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
Remains found at park, not clear if human
A law enforcement source told ABC News remains were found at a Florida environmental park. The source said investigators are working to determine whether the remains are human and whether the remains and other discovered articles are linked to Laundrie.
-ABC News' Jack Date
FBI confirms 'items of interest' found
The FBI said "items of interest" in connection to the search for Laundrie were found at the Carlton Reserve Wednesday morning and an evidence response team is processing the scene.
Cadaver dog team called to scene
A human remains detection team was requested by North Port Police to go to Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park to assist in the search for Laundrie, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office told ABC News
The team consists of one dog, a handler and two spotters.
-ABC News' Aaron Katersky
Articles belonging to Laundrie found in Florida nature park: Attorney
Articles belonging to Brian Laundrie were found Wednesday by his parents, said Stephen Bertolino, an attorney for Laundrie's family.
Bertolino said the articles were found while his parents searched off a trail that Laundrie frequented in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, Florida, a nature park that's been the center of the search for Laundrie.
Law enforcement is now searching the area, Bertolino said.
The medical examiner’s office in Sarasota has been called to the preserve, a spokesperson for the office told ABC News.
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."