Brian Laundrie's pal shares chilling insight into what fugitive was like at school
A longtime friend of Brian Laundrie has revealed that he was a "heavier set social outcast" when he was at school. Speaking to The Sun on condition of anonymity, the pal revealed that Gabby Petito's ex-fiance was nearly 40 pounds heavier when he was 14.
MEAWW previously reported how reality TV star Duane 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' Chapman thought suicide was a "very likely possibility" for the missing fugitive. However, the television personality, who joined the search for Laundrie last month, later admitted that he wasn't suicidal and was likely hiding in the everglades.
RELATED ARTICLES
Brian Laundrie is an avid reader, says Gabby Petito’s friend: 'He doesn't have friends'
Is Brian Laundrie hiding in a bus? Pic of vehicle near Chris Laundrie's business goes viral
Laundrie's friend recalled him being a private person who insisted that he was never into social media or taking photos until he started his cross-country "van life" with Petito. "These last two years were the most public and open he has ever been. He's a pretty disconnected off-the-grid type of guy, not the 'selfie' type," the friend explained. “He's the type of person that would be able to drop everything to secure his means of not being captured and to evade arrest or evade prosecution from what seems to be a pending crime.”
The friend revealed to The Sun how Laundrie had "zero friends" in middle school and would mostly sit at the lunch table with two other people. “Brian was very quiet in school. He was a bit of an outcast when he was younger. He was just so to himself," the pal said, adding that Laundrie "cut his hair and lost weight in high school.”
The friend said he had been to Laundrie's Bayport, New York residence multiple times and even visited his North Port, Florida home once. The friend admitted that guns were a common interest in their group, but he found it eerie that Laundrie had been keen on moving to Florida since high school. "A lot of my friends have guns and stuff,” the friend continued. “The gun laws in Florida were a lot less restrictive than New York so it was interesting for him to move to another state that allowed that.”
The closed friend circle consisted of just four members and so it is possible Laundrie would reach out to him for help, the friend admitted, adding that the prospect "freaks him out." “The reason it would be me is [that] his other very close friends were also very close with Gabby but I was just very close with him,” the friend explained. “He might think I wouldn't hold some stigma or I wouldn't care about the matter. I get calls from unknown numbers and from blocked callers and my heart drops. I just think it's gonna be him on the other side, you never know."
Meanwhile, as a massive manhunt to find Laundrie is underway, a number of people have come forward revealing potential sightings of the man whose whereabouts are unknown at present. A number of people have claimed to have seen the fugitive, with tips coming even from Mexico, Canada, and the Bahamas.
Amid speculations that Laundrie's parents are helping him evade justice, his sister, Cassie Laundrie, recently said her family has been ignoring her after her brother disappeared and Petito died. Addressing protesters outside her Lakewood Ranch home Monday, October 4, Cassie said she did not know if her parents helped Laundrie escape and that she has not been able to speak with them. "I'm in the boat where I'm getting ignored by my family and thrown under the bus by my family's attorney," Cassie had said. The Laundrie family attorney previously confirmed that Chris and Roberta Laundrie were unaware of their son's whereabouts.