Father Joins Search At Sarasota County Reserve Thursday; Campsite Found: Brian Laundrie

Updated: 2:20 p.m. Thursday

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — Authorities searching the 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve in Sarasota County for signs of Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the death of his fiancee, Gabby Petito, found remnants of a recently used campsite Wednesday, CNN reported.

That same day, the FBI, the lead agency in the investigation, called the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office to provide aerial support at the reserve, Kaitlyn Perez, community affairs director, told Patch.

The attorney for the Laundrie family said Brian's father was asked to help with the search in the alligator-infested swamp Thursday.

There are also reports that the family's Ford Mustang was actually found abandoned 16 miles from where his parents initially told police their son had gone hiking.

And as media interest continues in the case, neighbors of the Florida family have turned the nuisance of reporters and photographers into a money-maker, charging thousands of dollars a week to allow media outlets to work in their yards and driveways.

For three weeks, the FBI, North Port police and other law enforcement partners have been combing the nature reserve for signs of Laundrie, 23, who hasn’t been seen since Sept. 13.

The couple was traveling throughout the western United States in 22-year-old Petito's converted camper van this summer when she was last seen. Her family last heard from her at the end of August, and her body was found Sept. 19 near Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park. Her death has been ruled a homicide, although no cause of death has been released.

Laundrie returned to his family's North Port home — where Petito also lived for the past two years — alone in her van Sept. 1.

She was reported missing Sept. 11, and his parents later alerted North Port police Sept. 17 that their son hadn’t returned home in days. Authorities have been searching for him ever since.

Though his parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, initially told police he was last seen Sept. 14 when he left their home to go hiking at the Carlton Reserve, they're now saying they think he was last seen one day earlier on Sept. 13.

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Since fleeing, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Brian Laundrie on Sept. 23 in connection with the unauthorized use of another person's debit card, but that person was never named by the FBI. The Petito family attorney said Tuesday that Laundrie used Gabby Petito’s bank card to make the drive from Wyoming back to Florida.

The Laundrie family attorney, Steve Bertolino, told CNN Thursday that authorities invited Laundrie's father had arrived at the nature reserve that morning to assist authorities with the search. The family has kept to themselves since Petito was reported missing, and any public comments have been made through their attorney.

"Chris was asked to point out any favorite trails or spots that Brian may have used in the preserve. Although Chris and Roberta Laundrie provided this information verbally three weeks ago, it is now thought that on-site assistance may be better," Bertolino said.

He initially told Fox News Wednesday that Chris Laundrie was asked to assist law enforcement but that police "had to postpone" the father's involvement in the search.

"Since the preserve has been closed to the public, Chris has not been able to look for Brian in the only place Chris and Roberta believe Brian may be," the attorney said.

Before authorities got involved, Chris Laundrie searched the reserve alone for his son Sept. 13 when Brian didn't come home that night, the attorney added.

Josh Taylor, a spokesperson for North Port police, denied police had invited Brian Laundrie's parents to participate in the search.

"In no world would we be the agency asking the family to help search in an FBI-led investigation," he told Fox News Wednesday.

Patch reached out to Taylor for additional information.

Laundrie Family Mustang Found 16 Miles From Carlton Reserve

For weeks, Laundrie’s parents, through their attorney, maintained that their son drove the family’s Ford Mustang to go hiking at the Carlton Reserve Sept. 14.

They said that people left a notice on the car, parked on a street near the reserve, to move it. They eventually picked up the car and brought it home.

Days after Bertolino, the family’s attorney, said Laundrie’s parents believe he actually went missing Sept. 13, one day earlier, an abandoned vehicle notice placed on the Mustang by North Port police Sept. 14 shows that the car was actually parked 16 miles away from the reserve, WFLA reported.

The location included on the incident report is 6968 Reistertown Road, the address for the Myakkahatcee Creek Environmental Park. The park is connected to the Carlton Reserve by a 12-mile trail, reports said.

Bertolino said the Mustang was brought back to the family’s home by Sept. 15.

More North Carolina Sightings Reported

After a hiker said he interacted with Brian Laundrie near the Appalachian Trail on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, additional tips coming in have pointed authorities to that area.

Authorities and private investigators searching for Laundrie have speculated since he disappeared that he could be heading to the trail. Numerous tips have come in regarding sightings of him in North Carolina along the trail. Laundrie, an experienced outdoorsman, also lived on the Appalachian Trail for three months, and he and Petito spent some time there together in March. The 2,180-mile trail stretches from Georgia to Maine.

The hiker, Dennis Davis of Florida, said he was certain he interacted with Laundrie, who was driving a newer pickup truck on a deserted road near the trail. He “was worried and not making sense,” Davis said, and asked for directions to California so he could get back to his girlfriend.

In a news release shared to its Facebook page Monday, Haywood County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina said that it has received numerous calls about Laundrie being seen in the area, “each (sighting) being investigated thoroughly and areas of concern searches, but all to no avail.”

The sheriff’s office said that about a dozen sightings of Laundrie have been reported in the area, according to NBC News.

Tips have come in from other parts of the country and North America as well, leading authorities to look into sightings in Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, Alabama and other areas of Florida.

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On Saturday morning, authorities looked into reports that Laundrie was at a Quality Inn in Ohio, according to The Daily Jeff. Maintenance workers said they believed the fugitive had walked past them as they worked outside.

"We checked several rooms of interest after ruling out other rooms throughout our investigation," Cambridge Police Detective Dustin Gerdau said.

About eight to 10 officers responded to the hotel, but the police report said "it was determined that if Laundrie was at the motel, he was no longer there."

Laundrie’s Neighbors Rent Their Yards To Media

There’s been a media frenzy surrounding the Laundrie family’s Wabasso Avenue home in the weeks since Petito went missing. Now, some of their neighbors are capitalizing on the interest in the story.

Since police banned media outlets from parking on the streets near the Laundrie house, some neighbors have been renting their yards and driveways to reporters and camera crews for as much as $3,500 a week, TMZ reported. Some neighbors are even offering media tents, internet access, chairs, water and access to bathrooms.

CBS News, Fox News and ABC News are among the media outlets that have rented spots from those living in the neighborhood, the NY Post reported.