Reports suggest Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the murder of 22-year-old Gabby Petito, was spotted buying a cell phone the same day he was allegedly last seen by his family.
“FBI agents visited an AT&T store near Laundrie’s family home in North Port, Florida, to look at any surveillance footage,” Deseret News reported Wednesday.
Sources told TMZ that Laundrie was spotted entering the store on September 14, and was accompanied by an older woman.
Laundrie family lawyer Steven Bertolino told TMZ that a new phone was bought at the store, Deseret News noted. “But, he said, the phone is reportedly the same one that the FBI already has in its possession.”
“Bertolino told the New York Post that Laundrie left his home in North Port, Florida, without his wallet or his cellphone on the day he disappeared,” the report added. “He also told the New York Post that Laundrie’s parents were worried Laundrie might harm himself when he left the home.”
Laundrie went missing earlier this month as the search for Petito intensified. The 23-year-old was named a “person of interest” in the case and his family home was raided by the FBI and reportedly declared a “crime scene.” An arrest warrant was issued for Laundrie on September 23.
As the FBI tracks Laundrie, Duane “Dog” Chapman, better known as “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” is pursuing his own search, working off tips from the public.
Earlier this week, Chapman received a tip about the Laundrie family checking into a park about 75 miles north of the family’s home following the disappearance of Gabby, who was later found dead. Fox obtained documents showing Roberta Laundrie, Brian’s mother, did indeed check into the Florida park.
Fox News reported:
Duane “Dog” Chapman, also known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, announced Saturday he was entering the search for Laundrie, and tips quickly poured in. He told Fox News he learned Monday that Laundrie’s parents spent the night in Fort De Soto Park with their son twice in early September from Sept. 1 to 3 and Sept. 6 to 8.
The documents confirm Chapman’s suspicion that the Laundries went camping at the Fort De Soto Park outside St. Petersburg between his return from out West on Sept. 1 and the day Petito’s mother reported her missing, Sept. 11. They show the family checked in on Sept. 6 and out on Sept. 8 – but there’s no record on the document of them the week prior. … The documents show the checkout was actually recorded on Sept. 8 – three days before Petito officially became a missing person.
Bertolino initially said the claims from Chapman are false. “I will no longer give that dog credibility or dignify his false claims with the time of my reply,” said Bertolino. However, Fox noted that the attorney later told local media that “the family camped out on Sept. 6 and 7 and that ‘they all left the park.’”
Related: On The Scent: Docs Confirm ‘Dog The Bounty Hunter’ Tracking In Brian Laundrie Hunt