Brian Laundrie Used Gabby Petito's Credit Card After Her Death To Return To FL: Report

LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL — Petito family attorney Richard Stafford confirmed that Brian Laundrie, 23, a person of interest in the death of his fiancée, Gabby Petito, used her bank card after her death, Fox News reported.

A federal arrest warrant was issued Sept. 23 for Laundrie in connection with the unauthorized use of another person’s debit card, but that individual was never named.

During an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw Tuesday, Stafford said Laundrie used the card to get home to Florida.

The couple was traveling throughout the western United States in 22-year-old Petito's converted camper van this summer when she went missing. 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 had also disappeared, and they hadn't seen him in days. Authorities have been searching for him ever since.

Though his parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, initially told police their son was last seen Sept. 14 when he left their home to go hiking at the Carlton Reserve in Sarasota County, they’re now saying they think he disappeared one day earlier on Sept. 13, the Laundrie family attorney, Steve Bertolino, said.

“The Laundries were basing the date Brian left on their recollection of certain events,” Bertolino told WFLA. “Upon further communication with the FBI and confirmation of the Mustang being at the Laundrie residence on Wednesday, Sept. 15, we now believe the day Brian left to hike in the preserve was Monday, Sept. 13.”

Brian’s older sister also urged him to turn himself into authorities during an interview with “Good Morning America” that aired on Tuesday.

“I worry about him. I hope he’s OK and then I’m angry, and I don’t know what to think,” Cassie Laundrie, 31, said during the interview. “I would just tell my brother to come forward and get us out of this horrible mess.”

Cassie also said if their parents helped her brother escape, they should admit to it.

“I don’t know if my parents are involved. I think if they are then they should come clean,” she said.

Related Stories:

• Gabby Petito's Mom 'Felt It In Her Heart' She Was Dead: Dr. Phil
• Appalachian Trail Hiker Says He Saw Laundrie Saturday: Report
• Brian Laundrie: Sheriff Slams Investigation, New Bodycam Footage
• Brian Laundrie: New Cell Phone, Neighbor Arrested, Island Search
• Laundrie Search Moves To Remote Pinellas County Island: Report
• Suffolk Detective Who Opened Gabby Petito's Case An 'Angel': Mom
• 'Not Just Gabby Petito' Case Deserves Media Attention: Dad
• Brian Laundrie's Family Camped At Pinellas County Park: Report
• Laundrie Might Be In Appalachian Trail, Some Experts Say
• 'Be Inspired': Gabby Petito's Dad At Long Island Memorial Service

Cassie Laundrie Speaks To "Good Morning America"

Cassie told “GMA” Tuesday that the last time she saw her brother was Sept. 6 at Fort De Soto Park in southern Pinellas County. He and their parents reserved a campsite there Sept. 6-8.

She, her husband and their children visited them at their campsite for several hours, eating dinner and s’mores around the campfire.

“There was nothing peculiar about it. There was no feeling of grand goodbye. There was no nothing,” Cassie said. “I’m frustrated that in hindsight I didn’t pick up on anything. It was just a regular visit.”

After learning Petito was missing Sept. 11, she tried to get in touch with her brother, but said her calls to him went straight to voicemail.

The manhunt for Brian has led to tips pouring in from all over the country and the world. Authorities — as well as Duane Chapman, the reality TV star known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, and John Walsh of "America's Most Wanted" fame — have looked into reported sightings of Brian in Alabama, various areas of Florida, Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas and other locations.

The bulk of the search has focused on parks and nature trails. The FBI, North Port police and other law enforcement partners have been searching the 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve in Sarasota County for signs of Brian. Over the past week, Chapman has been searching for him in small islands off Pinellas County.

Meanwhile, a hiker claims he interacted with the Florida fugitive near the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina on Saturday. Many tips coming in have suggested that Brian might be heading toward the trail, as he spent three months living on it and also hiked a portion of it with Petito in March.

His sister told “GMA” Tuesday that Brian is “a mediocre survivalist,” adding it still “wouldn’t surprise (her) if he could last out there a long time.”

She noted “it’s unusual for him to be gone for this long” though.

Cassie also spoke about the released bodycam footage of police questioning the couple Aug. 12 about a domestic incident while on the road in Utah.

In a new video released at the end of last week, a tearful and emotional Petito tells Moab police officers that while she hit her fiancé first, he grabbed her face and cut her cheek.

Cassie said it’s difficult to watch that footage.

“It’s definitely painful to see everybody be upset,” she said. “It was pretty typical of them to argue and try and take space from each other. I’ve never seen anything like that (video) from either of them.”

She wonders if police in Utah had heard all the 911 calls about their fight when they spoke with the couple in Moab it would be “a different situation.”

Protesters Addressed By Cassie Laundrie Outside Her Home

Cassie also spoke with protesters outside her Lakewood Ranch home Monday, initially coming out to address them because they were yelling and scaring her children.

A TikTok user shared portions of their conversation, while NewsNation Now shared the entire nearly 20-minute video to its YouTube page.

Cassie said that she and her husband have told the FBI and police everything they know.

“We have fully cooperated with the police since Sept. 11, when they called,” she said.

@chroniclesofolivia MY FOOTAGE OF CASSIE LAUNDRIE PART 1 #justiceforgabbypetito #justice #justiceforgabby #gabbypetito #cassielaundrie #dirtylaundrie #brianlaundrie #gabbypetitoupdate #wheresbrianlaundrie #gabbypetitocase #gabby #fypage #crimetok #unsolved #missingperson #SoFiMoneyMoves #NissanShowUp #123pandorame ♬ original sound - Olivia

She also said she’s been silent since before Petito’s body was found because authorities have told them not to talk to anybody.

Cassie told the protesters that her brother visited her home Sept. 1 with her parents. They arrived in her parents’ Mustang, not Petito’s van.

“I did not know that he took that van back,” she said.

She added, “We are just as upset, frustrated and heartbroken as everybody else.”

Her parents haven’t spoken to her in weeks at the instruction of their attorney, Steven Bertolino, she said. “I am losing my parents, my brother, and my children’s aunt and my future sister-in-law.”

Want more local news? Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter. You can also have stories delivered to your phone screen by downloading from iTunes, or by visiting the Google Play store.

She also insisted that she doesn’t know anything about her brother’s whereabouts or Petito’s death.

“We know nothing. We have literally been finding everything out with the news like everybody else,” Cassie said.

She said she never lied about when she saw Brian last and that the media had misconstrued her comments. She also said she told investigators about the Fort De Soto camping trip when they reached out to her Sept. 11.

“We told the FBI everything. The world does not need to know what the FBI knows and that’s why we’re silent,” Cassie said.

She told the protesters that she lived in her family's North Port home with Brian and Petito while her parents lived in New York. During that time, she never saw her brother hit Petito.

“I’ve never seen him be abusive or angry in anything,” she said. “Everybody bickers, but nothing like, no domestic or anything. Or else we would have done something about it. I don’t stand for that. I was in a bad relationship similar to that. I wouldn’t let that happen.”

Cassie also confirmed that her brother flew back to Florida alone Aug. 17 — days after the couple’s Moab, Utah incident — to empty their storage unit, putting the items in their North Port home. She wasn’t sure what date he flew back West but said that she and her kids Facetimed with Petito while he was home.

Her parents' attorney told Fox 5 that Brian returned to Florida Aug. 17, flying from Salt Lake City to Tampa without Petito, to empty and close their storage unit to save money, as the couple was considering extending their road trip. He returned to Salt Lake City to rejoin his fiancée Aug. 23.

“We’re unfortunately in the dark as much as everybody else,” Cassie said, adding, “Every day I wake up and check my phone and hope that they found him. Every day.”