SHARE ON: |
| |
| |
 |
 |
|
|
The FBIs Denver office said Thursday that remains found a day earlier in a Florida nature reserve are those of Brian Laundrie, who disappeared last month just days after his fiance Gabby Petito was reported missing.
The FBI said dental records confirmed the identification.
The identification came hours after police in North Port, Florida, said the remains that were found were skeletal and belonged to a human.
They are human remains, no doubt there. I would say that the remains were consistent with one individual, you know skeletal remains, North Port police spokesperson Josh Taylor told CNN.
Investigators also found clothing believed to be consistent with what Laundrie was wearing when he took off September 13, according to Taylor.
Less than a week after Laundrie went missing last month, authorities in Wyoming found Petitos remains in a national forest. Her death was ruled a homicide by manual strangulation.
On Wednesday, investigators also found a backpack and a notebook belonging to Laundrie, 23, near the remains while they were searching the Carlton Reserve in North Port, according to FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael McPherson.
The notebook to my understanding has not been opened. You know, that will need to be processed, Taylor said.
A source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN the notebook is possibly salvageable. The source said the notebook was outside of the dry bag.
It had been clearly wet and they are going to use any potential means to dry that out before opening it, according to the source, who added: Theyll be very careful with it.
The source said it is unclear how the notebook ended up outside the dry bag.
When Taylor was asked about whether a weapon was found, he said he could not comment.
When asked if there is an ongoing search for the murderer of Gabby Petito, he responded, That is certainly not in the North Port Police Departments purview.
During a search with police, Brians father, Chris Laundrie, was the first to spot an item belonging to his son, according to Taylor.
Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino told CNNs Chris Cuomo on Wednesday that the probability is strong that it is Brians remains.
The discovery came on Wednesday morning when Laundries parents and law enforcement searched an area of the reserve that had been underwater but recently reopened to the public.
Its quite sad, you can imagine as a parent, finding your sons belongings alongside some remains. Thats got to be heartbreaking. And I can tell you that they are heartbroken, Bertolino told Cuomo.
SEARCH CONDITIONS HAD BEEN VERY DIFFICULT
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said Thursday law enforcement had been searching in treacherous conditions, including nearly chest-high water full of snakes and alligators.
These are very, very difficult conditions. Youre searching in areas that you just cant walk up and look. Its not like youre searching a house or a car, he said. These areas are huge and theyre covered by water.
The exhaustive search for Laundrie stretched over a month as authorities tried to piece together what happened to him and Petito during their road trip through the Western US this summer.
Petito, 22, disappeared on the trip amid tensions in their relationship, and her remains were later found near where the couple had last been seen together.
Laundrie, who had returned by himself to his parents home in Florida, refused to talk with investigators and didnt return after telling his parents he was going to the nature reserve to hike.
He was not charged in Petitos death, although he was indicted for allegedly using two financial accounts that did not belong to him in the days following her killing.
Authorities, including several K-9 units and off-road vehicles, returned to the reserve on Thursday morning to further search the area.
LAUNDRIES PARENTS WERE ON THE SCENE WHEN REMAINS WERE FOUND
Laundries family had declined to talk publicly following legal advice, but they had directed authorities to where they believed Laundrie may be staying in the reserve, Bertolino said.
The parents -- Chris and Roberta Laundrie -- joined in the search Wednesday morning and found a bag belonging to their son at the park, which their attorney described as happenstance.
According to Bertolino, Laundries parents informed the FBI and the North Port Police Department on Tuesday night that they wanted to visit the park Wednesday morning to search for their son.
Law enforcement met them there and closely accompanied them as they entered the park, Bertolino said.
As they went further in, Chris ventured off the trail into the woods. He was zigzagging in different areas, law enforcement was doing the same thing. And Roberta Laundrie was walking down the trail, Bertolino said. At some point, Chris locates whats called a dry bag. The dry bag is a white bag, laying in the woods, say 20 feet or so off the trail.
The dry bag was in some brambles and he didnt want to move it because he wanted his law enforcement to see it, Bertolino said. However, Chris Laundrie couldnt find law enforcement and didnt want to leave the bag there with a news reporter standing nearby, so he picked it up, Bertolino explained.
He did meet up shortly with law enforcement, they looked at the contents of the bag. At that time, law enforcement officers showed him a picture on the phone of a backpack that law enforcement had located also nearby and also some distance off the trail, Bertolino told CNN.
At that point, the Laundries were notified there was also remains near the backpack, and they were asked to leave the preserve.
The remains were found about 2 to 3 miles inside the Carlton Reserve, or about a 45-minute walk from the entrance at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, Taylor said Wednesday.
When asked why the parents chose to go to the park on Wednesday, Bertolino said it was the first day it was reopened to the public.
The parents had assumed that the experts, the FBI and all the tracking teams they had would be able to locate Brian based upon the information that we had provided them to the specific areas and trails in the park that Brian liked to visit, Bertolino said. The park had been closed to the public. There was really no other reason for the Laundries to go search anywhere else.
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
4 pm |
| 16 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
WIND: SSW 22 KM/H
GUSTING TO 36 KM/H |
|
|
 |
5 pm |
| 16 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: W 22 KM/H
GUSTING TO 37 KM/H |
|
|
|
6 pm |
| 16 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: WSW 24 KM/H
GUSTING TO 37 KM/H |
|
|
|
7 pm |
| 16 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: WSW 22 KM/H
GUSTING TO 39 KM/H |
|
|
 |
8 pm |
| 16 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: WSW 15 KM/H
GUSTING TO 37 KM/H |
|
|
|
9 pm |
| 16 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: SW 13 KM/H
GUSTING TO 36 KM/H |
|
|
 |
10 pm |
| 17 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
WIND: SW 21 KM/H
GUSTING TO 44 KM/H |
|
|
|
11 pm |
| 16 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: SW 24 KM/H
GUSTING TO 45 KM/H |
|
|
|
|
TODAY |
HIGH OF 17 ℃
LOW OF 14 ℃ |
| HEAVY INTENSITY RAIN |
|
|
|
TUESDAY |
HIGH OF 18 ℃
LOW OF 8 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
 |
WEDNESDAY |
HIGH OF 22 ℃
LOW OF 11 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
|
|
|
THURSDAY |
HIGH OF 25 ℃
LOW OF 14 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
|
|
|
FRIDAY |
HIGH OF 14 ℃
LOW OF 10 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
|
SATURDAY |
HIGH OF 13 ℃
LOW OF 7 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
SUNDAY |
HIGH OF 15 ℃
LOW OF 6 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
|
|
|
MONDAY |
HIGH OF 10 ℃
LOW OF 8 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
| KingCamp Khan Bell Tents – 10% Off! |
| |
| Upgrade your outdoor adventures with KingCamp Khan Bell Tents. Save 10% on premium camping comfort with code KHAN10 at checkout. |
| |
| Use code KHAN10 to save 10% on KingCamp tents! |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
MITCHELL TENPENNY
IRIS
04:42 PM |
|
 |
BRANDON DAVIS
MORE THAN A GAME
04:38 PM |
|
 |
DREW BALDRIDGE
DESERVE HER
04:33 PM |
|
 |
ZAC BROWN BAND
BUTTERFLY
04:30 PM |
|
 |
MONTGOMERY GENTRY
KING OF THE WORLD
04:27 PM |
|
 |
HUNTER HAYES
STILL FALLIN
04:23 PM |
|
 |
DEAN BRODY
DIRT
04:20 PM |
|
 |
CHRIS YOUNG
POUR SOME WHISKEY ON IT
04:17 PM |
|
 |
ELI YOUNG BAND
LIVE WITH IT
04:11 PM |
|
 |
BLAKE SHELTON
GONNA
04:07 PM |
|
 
 |
