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Brian Laundrie's parents' story has a 'lot of oddness', says cop: 'Don't know what to believe'

North Port PD's Josh Taylor said, 'I don't necessarily know what to believe anymore,' about the Laundries' narrative

North Port police reportedly have doubts in the narratives presented by the parents of Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the death of Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito. Laundrie has been on the run for almost a month now, even as authorities continue to search — albeit unsuccessfully — for him in the marshy Carlton Reserve in Florida. Despite no tangible evidence of Laundrie being there, the search is on. But things may be looking hopeful.

"It seems the water in the preserve is receding and certain areas are more accessible to search," said Steve Bertolino, the Laundrie family’s attorney. "The entire Laundrie family is grateful for the hard work of the dedicated members of law enforcement that have been searching the preserve for Brian over the last few weeks. Hopefully, Brian will be located soon."

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Police spokesperson Josh Taylor told CNN that the search has been prompted entirely by information from Laundrie's parents, Chris and Roberta, who said he planned to hike in the reserve in mid-September and hasn't been seen since. Taylor told CNN they have not found any physical evidence of Laundrie but plan to continue the search until they have better information.

But the Laundrie family’s statement that their son went to Carlton Reserve on September 14 has now been changed. Bertolino told CNN on Thursday, October 7, that after discussions with the FBI, “We now believe the day Brian left to hike in the preserve was Monday, September 13.” Bertolino told CNN that Chris went to look for his son on the night of September 13, adding that the couple returned to the area the following day — then they noticed an abandoned vehicle citation on a Mustang that the 23-year-old Brian Laundrie had driven. The parents returned on September 15 to retrieve the car. 

Speaking to reporter Brian Entin on Friday, October 8, Taylor, claimed there was "a lot of oddness" in the story of Laundrie's parents. "I don't necessarily know what to believe anymore. I think it's perfectly possible that they're expressing what they know [...] but we'll see," Taylor said. "We've said from the beginning there's a lot of oddness here, a lot of things that just didn't make sense."

Taylor also said, "I mean your son walks out there, now they're saying on Monday, to report that on Friday, and then be confused about what day that was...there a lot of things that are odd there.” Taylor also revealed that the police are still "working to figure out" how Laundrie had vanished before noting that "no investigation is perfect."

Earlier, Frank Figliuzzi, a former assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI, speculated that Laundrie's parents would soon be summoned to a grand jury. "I would expect that to happen momentarily, see them in front of a grand jury, and then if they are not going to cooperate, they can get charged with contempt or obstruction," Figliuzzi told CNBC. "There is no parental-child privilege, and I actually thought, by now, we would see them summoned to the grand jury. We now have an indictment, it's a federal case."