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Brian Laundrie spotted with 'older' mystery woman, may have bought phone in Florida

The mystery behind Brian Laundrie's phone gets murkier as reports claim he allegedly purchased a cell phone from an AT&T store in North Port

NORTH PORT, FLORIDA: Amid several alleged sightings of Florida fugitive Brian Laundrie, a recent report said that he had purchased a cell phone from an AT&T store in North Port the day his parents claim they saw him for the last time before he went missing. Laundrie was spotted "with an older woman" inside a cell phone shop in Florida's North Port on September 14, states a report in TMZ. The FBI later collected footage from the surveillance cameras in the store.

TMZ learned that Laundrie apparently visited the store with an older woman on September 14 and purchased the phone. His parents reported him missing on September 17, claiming he went to a nearby nature reserve with his backpack but did not return. Fox News Digital visited an AT&T store in North Port this week, where they were told that the store can neither deny nor confirm whether it was the store Brian had reportedly visited. 

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The family attorney of the Laundries, Steven Bertolino, said sometime after Brian returned, the Laundries did buy a cell phone. However, he claimed not to know the exact date when the purchase was made. He said that Laundrie left the phone behind before he went missing and it is possibly in the FBI's possession now. Asked why the Laundries would buy a new phone, he said, "Sorry I can’t speculate." A spokesperson for the FBI's Denver Field Office stated that information about an ongoing investigation cannot be shared.

Did Roberta Laundrie buy a burner phone?

Meanwhile, Laundrie's mother, Roberta, has been accused of buying a burner phone to keep in touch with her son, who has been missing for several days now. Laundrie continues to be the prime suspect in Gabby Petito's homicide. The FBI, however, has neither officially denied nor confirmed the claim. "We do not confirm or deny contact with any individual or entity in order to preserve their privacy, as such, we do not confirm or deny the receipt of any tip. We have no additional comment," the FBI said, as tweeted by 10 Tampa Bay reporter Shannon Clowe. In a separate tweet, she wrote, "I asked the #Laundrie family lawyer, Steven Bertolino, the same question … “no comment”.

Bertolino said that Chris and Roberta are not aware of their son's whereabouts. “Chris and Roberta Laundrie do not know where Brian is,” Bertolino said in a statement. “They are concerned about Brian and hope the FBI can locate him.” “The speculation by the public and some in the press that the parents assisted Brian in leaving the family home or in avoiding arrest on a warrant that was issued after Brian had already been missing for several days is just wrong,” he added.

Recently after Dog the Bounty Hunter alleged that he received a tip that Laundrie had not returned from the camping trip with his parents after Gabby was reported missing. Bertolino said the family "camped from 09-06 to 09-07 and they all left the park." Duane Chapman was able to confirm that the Laundries were at the camping ground on multiple occasions after their son returned home from a cross-country trip without his girlfriend.