Brian Laundrie dead: FBI confirms remains belong to Gabby Petito’s fiance

Yesterday it was revealed that partial human remains were found in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, near where Brian Laundrie’s belongings were also located.

Brian Laundrie confirmed dead

The FBI has now confirmed that the bones have been ID’d as that of Brian Laundrie. Laundrie has been missing for over a month and was the sole person of interest in the case of his murdered fianceeGabby Petito.

The remains, which have been revealed to be bones, were found on Wednesday in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, located off the Carlton Reserve, where experts have been searching for him since mid-September. The remains were found as Laundrie’s parents joined the search as directed authorities to a trail that Brian used to frequent, leading to the discovery of his backpack and notebook.

The FBI then confirmed on Thursday evening that dental records were used to identify the remains as belonging to Brian Laundrie.

The skeletonised remains were found in an area that was previously flooded. When inquired if this was the reason why the body was reduced to a skeleton over just four to five weeks, forensic pathologist Dr Michael Baden told Fox News Digital:

In order to be skeletonized in this short period – that's within five weeks under these circumstances – it is largely secondary to animal activity. If it were just left out in the open in the worst conditions, the body might bloat up and there'd be a lot of a lot of destruction of soft tissues ... [but] the body wouldn't be skeletonized.

Brian Laundrie was missing for over a month

Brian Laundrie was reported missing by his parents on the 17th of September, just two days before the body of his fiancee Gabby Petito was found in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. It was confirmed that Gabby’s manner of death as homicide and that she had been strangled.

Laundrie’s parents explained that their son had set off on a hike in Florida’s Carlton reserve on the 14th of September and never returned. Later the family changed their story, explaining that they last saw their son on the 13th.

Authorities then searched the Carlton Reserve for over a month, but conditions such as flooding largely hindered their search of the massive area. Search parties were also scouring the Fort De Soto National Park, where Brian and his parents went camping not long before he went missing.

Will anyone ever know what happened to Gabby Petito?

Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie set off on a cross-country trip from New York in early July to travel around the US national parks. Gabby, who was an influencer, even recorded much of the couple’s journey on social media, further sparking interest in the case online.

Brian then returned to his family’s Florida home in the couple’s van on the 1st of September. However, Gabby was nowhere to be seen. According to the press, Gabby was last seen around the 24th of August and had a video call with her mother the following day.

After not hearing from Petito, Gabby’s parents - based in New York - grew concerned. The Petito's fruitlessly tried to contact Brian’s parents in Florida and then reported Gabby missing on the 11th of September.

After news of her case made headlines, a police bodycam video and a call to 111 surfaced, detailing that the couple had been fighting. Eyewitnesses also came forward, explaining Gabby and Brian had intense public arguments during their trip. All of which sparked people to believe Gabby may have been trapped in an abusive relationship.

During the highly publicised search for Gabby, authorities tried to contact Brian for questioning, but he refused to speak due to the advice of a lawyer. He then went on the run and was reported missing on the 17th of September.

Gabby’s body was found on the 19th of September, with the cause of death later confirmed to be strangulation. Not long after Petito was discovered, an arrest warrant was issued for Laundrie concerning bank card fraud. The Petito family lawyer Richard Sutton later explained to Dr Phil that Brian had used Gabby’s bank card after she had died.

Now that Brian’s body has been found, it may never be known what had really happened to Gabby in her final days.