Duane Chapman has ended his search for fugitive Brian Laundrie after injuring his ankle and running out of funds in his highly publicized search of an expansive Florida nature reserve.
Chapman says he flew back to Colorado state to receive treatment. However, he insisted that his ‘team’ continues the search for Brian, who has been named a person of interest in Gabby Petito’s case.
Meanwhile, Chapman’s daughter, Lyssa Chapman, in the wake of her dad’s departure from the search, declared on Twitter that the ‘bait is set.’
After joining the search for the 23-year-old fugitive, Chapman, 68, has faced claims from critics – including his other daughter Cecily – that he joined the hunt solely because he wanted to stay relevant. However, Chapman has nonetheless forged ahead. Last month, he exclusively told the Daily Mail that he was pursuing ‘thousands of tips’ in hopes of finding Brian.
‘I can’t tell you more, but we are getting leads every ten minutes,’ the reality star told a Daily Mail reporter at the time. The news of Chapman’s ankle injury was first reported by Josh Benson of Florida news outlet WFLA.
