Brian Laundrie Human Remains In Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park: According to FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael McPherson, human remains and items belonging to Brian Laundrie, including a backpack, were discovered in the Carlton Reserve in North Port, Florida.
A notebook belonging to Laundrie, who McPherson described as “a person of interest in the murder of Gabby Petito,” was also discovered.
According to him, the apparent remains were discovered in an area that had been under water until recently.
The apparent human remains “appear to have been there for a while,” according to a source close to the investigation.
According to the source “Official identification may take some time depending on the condition of the remains. The medical examiner will conduct a thorough investigation.”
The remains were discovered “about 2 to 3 miles inside the Carlton Reserve, or about a 45-minute walk” from the entrance at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, according to North Port police spokesperson Josh Taylor.
According to family attorney Steve Bertolino, the Laundrie parents, who were visiting the park for the first time since its reopening, assisted in the discovery. “They stumbled upon these items by chance,” he explained.
“We initially informed law enforcement on the very area of the park where the remains were discovered,” Bertolino said, referring to a meeting with law enforcement on September 17.
Bertolino said Laundrie’s parents had informed the FBI and the North Port Police Department on Tuesday night that they planned to search the park for him on Wednesday morning. He said they were met by law enforcement on Wednesday morning.
The parents walked the trail closely followed by law enforcement officers, who were “certainly within eye shot,” according to the attorney.
“Chris wandered off the trail into the woods as they progressed. He was zigzagging in different directions, and law enforcement was following suit. Roberta Laundrie, on the other hand, was strolling down the path “Bertolino remarked. “Chris eventually discovers what’s known as a dry bag. The dry bag is a white bag that is lying in the woods about 20 feet off the trail.”
According to Chris Laundrie, Bertolino said the dry bag was in some brambles, and he didn’t want to pick it up because he didn’t want his law enforcement to see it. Laundrie, however, “couldn’t find the law enforcement,” Bertolino said, because they were out of sight and didn’t want to leave the bag there with a news reporter nearby.
“He did meet up with law enforcement shortly after, and they examined the contents of the bag. At the time, law enforcement officers showed him a photo on their phone of a backpack that had been found nearby but a little further off the trail “Bertolino explained.
“The Laundries were informed that there were also remains near the backpack at that point, and they were asked to leave the preserve.”
The suggestion that Chris Laundrie planted the dry bag was dismissed by Bertolino as “hogwash.”
The family was “heartbroken” by the discoveries made today, according to the attorney.
FBI processing scene
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) The Tampa Evidence Response Team is on the scene, processing the scene with “all available forensic resources.” The team will most likely be on the scene for several days, according to McPherson.
“I know you have a lot of questions,” he said in a statement to the media, “but we don’t have all the answers yet.”
The discovery comes 37 days after Petito’s fiancée, Laundrie, was last seen by his parents.
Aerial footage showed activity in the Carlton Reserve near the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, where Laundrie’s car was found parked in September, and the Sarasota County medical examiner and a cadaver dog were called to the park earlier.
