On Wednesday, partial human remains were discovered in a Northport, Florida park.
The FBI has confirmed that the remains belong to Gabby Petito’s fiancé, Brian Laundrie.
Authorities were conducting a search in the Myakkahatchee (MY-ACKAH-HATCH-EE) Creek Environmental
Park, which is connected to the Carlton Reserve where most of the 32-day search for Brian
had been conducted.
The park was reopened to the public on Tuesday.
That night, Brian’s parents Chris and Roberta Laudrie told authorities they wanted to help
look for their son.
On Wednesday, within an hour of searching areas which Brian frequented, Chris and Roberta
discovered a white bag and another unspecified item, according to the family’s attorney.
Soon after, law enforcement discovered partial human remains, along with a backpack, in an
area of the park that had previously been underwater.
In a Thursday press release, the FBI announced, quote, “a comparison of dental records confirmed
that the human remains found at the T. Mabry Carlton, Junior Memorial Reserve and Myakkahatchee
(MY-ACKAH-HATCH-EE) Creek Environmental Park are those of Brian Laundrie.”
Gabby was reported missing on September 11th, and for the first week of the investigation
into her disappearance, the Laundrie family refused to speak directly with authorities,
and all communication was conducted through their attorney.
A week later, the family alerted authorities that Brian was also missing.
They claimed they hadn’t seen him since September 13th when he allegedly left the
family home to go hiking in the Carlton Reserve.
The Laundrie family attorney, Steven Bertolino, said on MSNBC Thursday... that at the time
Brian left the house, he was extremely upset, and his father tried and failed to stop him.
Brian’s parents have been criticized over the course of the investigation for not doing
enough to aid law enforcement, so when they discovered items belonging to Brian so quickly,
some internet sleuths became suspicious.
The Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park and the Carlton Reserve were searched extensively,
but up until this point, the search for Brian was unsuccessful.
Rumors began to spread online that Chris and Roberta may have planted the evidence that
led to the discovery of Brian’s remains.
According to Fox News, Bertolino refuted these claims, saying that lowered water levels were
the reason previously undiscovered objects could now be easily found.
This is consistent with the FBI’s report that the area in which the remains were found
was previously underwater.
Bertolino told Fox News Digital, quote, “When I spoke to them Tuesday night, they said,
'We want to go in the preserve tomorrow.
What do I think about that?’
I told them it was a great idea, and I thought we should notify law enforcement so there's
no issue."
The attorney also told Fox that once authorities had discovered the remains, they told Chris
and Roberta to go home and await further information.
Bertolino said in an interview with CNN, quote, “It's quite sad.
You can imagine, as a parent, finding your son's belongings alongside some remains.
That's got to be heartbreaking.
And I can tell you that they are heartbroken."
And he had strong words for people who believe that Chris and Roberta may have planted evidence,
saying of the rumors, quote, “It’s nonsense.”
He told People Magazine, quote, “People with nothing else to do are afraid this case
will go away and they will have to go back to following celebrities and others in the
fake world of the internet."
On September 19th, Gabby’s body was found in Grand Teton National Park.
Her death was ruled a homicide, and the cause of death was ruled to be strangulation.
Just days later, a warrant was issued for Brian’s arrest due to his unauthorized use
of Gabby’s debit card.
In a statement on September 23rd, FBI Denver wrote, quote, “While this warrant allows
law enforcement to arrest Mr. Laundrie, the FBI and our partners across the country continue
to investigate the facts and circumstances of Ms. Petito's homicide."
The statement continued, quote, “The FBI is focusing on locating Brian and when that
occurs, the specifics of the charges covered under the indictment will be addressed in
the proper form."
Brian was never charged in relation to Gabby’s disappearance or death, and many questions
remain unanswered in this case.
Brian’s cause of death has not been revealed, but we will do our best to keep you posted
as new information comes out.
For now, we are extending our deepest condolences to the Petito family and to everyone affected
by this tragedy.
For more on Gabby’s case, click right over here for another Clevver Video.
And then feel free to leave your thoughts about all of this in the comments below.
For now, I’m your girl Carly Henderson, you can find me on social media @carlyhenderson_
and I’ll see you soon.