Law enforcement swarms Brian Laundrie's family home in Gabby Petito case - WABC-TV
NORTH PORT, Florida (WABC) -- Just after 10 a.m. police and FBI agents swarmed the Florida home Brian Laundrie shared with his parents.
The search comes after authorities confirmed a body matching the description of Gabby Petito was found in Grand Teton on Sunday. Brian Laundrie's whereabouts remained unknown.
For the first time in days, Brian Laundrie's parents emerged from the house.
BREAKING: Police descended upon Laundrie Family home just before 10am. Parents taken out and put in police vehicle. They are still in the van in the driveway. pic.twitter.com/k9Afvu5jiQ
— Kristin Thorne (@KristinThorne) September 20, 2021
This time they were escorted by the FBI into a van in their driveway.
The tragic development came after the Teton County Coroner said authorities had responded to a body found at the Teton National Forest in Wyoming, the same general area where law enforcement had been searching for Gabby Petito.
FBI in Denver confirmed the discovery during a press conference Sunday night at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center in Grand Teton National Park.
They say full forensic identification has not been completed and they do not know her cause of death yet. An autopsy was set for Tuesday.
"Full forensic identification has not been completed to confirm 100% that we found Gabby, but her family has been notified," FBI Supervisory Special Agent Charles Jones said. "This is an incredibly difficult time for Petito's family and friends."
An undeveloped camping area on the east side of Grand Teton bordering national forest land will remain closed until further notice while the investigation continues, Jones said.
Petito's father Joseph, tweeted a heartbreaking message following the discovery, saying "she touched the world."
The Laundrie family attorney released a statement on Sunday night saying "The news about Gabby Petito is heartbreaking. The Laundrie family prays for Gabby and her family."
Separately on Monday, Brian's sister Cassie Laundrie shared exclusively with "Good Morning America" the postcards she received from Petito while she was on her cross country road trip Brian Laundrie.
Cassie Laundrie also shared one of the last text messages she received from Petito on August 10.
Petito tells Cassie Laundrie she's in Arches National Park in Utah with Brian and asked Cassie Laundrie to send her pictures of her children going back to school.
Cassie Laundrie also released a statement saying, "Right now my husband and I would like to express our condolences and prayers to the Petito family. Gabby was a fun and loving influence to" the boys" as she always referred to them. We will cherish all the time spent with her."
The development in the Petito case comes as police in North Port concluded their search Sunday night for Brian Launderie, who remains missing.
North Port Police tweeted their condolences, saying they are "heartbroken to learn that Gabby has been found deceased."
Just before the announcement by FBI, the North Port PD said they had nothing to report after another day searching a vast wildlife reserve for 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Petito.
Local and federal law enforcement combed through a massive county park known as the Carlton Reserve, which spans more than 24,000 acres and is located just north of the home in which Laundrie and Petito shared with his parents.
However, on Monday, they said in an email statement, "The North Port Police Department currently has no plans to conduct a major search of the Carlton Reserve today."
The department then clarified, "The intention of the previous email was to respect your time in heading to the Carlton for coverage. At this time, we currently believe we have exhausted all avenues in searching of the grounds there. Law enforcement agencies continue to search for Brian Laundrie. More updates when available." A short time later, the FBI and police search of the Laundrie family home began.
Steven Bertolino, the Laundrie family attorney told ABC News on Sunday that the family picked up the car, Brian Laundrie was using, on Thursday morning from the reserve after going out on Wednesday to look for their son.
Laundrie left the family home on Tuesday morning with a backpack. Bertolino said that the family went out to the reserve on Wednesday to look for him and spotted a note from the North Port Police Department on the car saying it needed to be removed.
The family left the car overnight "so he could drive back," the attorney said. When Laundrie didn't come home Thursday morning, the family went back to retrieve the car.
The family then called police on Friday to file a missing person report, authorities said on Saturday.
Before the discovery of a body, FBI in Denver said they were conducting ground surveys at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, with help from the National Park Service and local law enforcement agencies, seeking clues to Petito's disappearance.
They also tweeted a map, asking anyone who was around the Spread Creek Dispersed camping area near Grand Teton National Park between August 27 and August 30 to call the FBI.
Her last known contact with family members was from the national park known for its mountainous terrain.
Tips on the case began to pour in on social media like from Miranda Baker, who said in a Tik Tok video she and her boyfriend picked up Laundrie who was hitchhiking around Teton Park on August 29.
Former FBI agent, Brad Garrett, on the search for Gabby Petito, Brian Laundrie:
About 45 seconds into to the Tik Tok video, Baker says "He offered to pay us like 200 dollars to give him a ride like 10 miles so that was kind of weird ... without his fiancé."
WATCH | Chopper hovers over police search for Brian Laundrie at Carlton Reserve
Petito's family claims Laundrie is not missing but is in hiding.
The Petitos released the following statement through their attorney overnight Saturday:
All of Gabby's family want the world to know that Brian is not missing, he is hiding. Gabby is missing.
RELATED | Gabby Petito disappearance timeline: What we know so far
Speaking to Good Morning America Saturday, North Port Police Public Information Officer Josh Taylor said police were "trying to corroborate everything they've been telling us."
Taylor said detectives spoke with Chris and Roberta Laundrie in-person with their lawyer present over the phone.
"I wouldn't say that it was, you know, a full conversation. Right now their focus was on us helping them find their son," Taylor said.
Taylor said investigators were still working to piece together Brian's trip from western states to their home in Florida.
"Certainly that truck did not drive from, you know, potentially, you know, the mountain west to here on one tank of gas so we know there were stops along the way. If people saw anything as far as those movements, we're piecing that together, some parts of the time line we've solidified. We know her mother talked to her, saw her on facetime on the 25th of August," Taylor said.
Watch the full GMA interview with Josh Taylor:
"We are happy they called the police in and they want to cooperate, but until...I'm not going to speculate, I don't know what to believe," said Petito's stepfather, Jim Schmidt.
Petito, a 22-year-old woman originally from Long Island, disappeared on a cross-country road trip with Laundrie.
The Florida couple were traveling to Oregon when Petito stopped communicating with her family somewhere in Wyoming in late August.
Laundrie, who has been named a person of interest by police in North Port, Florida -- returned to their Gulf Coast home in Petito's 2012 white Ford Transit van on September 1, 10 days before Petito was reported missing by her family in Blue Point.
MORE: Police body cam video shows Gabby Petito, boyfriend after 911 call
Petito's mother, Nichole Schmidt, said the last video chat she had with her daughter was August 24 or 25, though they exchanged text messages for a few days following.
She said she is unsure if it was her daughter actually sending those texts.
The engaged couple had been documenting their trip on YouTube, and they were set to arrive in Portland in October.
Detectives are asking anyone with information on the case to contact Suffolk County police at 1-800-220-TIPS, the North Port Police Department at 941-429-7382, or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or 303-629-7171. Information can also be submitted online.
ALSO READ: ABC Exclusive: Full interview with Brian Laundrie's sister on Gabby Petito
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source: https://abc7ny.com/gabby-petito-brian-laundrie-disappearance-search/11032442/
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