How the search for Brian Laundrie, boyfriend of Gabby Petito, unfolded
Brian Laundrie is a person of interest in the death of his girlfriend.
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
- Police find apparent human remains, personal items belonging to Laundrie
- Cadaver dog team called to scene
- Brian Laundrie's father joins police in search for son: Attorney
- Brian Laundrie left parents’ home to hike day earlier than parents originally told investigators
- Second Moab Police body camera footage shows Gabby Petito claim Brian Laundrie grabbed her face
- FBI ends search at Laundrie residence
- Car Brian Laundrie last used was parked in parents' driveway: Authorities
Search resumes for Laundrie in 'gator and snake infested' swamp preserve
Police returned on Tuesday morning to the vast Carlton Reserve near North Port, Florida, to resume their search for Brian Laundrie a day after they said they had "exhausted all avenues in searching the grounds."
A North Port Police Department spokesman released a statement saying police, FBI, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and other law enforcement agencies resumed the search for Laundrie on the Venice, Florida, side of the roughly 25,000-acre preserve.
Laundrie's parents told police their son said he was going to the preserve on Sept. 14 and that was the last time they heard from him.
Police spent most of Saturday and Sunday searching the preserve, entering from the North Port side. Josh Taylor, the North Port police spokesperson, said on Monday that the initial search of the preserve turned up no clues of Laundrie's whereabouts there and that bloodhounds and K-9 units did not pick up Laundrie's scent.
"Please be aware, the Carlton Reserve is a vast and unforgiving location at times. It is currently waste deep in water in many areas. This is dangerous work for the search crews as they are wading through gator and snake-infested swamps and flooded hiking and biking trails," Taylor said in the statement released on Tuesday.
Laundrie family lawyer calls off press conference
A press conference scheduled for Tuesday afternoon by the Laundrie family and their attorney has been called off.
Steven Bertolino, the family's lawyer, told ABC News that he canceled the press conference after speaking with the FBI. He did not elaborate on what prompted the cancellation.
The press conference was scheduled to be held at 1 p.m. ET at a hotel in Long Island, New York, near Petito's hometown of Blue Point.
FBI ends search at Laundrie residence
The FBI Tampa office tweeted Monday evening that they ended their search of the Laundrie residence North Port, Florida.
"No further details since this is an ongoing investigation," the office tweeted.
Search warrant last week uncovered hard drive, revealed Petito's last text
Details of a search warrant executed last week by Florida investigators looking into into Gabby Petito's disappearance were revealed Monday.
This warrant, filed by the North Port Police Department this past Wednesday, wasn't associated with the FBI activity at the Laundrie family’s North Port home Monday.
Police say that after they searched the 2012 Ford Transit van, crime scene technicians found an external hard drive that they believed "may contain viable digital forensic data that could assist in the location" of Petito, court documents said.
A detective said Petito’s mother received an "odd text" from the 22-year-old, on Aug. 27, -- making it likely the last communication from Petito, according to court documents.
The text asked Petito's mom, "Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls,” referring to Petito’s grandfather, who she “never” refers to as Stan, according to her mother.
2nd witness corroborates domestic dispute between couple
The Moab, Utah, police department has released a report from a second witness claiming he saw Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie engaged in a domestic dispute in Moab on Aug. 12.
The witness told police he observed a man and a woman, later identified Petito and Laundrie, arguing over a cellphone about 4:30 in the afternoon outside a grocery store in Moab, according to a statement from police.
"They were talking aggressively @ each other & something seemed off. At one point they were sort of fighting over a phone -- I think the male took the female's phone. It appeared that he didn't want her in the white van. He got into the driver's seat & she followed him. At one point she was punching him in the arm and/or face & trying to get into the van," the witness wrote in the police report.
The witness, according to the statement, said the woman eventually climbed over the driver to get into the passenger seat and that she was overheard saying, "Why do you have to be so mean"?
"I wasn't sure how serious this was -- it was hard to tell if it was sort of play fighting, but from my point of view something definitely didn't seem right. It was as if this guy was trying to leave her, and maybe take her phone? Not sure but wanted to help out," the witness wrote.
Around the same time, a 911 caller told a Grand County, Utah, Sheriff's Office dispatcher that he witnessed Laundrie allegedly "slapping" Petito and chasing her up and down a sidewalk hitting her, according to a recording released by the sheriff's office.