Police look for Laundrie in reserve; Petito still not found

Associated Press

NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) — Police successful Florida connected Saturday searched a immense wildlife reserve adjacent the Gulf Coast for 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, a idiosyncratic of involvement successful the disappearance of his girlfriend, Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito.

Dozens of North Port constabulary officers, FBI agents and members of different instrumentality enforcement agencies searched the 24,000-acre (9,712-hectare) Carlton Reserve successful the Sarasota, Florida area.

“His household says they judge helium entered the country earlier this week,” North Port Police tweeted Saturday.

Laundrie’s household earlier told officers that they haven’t seen him since Tuesday. Police said the speech Friday evening was the archetypal clip they’d spoken with the Laundries successful item astir the case, and that the gathering came astatine the family’s request. An lawyer for the household called FBI investigators and said they wanted to speech astir Laundrie’s disappearance, constabulary said.

Laundrie and Petito, 22, near successful July connected a cross-country trek successful a converted van to sojourn nationalist parks successful the U.S. West. Police said Laundrie was unsocial erstwhile helium drove the van backmost to his parents’ location successful North Port, Florida, connected Sept. 1. Petito’s household filed a missing persons study Sept. 11 with constabulary successful Suffolk County, New York.

Laundrie has been identified arsenic a idiosyncratic of involvement successful the case.

“It is important to enactment that portion Brian is simply a idiosyncratic of involvement successful Gabby’s disappearance, helium is not wanted for a crime,” North Port constabulary said successful Friday’s statement. It added that the probe is present a “multiple missing person” case.

An lawyer for Brian Laundrie, Steven Bertolino, did not instantly respond to a petition for remark from The Associated Press connected Friday night.

Attorneys for the Petito household released a connection saying that Laundrie was not “missing.”

“All of Gabby’s household privation the satellite to cognize that Brian is not missing, helium is hiding. Gabby is missing,” the connection from the instrumentality bureau of Richard B. Stafford said.

Earlier successful the week, Petito’s household pleaded for the Laundrie household to archer them wherever their lad past saw her. Petito and Laundrie were puerility sweethearts who met portion increasing up connected Long Island, New York. His parents aboriginal moved to North Port, astir 35 miles (55 kilometers) southbound of Sarasota.

Police video released by the Moab Police Department successful Utah showed that an serviceman pulled the van implicit connected Aug. 12 aft it was seen speeding and hitting a curb adjacent the entranceway to Arches National Park. The assemblage cam video showed an affectional Petito, who sat wrong a constabulary cruiser portion officers besides questioned Laundrie.

Laundrie says connected the video the mates got into a insignificant scuffle that began erstwhile helium climbed into the van with soiled feet, and said helium didn’t privation to prosecute a home unit complaint against Petito, who officers decided was the aggressor.

Ultimately Moab constabulary decided not record immoderate charges and alternatively separated the mates for the night, with Laundrie checking into a motel and Petito remaining with the converted sleeper van.

The authoritative speech with the household Friday came soon aft the North Port Chief Todd Garrison had publically vented vexation implicit Brian Laundrie’s deficiency of assistance connected Wednesday, pleading for Laundrie’s lawyer to put a conversation. “Two radical near connected a travel and 1 idiosyncratic returned!” an earlier tweet by the constabulary main had said.

Their trek successful the Fort Transit van began successful July from Long Island. They intended to scope Oregon by Halloween according to their societal media accounts, but Petito vanished aft her past known interaction with household successful precocious August from Grand Teton National Park successful Wyoming, authorities said.

In different developments, a sheriff successful Utah said Friday that detectives person determined determination is nary transportation betwixt Petito’s disappearance connected the travel and a still-unsolved slaying of 2 women who were fatally changeable astatine a campsite adjacent Moab, Utah. The bodies of the 2 women, Kylen Schulte, 24, and Crystal Turner, 38, were recovered six days aft the postulation halt involving Laundrie and Petito.

Utah’s Grand County Sheriff Steven White said without elaboration successful a quality merchandise the 2 cases were unrelated.