How the search for Brian Laundrie unfolded

Brian Laundrie is a person of interest in the death of his girlfriend.

ByBill Hutchinson, Ivan Pereira, Marlene Lenthang, Meredith Deliso, and Emily Shapiro
Last Updated: October 22, 2021, 6:22 AM EDT

A massive search for Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of slain 22-year-old travel blogger Gabby Petito, took a dramatic twist Thursday with the announcement that human remains found in a Florida nature preserve are those of the wanted fugitive, according to the FBI.

The remains were recovered Wednesday, nearly five weeks after Petito's body was recovered in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming. The Teton County Coroner ruled her death a homicide by strangulation.

The search for the 23-year-old Laundrie was centered around North Port, Florida, where investigators said he returned to his home on Sept. 1 without Petito but driving her 2012 Ford Transit.

Laundrie had been named by police as a "person of interest" in Petito's disappearance and a federal warrant had been issued for him alleging unauthorized use of Petito's credit card.

He refused to speak to the police and vanished on Sept. 13. His parents told investigators they believed he was headed to the Carlton Reserve in North Port.

The case grabbed national attention as Laundrie and Petito had been traveling across the country since June, documenting the trip on social media. Petito's parents reported her missing on Sept. 11 after not hearing from her for two weeks.

Here is how the weekslong search for Laundrie unfolded:

Key events

All times Eastern.
Sep 20, 2021, 1:44 PM EDT

Car Brian Laundrie last used was parked in parents' driveway: Authorities

A Ford Mustang convertible authorities believe Brian Laundrie used to purportedly drive himself to the Carlton Reserve near North Port, Florida, was parked in the driveway of his family's home when FBI agents served a search warrant there on Monday.

Laundrie's parents told authorities he went to the nearly 25,000-acre preserve on Tuesday, which is the last time they claim they saw him, according to the family's attorney.

FBI agents lead the mother of Brian Laundrie to a van after a search warrant was served on her home in North Port, Florida, on Sept. 20, 2021, as part of the investigation in the disappearance of Gabby Petito.
ABC News

Steven Bertolino, the Laundrie family attorney, told ABC News that the family picked up the car on Thursday morning from the reserve after going out on Wednesday to look for Laundrie.

Laundrie left his family's home on Tuesday morning with a backpack, Bertolino said. He said that when family members went to the reserve to look for him, they spotted a note left on the car from the North Port Police Department saying it needed to be removed. 

Bertolino said the family left the car overnight “so he [Laundrie] could drive back." When Laundrie didn’t come home Thursday morning, the family went back to retrieve the car, the attorney said.

The family called the police on Friday to file a missing person report, authorities said.

Sep 20, 2021, 10:56 AM EDT

FBI descends on Florida home of Brian Laundrie's parents

Police and FBI agents descended on the home of Laundrie's parents in North Port, Florida, to serve a search warrant Monday morning, authorities said.

PHOTO: North Port Police are searching for Brian Laundrie the Carlton Reserve a 24,565-acre preserve north of his home in North Port, Fla., Sept. 18, 2021
North Port Police are searching for Brian Laundrie the Carlton Reserve a 24,565-acre preserve north of his home in North Port, Fla., Sept. 18, 2021. Laundrie is the fiance of missing Florida woman Gabby Petito.
North Port Police via Twitter

Officers escorted the parents from the home to an FBI vehicle, an ABC News photographer at the scene observed. They were later allowed back into their home.

The FBI field office in Tampa tweeted that agents were at the home to serve a search warrant.

Sep 20, 2021, 2:46 PM EDT

Search of vast Florida swamp preserve 'exhausted': Police

The North Port, Florida, Police Department said on Monday that a search for Laundrie in the vast Carlton Reserve near North Port has been "exhausted."

Josh Taylor, a spokesperson for the North Port Police Department, told ABC News that the two-day search of the nearly 25,000-acre swampland preserve turned up no sign of Laundrie.

Taylor said search dogs did not pick up the scent of Laundrie while searching the preserve, which authorities described as alligator infested.

"At this time, we currently believe we have exhausted all avenues in searching of the grounds there," Taylor said in a statement. "Law enforcement agencies continue to search for Brian Laundrie."

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