The FBI in Tampa, Florida, said Wednesday that authorities had found human remains — as well as a backpack with other items that belonged to Brian Laundrie — at at Florida park.
The FBI did not confirm the remains were Brian Laundrie’s. However, the Laundrie family attorney, Steven Bertolino, said “the probability is strong, that it is Brian’s remains” at the park.
Indeed, the discovery of a body came shortly after the FBI in Tampa said “items of interest” connected to Laundrie were found at the Carlton Reserve. One of those items, according to CNN, was a notebook belonging to Laundrie.
Laundrie is a person of interest in the murder of Gabby Petito. Both Laundrie and Petito went on a cross-country road trip this summer, traveling through Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. But only Laundrie returned home to Florida on Sept. 1, driving Petito’s van.
Ten days later, Petito’s family reported Gabby Petito missing. Laundrie, who hired a lawyer and invoked his Fifth Amendment right to not speak with police, was then reported missing on Sept. 17. His family said he left his home on Sept. 13.
Authorities found Petito’s remains on Sept. 19, outside of a Wyoming national Park. She was confirmed to have died by strangulation.
Police have been searching for Laundrie ever since. Much of the search has been focused on the Carlton Reserve in Florida. Officials came up empty-handed in the month that Laundrie has been missing until Wednesday, when items belonging to Laundrie were found in the park.
And, according to experts, these items might be important in understanding what happened to Laundrie.
Casey Jordan, a criminologist, told CNN that the most interesting thing from the press conference was that there was a notebook at the crime scene since it might hold answers.
“And that really raises the question that, if indeed, this is Brian Laundrie and died by his own hand, did he take the time to write out a note of explanation? Maybe even regret? Something that would give answers. Not only to the police but to Gabby’s family.”
“I think if that notebook is there, there’s a very good chance there could be a note,” she told CNN.
That said, Jordan told CNN that we might never get answers about what happened to Laundrie.
“We the public may never know but it would certainly indicate especially if his parents, who have voiced his concern that he might have harmed himself or had suicidal ideations when he went into the reserve, maybe the notebook will have some answers. But if it doesn’t, if he’s not been in touch or corresponding or calling his parents in the month he’s been missing, then we may never know the exact answer of what happened.”