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Was Brian Laundrie's death scene staged? Internet claims Laundrie family planted evidence

'You’re telling me that his parents found more evidence in 30 minutes than the FBI found in the last month? #BrianLaundrie,' a user commented

The alleged finding of Brian Laundrie’s partial remains has raised more questions than answers. The 23-year-old Florida native has been missing for over a month after returning alone from a cross-country trip on which he embarked with his girlfriend, Gabby Petito, in July. However, on Wednesday, October 20, authorities said they discovered the remains at the same place where they found his personal belongings.

The remains were found in Florida's Carlton Reserve in an area that had earlier been swamped. Michael McPherson, special agent in charge of the FBI's Tampa office, said: “Earlier today investigators found what appears to be human remains along with personal items, such as a backpack and notebook, belonging to Brian Laundrie. These items were found in an area that up until recently had been under water.”

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An insider close to the probe said that the alleged human remains “appear to have been there a while,” before adding, “based on the condition of the remains, it may take some time to officially identify. It is going to be a very thorough process with the medical examiner.”

However, what has left many scratching their heads is that despite a massive search operation for weeks, authorities were not able to find anything crucial. But the startling recent discovery came only after Brian’s parents -- Chris and Roberta Laundrie -- helped authorities and pointed in a particular direction. Steven Bertolino, an attorney for the Laundrie family, said in a statement: “Some articles belonging to Brian were found.”

In another statement, he added, “Chris and Roberta Laundrie were at the reserve earlier today when human remains and some of Brian’s possessions were located in an area where they had initially advised law enforcement that Brian may be. Chris and Roberta will wait for the forensic identification of the human remains before making any additional comments.” Besides, in a phone interview to CNN, the lawyer said that “the probability is strong that it is Brian's remains, but we're going to wait for the forensic results [to] come in and verify that.” 

Brian is a person of interest in the disappearance case of Gabby, whose body was found at the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area in Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming on September 19. Her death was officially declared a homicide by “manual strangulation.”

The latest development in the case has complicated the already complex case as people on the internet believe Brian’s parents have something to do with it. Many have speculated that the place where the young man’s apparent remains were found was staged. A user shared on Twitter, “it took brian laundries parents 30 mins parents to do the job that trained professionals couldn’t in do in weeks. if you still believe that his parents aren’t helping him, you’re fucked up. #BrianLaundrie.”

A person questioned, “You’re telling me that his parents found more evidence in 30 minutes than the FBI found in the last month? #BrianLaundrie.” Another one tweeted, “After 5 weeks of intense investigation and searching by the FBI…how do belongings of Brian appear near one of his favorite trails conveniently when his parents show up to help ‘search’?!?! #BrianLaundrie.” “so you’re telling me the fbi looked for brian laundrie for 5 weeks… then they open the reserve, and call off the search… and then when his parents decide to go look on their own, within a few hours they find his belongings and the medical examiner gets called out?? yeah ok,” the third user added.

Sharing a meme, a user wrote, “So the FBI and even Dog couldn't find #BrianLaundrie in 60 days but his parents find him in 30 minutes…” The second user mockingly shared, “So Brian Laundrie’s parents just happened to stumble upon his remains on the same trail that the FBI has been searching this whole time???? Suuuure. #BrianLaundrie.” “FBI couldn't find leads of #BrianLaundrie for what, five weeks, but his parents showed up to help ‘search’ today, and human remains and items were found... Gotcha!” a tweet added.

Reddit users also have their own theories as one of them said, “It’s very bizarre. This area was highlighted to the authorities early on. How long has it been since they looked here? How long has it been since the water receded? The parents just happen to go in the same time the water receded? And find something the authorities couldn’t? What?” Another one asked, “If this is him they found and he’s for sure dead, what are the chances the parents come clean if they know what happened?” “It's probably a paid crisis actor. I wouldn't be surprised if Brian removed his own teeth and planted them at the scene so the dental records match,” a user wrote while making the bizarre claim.