Following the death of Gabby Petito, the search for her missing boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, will be scaled back in a Florida nature reserve. Josh Taylor, a North Port Police spokesperson, said the search will now be led with “targeted based on intelligence.”
Last week, over 75 law enforcement personnel from 16 agencies joined the search in Sarasota County. Following Petito’s death, a federal arrest warrant was issued by the FBI. This means Brian Laundrie is now a suspect in the case.
Authorities are searching for him in the wetlands using ATV vehicles, drones, and dogs. The swampy, subtropical terrain includes wild animals such as snakes, bobcats, alligators, and coyotes. The park also has more than 100 miles of hiking, horseback riding, biking trails in addition to camping areas and rivers.
After returning home from a cross-country trip without Petito on Sept. 1, Laundrie left home for hiking, according to his parents, and never came back. Laundrie and Petito have been documenting their romantic adventure on YouTube, which began in July and was set to end in Oregon next month. When Laundrie returned home alone, he refused to tell investigators what happened to his girlfriend, Petito.
Investigators later found Petito’s body at a campground near Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. Laundrie, who has not been charged yet, is now a suspect in Petito’s homicide. Meanwhile, a law firm offers a $20,000 reward to anyone with information that leads directly to Laundrie. As the search for Laundrie continued, mourners gathered in New York on Sunday in attendance of Petito’s funeral services.
According to a best friend of Petito, Laundrie is still out there camping in the wilderness if he is alive. He is capable of surviving in the wilderness alone, the friend said.
