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Gabby Petito: 'America's Most Wanted' host John Walsh vows to find 'dirtbag' Brian Laundrie

Walsh also questions if anyone actually saw Brian Laundrie in his home when his attorney said he was there

‘America's Most Wanted’ host John Walsh has vowed to support authorities in finding Gabby Petito’s boyfriend Brian Laundrie. The 23-year-old man, also named a person of interest in the case, has been missing for over a week after earlier refusing to talk to investigators about Gabby’s disappearance. The young woman was reported missing by her family on September 11 after she did not come back home from a cross-country trip, which she began with Brian Laundrie, who returned alone to his home in Florida on September 1.

Brian’s family told authorities on Friday, September 17, that they had not seen their son since Tuesday, September 14. Two days later, on September 19, a body believed to be of Gabby was found in a US national park in Wyoming while a search was underway for Brian. Initially, it was not officially confirmed if the remains were of her, but on September 21, the FBI said the body was of Gabby Petito. In a statement, the Denver office of the FBI said, “Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue confirmed the remains are those of Gabrielle Venora Petito, date of birth March 19, 1999. Coroner Blue’s initial determination for the manner of death is homicide. The cause of death remains pending final autopsy results.”

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Meanwhile, reports said that Brian was last seen with a backpack at his North Port home in Florida on September 14. He apparently told his family that he was leaving for a hike. But he never returned from the hike and his car was found near Carlton Reserve by his family on September 15. After his family contacted authorities about his disappearance, a search warrant was executed by the FBI on Monday, September 20, in Brian’s place. Investigators were seen carrying a number of large boxes away from the scene.

While Brian has still not been declared a fugitive in the case, Walsh told News Nation Now, “I'm settling up to catch this dirtbag.” He continued, “This is a homicide. This dirtbag is out there. I don't know how he got out of the house with the FBI and local cops watching him day and night.” As per the 75-year-old television personality’s official website, through ‘America’s Most Wanted’ he “helped law enforcement capture more than 1,200 fugitives and brought home more than 50 missing children.”

Walsh now hosts ‘In Pursuit With John Walsh’ on Investigation Discovery and has vowed to focus on Brian in the next episode. He also accused Brian’s parents for helping their son in escaping and buying him “four days to get a head start” by not contacting authorities earlier. He added, “At some point, these parents are going to have to pay. They're going to have to pay for being an accessory for putting him on the run.”

Walsh was also skeptical if anyone actually saw Laundrie in his family home in the days after he returned on September 1. "I'm of a different persuasion and a different philosophy on going back to the swamp. I think he was never there," Walsh told CNN.

The recent comments from Walsh came after he appeared on ‘Good Morning America’ and claimed that the bodycam footage from an incident in Utah clearly showed that Gabby was in danger. He said, “She was scared to death in that video [...] he probably killed her right after.” On August 12, police responded to the scene involving Brian and Gabby when the caller saw them fighting. Later, it was revealed that the caller had seen Brian “slapping” his girlfriend.

Walsh, who also made an appearance on CNN, told Anderson Cooper, “How is it that that 911 operator… didn’t get that information to those two deputies that stopped ’em? It just was chilling to see that those cops didn’t get the information that the person who called in was so concerned that he pulled over a tourist and called 911 because he saw this guy beating the heck out of Gabby. And it’s so sad because she might be alive today.”

“He terrorized her not to tell the cops that he was the aggressor, he was the slapper and the puncher… She was terrified,” he added.