Search resumes for Petito’s boyfriend
FBI, police focusing on swampy Florida park
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Search teams fanned out Wednesday at a Florida wilderness park to search for the boyfriend of Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito, who authorities say was killed while on a cross-country trip with him.
The search resumed around 8 a.m. Wednesday at the 24,000-acre Carlton Reserve park, North Port police spokesperson Joshua Taylor said. Investigators say Brian Laundrie’s parents told them he had gone there after returning home without Petito on Sept. 1.
It marked the fourth day of searching in the Carlton Reserve, with operations suspended Monday while the FBI searched the nearby Laundrie home for evidence.
The outdoors search includes thousands of acres of forbidding, swampy subtropical terrain replete with alligators, snakes, turkey, deer and many other wild creatures. There are more than 100 miles of hiking and horseback riding trails, plus numerous camping areas and rivers.
The body of Petito, 22, was reported missing Sept. 11 by her parents after they said she did not respond to calls and texts for several days while the couple visited parks in the West. Her body was discovered Sunday at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Teton County Coroner Brent Blue classified Petito’s death as a homicide – meaning her death was caused by another person – but did not disclose how she was killed pending further autopsy results. Laundrie, 23, is not charged with any crime but is considered a person of interest in the case.
With online sleuths and theories multiplying by the day, the FBI and police have been deluged with tips about possible Laundrie sightings. Taylor, the North Port spokesperson, said none have so far panned out. He also batted down rumors that Laundrie had been captured Tuesday.