Gabby Petito Case Now an ‘FBI-Led Criminal' Probe as Brian Laundrie Florida Search Resumes
The development comes as North Port police for the first time described the case as an 'FBI-led criminal investigation'
What to Know
- FBI agents and police swarmed the home of a young man wanted for questioning in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Gabby Petito. At least a dozen agents and police officers converged Monday on the North Port, Florida, home Brian Laundrie shared with his parents
- That comes a day after authorities announced the discovery of a body believed to be hers near a Wyoming national park. She had disappeared during a cross-country trip with Laundrie
- Petito and Laundrie left in July in a converted van but Laundrie returned to Florida alone Sept. 1. He has been named a person of interest but has disappeared. The search for him resumes Tuesday
Police in North Port, Florida, resumed their search Tuesday for Brian Laundrie in the Carlton Reserve, while an autopsy is expected to be conducted to confirm the body found in a Wyoming park over the weekend is Gabby Petito as suspected.
Petito vanished on a cross-country road trip with Laundrie, her boyfriend. Her mother reported her missing on Sept. 11, though the investigation has shown Laundrie returned home alone in their van 10 days before that. It also found Petito's phone had been off since Aug. 27. And now Laundrie is missing, too.
He reportedly went to the nature preserve a week ago to go hiking. He hasn't been seen since and remains a person of interest in Petito's disappearance and remains missing. A day ago, North Port police had said they felt they had exhausted all avenues of searching the nature reserve.
It wasn't immediately clear what sparked the renewed search on Tuesday, but police for the first time called the case an "FBI-led criminal investigation" as they announced their plans to approach the sprawling preserve from a different side.
"A weekend ground search and aerial search Monday of the 25,000-acre preserve has yet to yield any answers, but we must press on," North Port police said. "Please be aware, the Carlton Reserve is a vast and unforgiving location at times. It is currently waste [sic] deep in water in many areas. This is dangerous work for the search crews as they are wading through gator and snake-infested swamps and flooded hiking and biking trails."
"This is an FBI-led criminal investigation and North Port Police are assisting our federal partner in any way we can to bring this investigation to a close," they added.
The mystery around the disappearances of both Petito and Laundrie has captured national headlines and drawn massive law enforcement attention in multiple states.
As investigators continue their search in Florida Tuesday, others will work to identify the body recovered Sunday on the edge of Grand Teton National Park, which the couple had visited. No details on the body's condition or any potential trauma to it were released but investigators said the body matched the description of the 22-year-old woman reported missing by her family on Sept. 11.
It's not clear when authorities expect to get results from the medical examiner. The Petito family attorney is expected to address the media from Bohemia later Tuesday.
A day ago, investigators turned their attention to Laundrie's home in Florida. At least a dozen law enforcement officers swooped in for a search. They removed several boxes and towed away a car that neighbors said was typically used by Laundrie’s mother. Local media said his parents were seen getting into a police vehicle at one point but they were later permitted back inside their home.
Laundrie, 23, and Petito had been living with his parents at the North Port home before the road trip.
The young couple had set out in July in a converted van to visit national parks in the West. They got into a fight along the way, and Laundrie was alone when he returned in the van to his parents’ home on Sept. 1, police said.
Laundrie has been named a person of interest in the case, but his whereabouts in recent days were unknown. His attorney had scheduled a news conference for Tuesday but it was canceled.
Petito's father, Joseph, posted on social media an image of a broken heart above a picture of his daughter, with the message: "She touched the world."
In an interview broadcast Monday on TV's “Dr. Phil” show, Joseph Petito said Laundrie and his daughter had dated for 2 1/2 years, and Laundrie was “always respectful.” During the interview, which was recorded before the apparent discovery of his daughter's body, Joseph Petito said the couple had taken a previous road trip to California in her car and there were no problems.
“If there were, I would have discouraged going on the trip,” he said.
The father said his family began worrying after several days without hearing from her.
More on the Gabby Petito Case
“We called Brian, we called the mom, we called the dad, we called the sister, we called every number that we could find,” Petito said. “No phone calls were picked up, no text messages were returned.”
From the van the couple traveled in together, investigators found and have gained permission to access a hard drive containing evidence connected to Gabby's disappearance, according to a filing of a search warrant in Florida.
The documents also included new public details, including that the last text message Petito's mother received from her phone was "odd." It read, "Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls."
The reference to Stan could regard Petito's grandfather, but Petito's mother said she never calls him "Stan," which made her concerned there was something wrong with her daughter. The phone was turned off that same day, more than two weeks (15 days) ago, the filing said.
The filing also said investigators believed there was a probable cause that the hard drive contained "evidence relevant to proving that a felony has been committed," according to the document.
Meanwhile, federal, state and local investigators are still trying to ascertain the whereabouts of Laundrie, who hasn't been seen since family members said they saw him Tuesday. North Port, Florida, police scoured a vast nature preserve over the weekend and said Monday they felt they had exhausted that area.
It's not clear where investigators planned to search for him next.
Petito's father said he wants Laundrie to be held accountable for whatever part he may have played in his daughter's disappearance, along with his family if they protected him from the consequences.
“I hope they get what’s coming, and that includes his folks,” Petito said. “Because I’ll tell you, right now, they are just as complicit, in my book.”
The FBI said investigators are seeking information from anyone who may have seen the couple around Grand Teton.
Petito and Laundrie were childhood sweethearts who met while growing up on New York's Long Island. His parents later moved to North Port, about 35 miles south of Sarasota.
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Gabby Petito Case Now an ‘FBI-Led Criminal' Probe as Brian Laundrie Florida Search Resumes - NBC New York
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