Now Brian Laundrie is 'MISSING'! Gabby Petito's mom says he's 'hiding'
NORTH PORT, FLORIDA: In a sensational new twist to the case of Gabby Petito, it now appears as if fiance Brian Landrie too is missing. Laundrie's lawyer confirmed that his whereabouts are "currently unknown", and that he was last seen on September 12 morning. The development has not gone unnoticed, with the FBI now also hunting for Laundrie, police confirmed. Meanwhile, Petito's mother has slammed Laundrie, saying, "he's hiding."
With each passing day, more and more information becomes available as police try to piece together what exactly happened to the 22-year-old Petito. She was supposed to go to Yellowstone National Park to meet a friend but never did we reported on September 16. On August 30, she texted her mom that she was at Yosemite, 800 miles away in California. The latest update on September 16 indicated that the van Petito and Laundrie used was last seen at Jenny Lake in Grand Teton national park on August 25.
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Since his return to Florida, Laundrie has not been cooperating with the investigation, as we have reported. Despite being named a person of interest, Laundrie has firmly refused to speak to the police or the press. In the latest stunning twist, he's now apparently gone missing. The breaking development was confirmed by WABC reporter Kristin Thorne, and confirmed by police.
Is Brian Laundrie missing?
All signs indicate that Laundrie is now a missing person as well. Thorne tweeted on September 17, "BREAKING: Brian Laundrie’s attorney says Brian was last seen by his parents Tuesday morning." His disappearance was confirmed by cops after they paid a visit to his home the same day. Reportedly, the Laundrie family called the police to their home on the evening of September 17, and the police left with several items from the home.
BREAKING: Brian Laundrie’s attorney says Brian was last seen by his parents Tuesday morning. pic.twitter.com/wVU76Khjtr
— Kristin Thorne (@KristinThorne) September 18, 2021
"Be advised, the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie are currently unknown. The FBI is currently at the Laundrie residence removing property to assist in locating Brian. As of now, the FBI is looking for both Gabby and Brian," the attorney told reporters. North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison also tweeted, "The conversation at the Laundrie home is complete. Once we have the details, a statement will be made. We ask for calm! Please let us work through this and information will be forthcoming."
Petito's family has not taken the development well. Nichole Schmidt, Petito's mother told The Daily Mail, "he's not missing, he's hiding. Gabby is missing." Dad Joeseph Petito also chipped in, saying, "We are happy they called the police in and they want to cooperate, but until...I'm not going to speculate, I don't know what to believe." A spokesperson for the North Port PD confirmed the police knows more but isn't willing to go public just yet. "we just want to get our... our ducks in a row a little bit. This has been a very quickly developing situation here in just the last hour really for the most part. So we're working through that. We want to make sure that we are accurate in everything that we're saying."
The Laundrie family home has now become ground zero for the case. Alongside the media, many protestors have also posted themselves outside the house in Florida, and could be heard yelling, "Bring Gabby home!" One man with a megaphone yelled, "we're out here, we'll be out here every day!" In fact, things got so chaotic that deputy chief Chris Morales stepped up and told those present, "this is not helping. Please keep it down. I ask you to have courtesy for the neighbors."