Early on Monday, the FBI raided travel blogger Gabby Petito’s fiance Brian Laundrie’s home and removed his parents over reports that remains have been found near where Gabby Petito is believed to have disappeared. Brian is not in contact with anyone and presumed “missing.”
According to Fox News, “Laundrie is a person of interest in the Gabby Petito investigation. On Sunday, authorities found a body in Wyoming that is believed to be Petito’s.”
On Friday, authorities discovered Laundrie was no longer in the home that he and Petito shared with his parents, and he became a person of interest over the weekend. His whereabouts are still unknown and the parents have given no details of where he might be. Laundrie was last seen last Tuesday.
The family home was raided by the FBI early Monday morning and the parents were placed in a vehicle belonging to federal authorities. The FBI reportedly have declared the home a “crime scene,” but it’s still not clear if the parents are being detained.
It was reported that the FBI had collected several boxes from the Laundrie home and towed away a car neighbors said Laundrie’s mother typically drove.
“The FBI announced a ‘search warrant’ twice before removing Chris and Roberta Laundrie from their home in North Port, Florida, and placing them in a van on their lawn,” Fox said in a report on Monday. “Police cordoned off the area and cleared the street one minute before FBI arrived, telling people ‘you’re in a crime scene.'”
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELThe couple went on a cross-country road trip and Petito was filming it and displaying it on social media. The two were apparently involved in a domestic quarrel sometime around mid-August outside of Moab, Utah. The last time Petito was heard from was August 30. Laundrie came home in Florida without his fiance in early September. After numerous reported attempts to contact Petito through Laundrie, Petio’s parents finally filed a “missing persons” report on their daughter on September 11th.
Laundrie was last seen Tuesday last week and according to The Associated Press, “searches for him continue.”
“Dozens of officers have taken part in [the] search for Laundrie at the 24,000-acre Carlton Reserve in Sarasota County, Florida after he went missing,” the AP reported citing Newsweek.
In the search zone in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, human remains were discovered that could be Patito’s.
“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 told media on Sunday, noting that an autopsy performed on Tuesday. “This is an incredibly difficult time for [Petito’s] family and friends.”
The FBI took to social media on Monday to acknowledge they were searching the Laundrie home, noting that the Bureau ”is executing a court-authorized search warrant today at the Laundrie residence in North Port, FL, relevant to the Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito investigation.”
“No further details can be provided since this is an active and ongoing investigation.”
On Monday, an attorney representing the Laundrie family said that the family had “no comment” about the ongoing investigation or the search.
However, on Tuesday, authorities renewed their search efforts for Laundrie over a preserve area near the Laundrie home as he is still wanted for questioning in the death of 22-year-old Petito.
Gabby’s father posted an image on social media of a broken heart above his daughter’s picture with the caption reading, “She touched the world.”
Gabby’s father said the family started worrying after several days when they didn’t hear from their daughter.
“We called Brian, we called the mom, we called the dad, we called the sister, we called every number that we could find,” Joseph Petito said. “No phone calls were picked up, no text messages were returned.”
