Remains in Florida park are Laundrie’s, FBI says

Agency: Comparison of dental records offers confirmation.

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — The FBI on Thursday identified human remains found in a Florida nature preserve as those of Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the death of girlfriend Gabby Petito while the couple were on a cross-country road trip.

The remains, a backpack and notebook believed to belong to Laundrie were discovered Wednesday in a Florida wilderness park, according to the FBI. The area where they were found had been under water during earlier searches.

The FBI’S Denver office said in a news release that a comparison of dental records confirmed that the remains were Laundrie’s.

Steve Bertolino, an attorney for the Laundrie family, said the family had been told the remains were his shortly after investigators were seen visiting Laundrie’s home in Sarasota.

“Chris and Roberta Laundrie have been informed that the remains found yesterday in the reserve are indeed Brian’s,” Bertolino wrote in a text message. “We have no further comment at this time and we ask that you respect the Laundrie’s privacy at this time.”

The discovery of the remains concluded a massive search involving federal, state and local law enforcement that began shortly after Laundrie disappeared Sept. 14, two weeks after the 23-year-old returned alone to his parents’ home in North Port, Florida.

Petito’s family reported her missing Sept. 11, launching a search that garnered worldwide media attention and focused largely on the Carlton Reserve wilderness park near the Laundrie home. It is

a densely wooded, swampy area that’s home to alligators, coyotes, bobcats, snakes and numerous other creatures.

The intense focus on Petito’s case has led to renewed calls for people to pay greater attention to cases involving missing Indigenous women and other people of color.

The body of Petito, 22, was found Sept. 19 on the edge of Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, which the couple had visited. The coroner there concluded she died of strangulation and her body had been where it was found for three or four weeks.

The couple were stopped Aug. 12 by police in Moab, Utah, after they had a physical altercation, but no charges were filed.

Laundrie returned home alone Sept. 1 in the Ford van

the couple took on their trip. He was reported missing after telling his parents that he was going for a hike in the Carlton Reserve, a nature preserve that was a key area in the search.

The activity Wednesday focused on the nearby Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, where a Ford Mustang that Laundrie drove to the wilderness was found.

Laundrie was charged in a federal Wyoming indictment with unauthorized use of a debit card, which alleged Laundrie used a Capital One Bank card and someone’s personal identification number to make unauthorized withdrawals or charges worth more than $1,000. It does not say to whom the card belonged or what type of charges were made.

CHRIS O’MEARA/ASSOCIATED PRESS Supporters of Gabby Petito hold up photos of her after a news conference Wednesday in North Port, Florida. Items said to belong to Brian Laundrie and remains later identified as his were found in a Florida wilderness park during a search for clues in Petito’s slaying.

MOAB POLICE DEPARTMENT VIA AP An image from an Aug. 12 video provided by the Moab Police Department in Utah shows Brian Laundrie talking to an officer after police pulled over the van he was traveling in with his girlfriend, Gabby Petito, near the entrance to Arches National Park.