Brain Laundrie, the fiance of missing traveller Gabby Petito has recently also been reported missing after being declared a person of interest in Petito’s case.
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Gabby Petito and 23-year-old fiance Brian Laundrie had initially set off to travel the US national parks, while influencer Petito documented the trip over social media. However, Petito’s family had reportedly not heard from their daughter since the 30th of August and reported her missing on the 11th of September.
Ten days prior to Gabby’s disappearance, Laundrie had returned - with the couple’s van - to his family's home in North Port, Florida, where Laundrie’s parents refused to let officers speak to him.
Police are now investigating two missing person cases
Now, a week since Gabby's vanishing, Brian Laundrie is also missing, with his parents revealing that they haven’t seen him since the 14th of August.
The North Port Police addressed in a statement: ‘The North Port Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations are currently searching for 23-yr-old Brian Laundrie of North Port.’
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.
The police continued to reiterate that they are not looking at a criminal investigation but rather two missing person cases:
It is important to note that while Brian is a person of interest in Gabby's disappearance, he is not wanted for a crime. We are not currently working a crime investigation. We are now working a multiple missing person investigations.
The statement continued: ‘The North Port Police Department is actively looking for Gabby, Brian, and any information surrounding this case. Please continue to utilise 1-800-CALL-FBI.’
Following the news, a lawyer for the Petito family released a statement saying: ‘All of Gabby's family want the world to know that Brian is not missing, he is hiding. Gabby is missing.’
Police are now searching for Laundrie in ‘the vast Carlton Reserve,’ a 24,565-acre preserve near his family home.
What happened to Gabby Petito?
Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito and her fiance Brian Laundrie set out in July on a cross-country campervan trip, with the influencer couple documenting much of their adventures over social media.
Petito was last seen leaving a hotel on the 24th of August. Almost one week later was the last time Gabby’s parents had heard from her, after receiving a message on the 30th saying: ‘No service in Yosemite.’
Attorney Richard Stafford revealed that Gabby’s mum Nichole Schmidt doesn’t believe her daughter was the one to send that final message.
Two days after the message was sent, Laundrie returned home with the van but without 22-year-old Gabby. Ten days later,on the 11th of September, Petito’s parents reported her missing.
On the 12th of August, two weeks before the influencer went missing, police in the southern Utah town Moab revealed they had responded to a potential domestic violence incident involving the couple.
Bodycam footage of the interaction showed an inconsolable Gabby crying to officers, talking about her mental health and mentioning that the couple had been arguing more often. Officers noted that Gabby had attempted to slap Brian after an earlier altercation, leaving him with scratches on his arm. However, the police did not charge Gabby and advised the couple to take the night apart.
For the last week, police have been trying to get hold of Laundrie, to speak to him about gabby’s disappearance; however, despite the pleads of Gabby’s family, Laundrie’s parents would not let officers talk to him. Protesters then swarmed the Laundrie family home on Friday, chanting ‘where’s Gabby’ as they finally spoke to the police. However, Brian was not there and had not been seen by his parents since Tuesday.
