Body remains of Laundrie, who was the fiance of slain YouTuber Gabby Petito, were discovered along with his backpack and notebook in Florida's Carlton Reserve in October.
- Nov 3, 2021
AceShowbiz - More possible details surrounding Brian Laundrie case are here. A Florida police chief believes that the fiance of slain YouTuber Gabby Petito (Gabrielle Petito) had "probably" already died by suicide by the time police and FBI started searching for him.
North Port, Fla., Police Chief Todd Garrison discussed the case at a community event on Friday night, October 28. Garrison, who served as a panelist at a law enforcement forum at the South County Tiger Bay Club, talked about the mistakes in his agency's investigation.
Of them mistaking Laundrie's mother Roberta for her son, Garrison said, "Yes, we made a mistake." He added, "It was human error, but I still stand behind my team."
"I can tell you one thing," Garrison continued, "The amount of work that was done, behind the scenes, 24 hours a day, from our team and the FBI team working on the second floor of the police department, was phenomenal work."
Despite the mistake, Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman praised Garrison and his department during the manhunt. "We talked probably 20 times during that situation and obviously we supported them out in the preserve looking for Brian Laundrie," so he said at the forum.
"That guy went out there and by all accounts probably committed suicide and he was right out there where we thought he was," Sheriff Hoffman added. "There was four feet of water out there at the time."
Laundrie's remains were discovered in a Florida park in October. Authorities stated that the partial human remains were found along with Laundrie's backpack and notebook in Florida's Carlton Reserve at a location previously underwater.
"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," FBI Denver confirmed in a statement which was published on Twitter.
Following the confirmation, Laundrie family attorney Steve Bertolino released a statement from the family. "Chris and Roberta Laundrie have been informed that the remains found yesterday in the reserve are indeed Laundrie's. We have no further comment at this time and we ask that you respect the Laundrie's privacy at this time," the statement read.
According to his parents, Laundrie went missing after going to hike on September 14. It was weeks after Laundrie, who was named as person of interest in Petito's murder case, returned alone in their van from his and Gabby's cross-country road trip on September 1.
As for Petito, her remains were found in the vicinity of Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest on September 19. It was then confirmed that the 22-year-old died of strangulation.
