Gabby Petito case: Brian Laundrie is now also missing, his attorney says
NORTH PORT, Florida — Brian Laundrie, the tight-lipped boyfriend of missing Long Island native Gabby Petito, is now missing himself, and hasn’t been seen for days.
The FBI, which has been investigating Gabby’s disappearance since she was reported missing on Sept. 11, is now looking for both Gabby and Brian, Florida police told The Post.
“The attorney for the Laundrie family called FBI investigators Friday night, indicating the family would like to talk about the disappearance of their son. The family now claims that they have not seen Brian since Tuesday of this week,” Josh Taylor, a public information officer for the North Port Police said.
Officers who responded to the Laundrie family home Friday stayed for a “conversation” for about two and a half hours before leaving without anyone in custody.
One of the officers entered the home with what appeared to be an evidence bag as protesters surrounding the property yelled “bring him out!”
“Friday is the first time they have spoken with investigators in detail. It is important to note that while Brian is a person of interest in Gabby’s disappearance, he is not wanted for a crime,” Officer Taylor added in a statement Friday.
“We are not currently working a crime investigation. We are now working a multiple missing person investigations,” he said.
Petito’s family says she has not contacted them since Aug. 30 and vanished at some point while traversing the country in a white van with Laundrie.
Laundrie returned to Florida in the van alone, and has not spoken to police or the Petito family about her possible whereabouts.
On Thursday afternoon North Port Chief of Police Todd Garrison said he believed Brian Laundrie was at his home.
“We had information that he was in the home. He’s a private citizen right now. He’s not facing any charges. He can go to the store; he can go to the beach; we’re not bugging his house or tracking his vehicle,” Garrison told The Post.
Meanwhile, officials in Utah announced Friday evening that Petito’s disappearance was not related to a double murder that happened near where the couple was camping.
Moab police had responded to a domestic disturbance between Petito and Laundrie at the workplace of a woman who was found murdered days later at a nearby campground alongside her wife.
Petito, 22, took off on a cross country trek with Laundrie from her family’s hometown of Blue Point in Long Island on July 2, planning to travel the western U.S., which would culminate on Halloween in Portland, Oregon.
From the beginning of the trip, Petito posted photos of the couple on social media of what appeared to be a fun road trip visiting the country’s famous national parks.
On Aug. 12, Utah police responded to a domestic incident after the couple had an argument. Body camera footage released from the encounter shows an inconsolable Petito crying near Laundrie, telling officers that she has anxiety and OCD and that the couple was “fighting all morning,” which lead to Laundrie locking her out of the car.
“We’ve been fighting all morning. He wouldn’t let me in the car before … he told me I needed to calm down,” Petito tells officers in the video.
“She just gets worked up sometimes, I try to distance myself from her. I locked the car,” Laundrie told the officer.
She sent her final, short text to her mother, Nichole Schmidt, saying that there was “No service in Yosemite” on Aug. 30, but her mother does not believe Gabby was the one who sent the text.
On Sept. 1, Laundrie returned to the home the couple shared in Florida in the van, registered in Petito’s name. Petito’s family reported her as missing on Sept. 11.
Petito’s parents have criticized the Laundrie family for withholding any valuable information that could lead to her whereabouts, slamming their silence as “infuriating.”
