A shocking new update: Brian Laundrie is dead.
After a lengthy and eventful search, officials confirmed that the partial human remains found at the Mayacahatchee Creek Environmental Park on Wednesday belonged to a 23-year-old fugitive.
According to the latest release from the FBI, the ID was created through a comparison of dental records:
The lawyer for the Laundries family, Steven Bertolino, confirmed that Brian’s parents have been notified, saying in a statement:
“Chris and Roberta Laundrie have been informed that the remains found yesterday in the reserve are indeed Brian’s. We have no further comment at this time and we ask that you respect the Laundries’ privacy at this time.”
Officers have been searching Laundrie , a man of interest in the murder of Gabby Petito, since late September, when he disappeared from his family home. His parents claimed he had gone on a hike in the dangerous terrain of the nearby Carlton Reserve, leading to an expensive, lengthy search through 25k square miles of swamp.
RELATED: Gabby Petito’s friends react to the violent cause of her death
However, things got more complicated as eyewitnesses also claimed that they had seen her across the country (with most of the alleged sightings reported in North Carolina). There was also a TikTok theory that Brian may have been hiding in an underground bunker in his parents’ backyard. During the search, police, social media sleuths and even Doug the Bounty Hunter all worked to uncover any possible clues – the van life influencer’s final days and his stay in the woods of Laundrie . Revealed more about the experience.
Gabby was first reported missing on 11 September, but was last heard by anyone a few weeks before that, on 27 August. She and Brian were on a road trip across the country, something they had reportedly planned as their marriage was delayed. Epidemic. They had been documenting the whole thing on YouTube and social media, so when she went missing their attention was drawn.
On September 1, Brian returned to Florida alone with his van. He neither contacted his family nor the authorities. When he was declared missing, he refused to help with the search, which immediately made him suspicious. We soon had another idea why…
Emotions seem to have flared up after being imprisoned in the small vehicle for so long; Police were called in early August to investigate a possible domestic violence incident. He talked for a long time with the police on the side of the highway, then was allowed to leave with only a warning. Sometime in the last week of that month, the 22-year-old vlogger was strangled to death.
Gabby’s body was eventually discovered near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. The whole world mourns him, but especially his loved ones who have never seen this tragedy come and are struggling to face the truth.
Obviously we don’t know who killed Gabby, but Brian’s decision to pack up and leave casts even more suspicion on him, something that only happened after he received a warrant for arrest over unauthorized use of a debit card. ignored. According to the indictment filed last month, he allegedly withdrew more than $1,000 from an account that didn’t belong to him – possibly after Gabby’s death.
Although Laundrie is dead, officers hoping they will still be able to uncover something that will give them more information about her final days and moments. He and his family definitely deserve that closure and justice at this time.