St Petersburg, Florida: Items believed to belong to Brian Laundrie have been found in a Florida wilderness park as the search continues for clues in the slaying of Gabby Petito, a Laundrie family lawyer said.
Laundrie’s parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, took part in the search on Wednesday with the FBI and police from North Port, Florida, more than a month after Laundrie was reported missing.
A police camera video still shows Brian Laundrie talking to a police officer on August 12.Credit:The Moab Police Department via AP
“After a brief search off a trail that Brian frequented, some articles belonging to Brian were found,” lawyer Steven Bertolino said in a text to The Associated Press. “As of now law enforcement is conducting a more thorough investigation of that area.”
No other details were immediately available. The Sarasota County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed they had been summoned to the reserve but would not comment further.
Laundrie, 23, is a person of interest in the killing of Petito, who was reported missing on September 11 by her parents while the couple was on a cross-country trip out West.
Petito’s body was found on September 19 on the edge of Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, which the couple had visited. The coroner there concluded she died of strangulation and her body had been where it was found for three or four weeks.
Gabby Petito’s body was found on September 19 on the edge of Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park.Credit:AP
The couple was stopped on August 12 by police in Moab, Utah, after they had a physical altercation, but no charges were filed.
Laundrie returned home alone on September 1 in the Ford van the couple took on their trip. He was reported missing after telling his parents on September 14 that he was going for a hike in the Carlton Reserve, a vast nature preserve in Sarasota County that has for weeks been a key area in the search.
The activity on Wednesday was focused on the nearby Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, where television news reports showed numerous law enforcement vehicles arriving and a tent set up inside the woods. The location is where a Ford Mustang that Laundrie drove to the wilderness was found.
Laundrie is charged in a federal Wyoming indictment with unauthorised use of a debit card, which would allow authorities to arrest him if he is found alive.
It alleges Laundrie used a Capital One Bank card and someone’s personal identification number to make unauthorised withdrawals or charges worth more than $US1000. It does not say to whom the card belonged or what type of charges were made.
The case generated enormous public interest but also raised uncomfortable questions over the unequal attention given to the hundreds of cases of Native American and other minority women missing or murdered across the United States. Petito is white.
AP
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