Where is Brian Laundrie? Police hunt switches to missing boyfriend after Gabby Petito remains discovered
FBI and police executed a search warrant on the Florida home of Brian Laundrie on Monday morning.
Earlier, North Port Police said they had called off their search for Mr Laundrie in the Carlton Reserve near the home where he is believed to have fled to last week.
His girlfriend Gabby Petito’s remains were found in a Wyoming national park on Sunday.
Here is a timeline of events in relation to the police investigation of Mr Laundrie, 23.
2 July - Mr Laundrie and Gabby Petito leave New York bound for a months-long “van-life” trip across the United States.
12 August - Police are called to an “altercation” between the couple in Moab, Utah. According to body-worn camera and attending police officer’s written reports, the couple had an argument after Ms Petito suffered a “mental health crisis”. A visibly upset Ms Petito pleads with the officers not to arrest Mr Laundrie, and they are separated for the night. Ms Petito stays with the van while Mr Laundrie is checked into a motel for the night.
24 August - Ms Petito and Mr Laundrie check out of a Salt Lake City motel. It’s the last confirmed sighting of Ms Petito alive.
25 August - Ms Petito speaks with her mother Nichole Schmidt, in the last confirmed communication with her family. She said she was in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming heading towards Yellowstone National Park.
30 August - Text messages are sent to Ms Schmidt’s from her daughter’s phone claiming she is in Yosemite. Ms Schmidt later says these are “fake”.
1 September -Mr Laundrie returns to his parents’ Florida home without Gabby Petito in the Ford Transit van the couple had been travelling around the US in.
10 September - Gabby Petito’s mother texts Mr Laundrie and his mother Roberta, but says her texts went ignored.
11 September - Ms Schmidt files a missing person report with Suffolk County Police and her daughter is declared missing.
Mr Laundrie and his family refuse to cooperate with police, and refer them to their family attorney Steve Bertolino.
Late that night, the couple’s van is seized from the Laundrie family home and taken for processing by the FBI.
14 September - Mr Laundrie leaves his parents’ home in his Ford Mustang and says he is going for a hike in the Carlton Reserve nearby. The 24,000-acre reserve is a popular hiking area.
15 September - Mr Laundrie is named a person of interest in the disappearance of his girlfriend.
At a press conference, police said the 23-year-old “has not made himself available to be interviewed by investigators or has provided any helpful details.”
His parents Christopher and Roberta say they went to look for Mr Laundrie after he failed to return home. They say they found the vehicle parked by the reserve.
According to the family attorney Steven Bertolino, the Laundrie attorney, said police had put a note on the vehicle asking for it to be removed. They said they left the car there in case he returned to it. According to a NewsNation reporter, the Mustang reappears in the driveway on Wednesday.
16 September - Mr Laundrie’s sister Cassie tells ABC’s Good Morning America that she hasn’t spoken to her brother and that their family “love” Ms Petito.
Protestors gather outside the Laundrie home chanting “Where’s Gabby?” and with placards saying “Truth comes out in the end”.
17 September - Mr Laundrie is reported missing by his family, three days after they last saw him.
The same day police rule out any link to a double homicide in Moab, Utah of newlyweds Crystal Turner and Kylen Schulte.
That evening, police take away items from Mr Laundrie’s Mustang, which is parked in the family’s driveway.
18 September - Police begin searching the Carlton Reserve for any trace of Mr Laundrie, while in Wyoming the FBI hunt for clues in a mountainous national park in Wyoming.
19 September - Remains believed to belong to Gabby Petito are located in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming on The search for Mr Laundrie intensifies.
North Port Police spokesman Josh Taylor admits Mr Laundrie could be out there for months.
“We’re not following him everywhere he’s going. We’re trying to keep an eye out kind of where he’s at so that when needed we could potentially reach him. But our focus was putting resources on trying to find Gabby.”
Police face criticism for their investigation.
Pat Diaz, a former Miami-Dade homicide detective, told Fox News: “Why would you [try to] get consent from the guy, and now get a search warrant?”
20 September - Police say they have exhausted all avenues and call off the search of the reserve.
At about 9:45am, police and FBI arrive at the Laundrie family home to execute a search warrant.
A convoy of five vehicles arrived at the street where the Laundrie home is located in North Port at about 9:45am on Monday morning and cordoned off the surrounding area.
Moments later, FBI agents arrived to execute the warrant, and could be heard saying “search warrant” and “you’re in a crime scene”.
Brian Laundrie’s father Christopher could be seen being led from the house by FBI agents.
He and wife Roberta Laundrie were being held in a parked police van in the driveway as officers conducted the search.
In a tweet, the FBI said it was “executing a court-authorized search warrant today at the Laundrie residence in North Port, FL relevant to the Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito investigation.”
