Brian Laundrie confirmed dead by FBI: Breaking News
FBI confirms human remains found identified as Brian Laundrie
The FBI on Thursday confirmed remains recovered from the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, Florida, on Wednesday were Florida fugitive Brian Laundrie's.
A comparison of dental records confirmed the 23-year-old's identity, according to the FBI.
Laundrie's former fiancée Gabby Petito, 22, turned up dead near a Wyoming campsite the couple shared in late August. The FBI discovered her remains on Sept. 19.
Brian Laundrie as seen in bodycam footage released by the Moab Police Department in Utah. (Moab Police Department)
"On October 21, 2021, a comparison of dental records confirmed that the human remains found at the T. Mabry Carlton, Jr. Memorial Reserve and Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park are those of Brian Laundrie," the agency tweeted Thursday.
The remains were discovered in the park Wednesday near items belonging to Laundrie.
Steven Bertolino, the attorney representing the Laundrie family, confirmed the findings to Fox News.
"Chris and Roberta Laundrie have been informed that the remains found yesterday in the reserve are indeed Brian's. We have no further comment at this time and we ask that you respect the Laundrie's privacy at this time," Bertolino said.
Law enforcement officers visited the Laundries' home for about two minutes on Thursday afternoon just before the news was announced.
The Laundries themselves helped lead police to the remains, visiting the park Wednesday with a pair of officers and searching an area where they have for weeks insisted their son liked to hike. With water levels significantly lower this week than on Chris Laundrie’s Oct. 7 visit to the same area with investigators, more ground was visible.
"Chris confirmed with me just this morning that when him and Roberta looked, I believe it was on the 14th (of September), the whole area was waist deep or higher in water," Steve Bertolino, the Laundries’ attorney, told Fox News Digital earlier Thursday. "The FBI confirmed that yesterday that that area until recently had been flooded with water. When that water receded, obviously more things were accessible."
Images obtained exclusively by Fox News show Chris and Roberta Laundrie in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park with at least one law enforcement officer on Wednesday (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)
Laundrie and Petito, both New York Natives, were traveling on a cross-country road trip in Petito's Ford Transit van over the summer before Petito was reported missing. Laundrie drew national attention after returning to his parents' home in North Port, Florida on Sept. 1 home in Petito’s van – without her – and saying nothing about it before vanishing himself less than two weeks later.
Petito’s mother reported her missing on Sept. 11 after spending more than a week trying to reach her daughter, Laundrie and his parents to no avail. Petito was last seen in public on Aug. 27 at a restaurant called Merry Piglets in Jackson, Wyoming. That day, Laundrie was seen by multiple eyewitnesses arguing with female restaurant workers.
Two weeks before the Wyoming fight, witnesses in Moab, Utah, called police to report an apparent domestic dispute between the couple in which Laundrie allegedly slapped and hit Petito outside an organic grocery store in broad daylight. Responding officers ultimately issued no charges in that incident.
Gabby Petito (Instagram)
Laundrie was a person of interest in Peito's killing and wanted on about $1,000 worth of fraudulent debit card purchases between Aug. 30 and Sept. 1. Petito's parents alleged Laundrie "stole" their daughter's crediit card.
The FBI and local law enforcement officials had been searching for Laundrie in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park and T. Marby Carlton Jr. Memorial Reserve in Florida, where his parents believe he went the last time they saw him on Sept. 13, though they reported him missing on Sept. 17 to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.
Richard Stafford, a lawyer and spokesman for Petito’s parents, told Fox News’ Laura Ingle that the family was not immediately prepared to make a statement.
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"They are grieving the loss of their beautiful daughter," he said. "Gabby’s family will make a statement at the appropriate time and when they are emotionally ready."
Numerous criminal profilers and advocates for domestic abuse survivors have speculated that the heated display in public led to an argument between the couple that eventually led to Petito’s death, which Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue ruled a homicide by strangulation earlier this month.
