Photo: @Gabspetito/Instagram
A North Port Police officer said the department has serious doubts about claims made by Chris and Roberta Laundrie, the parents of Brian Laundrie -- the fiancé of Gabby Petito and a person of interest in her death -- amid an ongoing FBI search for their son.
North Port Police spokesman Josh Taylor spoke about the ongoing investigation with NewsNation's Brian Entin on Friday (October 8) and said there's "a lot of oddness" about claims made by the Laundries and that their story "just didn't make sense."
Laundrie's family said the 23-year-old was last seen hiking in Carlton Reserve on September 13 after he returned to Florida from a cross country trip without Petito, who was reported missing by her parents days prior.
"I mean we've said since the beginning there was a lot of oddness here, a lot of things that didn't make sense," Taylor said via NewsNation. "'I mean if your son walks out there, now they're saying on a Monday, to report that on a Friday and then to be confused on what day that was - there are a lot of things that are odd there."
Taylor also said "it's possible" Laundrie, who was reported missing on September 17, is still alive.
Last Thursday (October 7), former FBI agent Bryanna Fox, an associate professor of criminology at the University of South Florida, told NBC News that it's unlikely Laundrie is still in the area amid authories' continued search of the 24,565-acre Carlton Reserve campsite in Venice, Florida, adding that she believed Laundrie fled the state of Florida with assistance of someone else.
"It seems unlikely that he's still in that reserve. They did not find any trace of him so far. It's been weeks," Fox said.
Fox said Laundrie may have had financial or transportation assistance as witnesses would have likely contacted authorities had they seen him hitchhiking or boarding public transportation.
"The idea that nothing has been said reinforces to me that he was likely getting help," Fox said. "Obviously, that person would have to be very loyal and very close to him ... to not compromise his identity."
On Thursday (October 7), his father, Chris Laundrie, joined authorities in their search of Carlton Reserve, according to family attorney Steven Bertolino.
Remnants of a campsite that appeared to have been recently used were reportedly the focus of the search, a source close to the Laundrie family told CNN's Chris Cuomo last Wednesday (October 6).
On Tuesday (October 5), Laundrie's sister, Cassie, said she doesn't know where her brother is and would "turn him in" if she did in an exclusive interview with ABC News.
Cassie Laundrie said she last heard from her brother on September 6 -- after he returned from his cross country trip without Petito -- when the family went to Fort De Soto Park in Pinellas County, Florida.
"We just went for a couple of hours and we ate dinner and had s'mores around the campfire and left, and there was nothing peculiar about it," she said. "There was no feeling of grand goodbye. There was no nothing."
"I'm frustrated that, in hindsight, I didn't pick up on anything," she added. "It was just a regular visit."
Cassie added that it's unusual for Brian to disappear this long, having initially been reported missing on September 17, days after Petito's parents initially reported her missing.
"I worry about him. I hope he's OK, and then I'm angry and I don't know what to think," she said. "I hope my brother is alive because I want answers just as much as everybody else."
Cassie said she's cooperated with authorities during their investigation "since day one" and believes her parents should do the same, noting that she's unsure of their role.
"I don't know if my parents are involved," she said. "I think if they are, then they should come clean."
On September 30, police released additional bodycam footage which shows Petito telling an officer that an argument with Laundrie got physical.
The newer footage stems from the incident on August 12 in Moab, Utah in which police made contact with Petito -- whose remains were found on September 19 -- and Laundrie -- a person of interest in her death whose whereabouts are currently unknown.
A bystander called the Moab Police Department and reported seeing a man hitting a woman. Officers pulled over the van Laundrie and Petito were traveling in on their cross-country trip and Petito told officers that she intially slapped Laundrie before he retaliated.
"I guess, but I hit him first," Petito said when asked by an officer if Laundrie hit her in the face.
"Where did he hit you? Don’t worry. Just be honest," the officer asked.
"Well, he grabbed my face," Petito said.
"Did he slap your face? Or what?" the officer responded.
"Well like, yeah he grabbed me with his nail, and I guess that’s why I definitely have a cut right here because I can feel it when I touch it, it burns," she said, while holding her jaw and crying.
The video then shows Laundrie recanting his side of the incident.
"She gets really worked up, and when she does she swings, and she had her cellphone in her hand, so I was just trying to push her away," Laundrie said.
The new video adds to previously released bodycam footage showing the couple addressing the incident with police, which an officer described as a mental health crisis, not a domestic assault, according to a police report.
The city of Moab announced on September 28 an independent investigation will be conducted on officers' handling of the situation involving Petito and Laundrie.
Last month, an arrest warrant was issued for Laundrie after a grand jury indicited him for his "use of unauthorized devices" during the events following the death of Petito.
The indictment obtained by CNN accuses Laundrie of using a debit card and PIN number for accounts that didn't belong to him between August 30 to September 1 in order to make purchases totaling more than $1,000.
A source close to Laundrie's family told CNN the 23-year-old left his own wallet and cell phone behind when he was last seen leaving his parents' Florida home 10 days ago after he initially returned to the area from a cross-country road trip without Petito, who was reported missing on September 11.
The source added that Laundrie's parents were concerned he might harm himself at the time he left their home.
An attorney for Laundrie's family emphasized that the arrest warrant isn't related specifically to Petito's death, rather incidents committed by Laundrie afterward.
"It is my understanding that the arrest warrant for Brian Laundrie is related to activities occurring after the death of Gabby Petito and not related to her actual demise," Steve Bertolino said in a statement. "The FBI is focusing on locating Brian and when that occurs the specifics of the charges covered under the indictment will be addressed in the proper forum."
"While this warrant allows law enforcement to arrest Mr. Laundrie, the FBI and our partners across the country continue to investigate the facts and circumstances of Ms. Petito's homicide," added FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider. "We urge individuals with knowledge of Mr. Laundrie's role in this matter or his current whereabouts to contact the FBI."
On September 24, local and federal authorities continued to search for Laundrie in the Carlton Reserve, a nature preserve estimated to be around 25,000 acres, in North Port near his family home after pausing September 23 due to darkness.
Duane 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' Chapman has inserted himself into the search for Laundrie and told TMZ last Monday (October 4) that he believes Laundrie is "alive" but not "doing well."
Chapman said Laundrie showed "no evidence" of being suicidal and credited Laundrie's social media presence for his theory.
"If you go to his Instagram pages and look what kind of person he really is and the books that he reads and especially a very favorite book, that's not books for sucidal people," Chapman said.
Last Sunday (October 3), Chapman tweeted a video update of himself wading through the Florida swamp waters in search for Laundrie.