'A wonderful father, son, brother, friend': Gabby Petito search yields body of missing Houston man in unrelated case

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Robert lowery
Robert Lowery | LinkedIn

The remains of a missing Houston man were recently found as a result of the search for Gabby Petito.

As authorities were looking for Gabby Petito in Wyoming, they stumbled onto the remains of 46-year-old Houstonian Robert "Bob" Lowery.

Lowery’s family released a statement thanking those involved in the search for Petito that led to the discovery of Robert Lowery.

"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 Lowery family said.

Petito and Lowery’s cases are unrelated and their bodies were discovered in the same region. 

According to KHOU, Lowery went to Jacksonhole, Wyoming to explore the area and went missing while on a hiking trip and Petito went missing around Sept. 11 after taking a road trip with her boyfriend, who is now at the center of a nationwide manhunt.

Petito’s boyfriend has yet to be located after going missing from his parent’s house in Florida.

Searchers discovered Lowery's body on a steep, wooded slope in the area of Teton Pass in western Wyoming and the reason for his death is not yet known, according to ABC13.

The media attention given to Petito's case inadvertently helped locate and retrieve Lowery's body.

The Teton County Search and Rescue (TCSAR) team released a press release on Twitter and offered their condolences to the family of the deceased.

“An investigation into Lowery’s whereabouts had been ongoing within the Teton County Sheriff's office, but new clues recently surfaced that prompted the search and rescue callout,” TCSAR said. “The widespread news coverage of the Gabby Petito search helped bring light to Lowery’s case and resulted in at least two members of public calling local authorities this past weekend with new information about his possible last seen point.”