The remains found Wednesday at a Florida park might belong to Brian Laundrie, according to the Laundrie family attorney, Steven Bertolino.
The FBI in Tampa, Florida, said Wednesday that it found human remains alongside a backpack and other items that belong to Laundrie at the Carlton Reserve in Florida, as I wrote for the Deseret News. They made the announcement at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, Florida.
But the FBI did not confirm the remains are Laundrie’s. The FBI said, however, that the search area where they found the remains and the backpack had previously been underwater.
Bertolino told CNN “the probability is strong, that it is Brian’s remains” at the park.
- “It’s quite sad, you can imagine as a parent, finding your son’s belonging alongside from the remains. That’s got to be heartbreaking. And I can tell you that they are heartbroken,” he told CNN on Wednesday.
An unnamed source who arrived at the Carlton Reserve said the remains “appear to have been there a while.”
- “Based on the condition of the remains, it may take some time to officially identify. It is going to be a very thorough process with the medical examiner,” the source added.
Laundrie has been a person of interest in the Gabby Petito case since September. Petito and Laundrie went on a cross-country road trip this summer, stopping in Utah sites such as Mystic Hot Springs and Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands and Arches national parks along the way.
- But only Laundrie returned home to North Port, Florida, on Sept. 1, driving Petito’s van. On Sept. 11, Petito was reported missing by her family. Her remains were found on Sunday, Sept. 19, in Wyoming. She was confirmed to have died by strangulation.
- Laundrie allegedly left his home on Monday, Sept. 13. His family reported him missing on Friday, Sept. 17.
Authorities have been searching for Laundrie at the 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve, where Laundrie spent time on in the past. Other tipsters suggested they had seen Laundrie in North Carolina and along the Appalachian Trail.