The latest reports in the case of missing hiker Gabby Petito revealed that her reported fiancée, Brian Laundrie, is now also unaccounted for. After many days of silence on their end and declining to provide any statements to the North Port Police Department or the FBI, the Brian’s parents asked to speak with officials this week. During their conversation, the NPPD says they were told the parents hadn’t seen Brian since Tuesday night.
At the time, Brian reportedly told them that he was going hiking at the Carlton Reserve. After the parents hadn’t heard anything from him, they decided to report him missing days later. The North Port Police Department immediately launched a manhunt for Brian at the massive 25,000-acre reserve yesterday. The search came back empty-handed and continues today, pushing further into the reserve.
The Search for Gabby Petito and Persons of Interest Continues
In light of Brian Laundrie’s fleeing, the public is even more weary of the strange timeline related to Gabby Petito’s disappearance. They found themselves on a cross country road trip in August, and some time between the last week of August and the start of September, Gabby went missing.
Laundrie reportedly took the van that belonged to her and returned to Florida alone. However, the police never officially confirmed his timeline or presence in Florida. Initially, they took his family’s word for his location at their Florida home. Now that he is confirmed to be hiding somewhere unbeknownst to officials, the police department is trying to corroborate his family’s story.
In the mean time, a team of over 50 individuals is looking for “anything of note” in the Carlton Reserve today, as stated by the NPPD in their latest tweet. Brian Entin, correspondent for News Nation Now has been following the case closely on the ground in Florida. He confirms officials brought in bloodhounds to assist with the search. The police apprehended some of Brian’s clothing from his parent’s house to give them a scent to track.
The search for Brian Laundrie continues Sunday morning in the Carlton Reserve. A team of more than 50 looking for anything of note after his parents say this is where he went. We continue to corroborate all info in the search for him and Gabby. 1-800-CALL-FBI. pic.twitter.com/20nt70mezz
— North Port Police (@NorthPortPolice) September 19, 2021
A New Development
This morning a new lead started circulating surrounding Gabby Petito’s whereabouts with a potential spotting of her van. Correspondent Brian Entin shared the footage to his Twitter this morning. The footage comes from the “Red White & Bethune” family bloggers, who think they might have captured footage of Gabby Petito’s van themselves.
Now, officials have yet to confirm the van’s match. However, they do appear to share the same distinct features. It puts Gabby’s location in the “Spread Creek Dispersed Camp” at some point.
The “Red White & Bethune” family bloggers have given me permission to share this video.
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) September 19, 2021
The family says they were driving through Grand Teton National Park around 6pm on August 27th and spotted Gabby Petito’s van.
They were just going through old video and saw the van. pic.twitter.com/jKA8xjphcd
We are just as invested as our Outsiders and will continue to provide updates in the hopes of a good outcome for Gabby Petito.