The Sarasota County medical examiner has been called to the site of the Brian Laundrie manhunt, their office confirmed to CBS News.
The Sarasota County medical examiner has been called to the site of the Brian Laundrie manhunt, their office confirmed to CBS News. The news comes as suspected human remains were found at the Carleton reserve and items consistent with those that would be carried by Laundrie were found nearby, a law enforcement source confirmed to CBS News.
The suspected human remains were found in an area previously underwater, the law enforcement source said. Authorities are investigating whether the remains belong to Brian Laundrie.
The manhunt for Laundrie, who is named a person of interest in the disappearance of his late fiancée Gabby Petito, has stretched on for weeks.
Earlier Wednesday, the Laundrie family attorney told CBS affiliate WTSP that items belonging to Brian Laundrie were found Wednesday morning near a trail he frequented in a Florida park that connects to the Carlton reserve.
"Chris and Roberta Laundrie went to the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park this morning to search for Brian. The FBI and [North Port Police Department] were informed last night of Brian's parents' intentions and they met Chris and Roberta there this morning," attorney Steven Bertolino said in a text to WTSP. "After a brief search off a trail that Brian frequented some articles belonging to Brian were found."
Bertolino did not specify what items were found, but said authorities are now conducting a "more thorough" search of the area.
Petito, who was 22 at the time of her death, was reported missing on September 11, 10 days after Laundrie returned home from a cross-country trip without her. Her body was found on September 19 in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park.
In mid-October, the Teton County coroner determined that Petito was strangled to death, and that the manner of death was a homicide. He said he believed that her body had been outside for three to four weeks before it was found.
Laundrie has not been charged in Petito's death. But a court in Wyoming issued an arrest warrant for him in late September, accusing him of engaging in the unauthorized use of a debit card to make unauthorized withdrawals of more than $1,000 between August 30 and September 1.
Petito's family has pleaded for weeks for Laundrie to turn himself in. Laundrie's parents have insisted they do not know where their son is and have not helped him evade detection.
Pat Milton and Andres Triay contributed reporting.
This article was originally published by CBS News on October 20, 2021 at 1:36 p.m. ET.
RELATED CONTENT:
