. 19. In the days since she was reported missing, Petito's story has made national headlines, spurring digital detectives to comb through her online trail to try to solve the case.

The story has also further highlighted the tens of thousands of missing persons stories that do not garner such intense interest; there were nearly 90,000 active missing person cases in the US as of the end of 2020, according to the National Crime Information Center.