Human remains were found in an area of Florida’s Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on Wednesday near where police discovered several personal items belonging to Brian Laundrie, fiance of Gabby Petito, a travel blogger whose own remains were found in Grand Teton National Park weeks after she was reported missing.
Fox News reports that a coroner was called to the scene by law enforcement Wednesday morning.
“Human remains were found in the same area where personal belongings were found of Brian Laundrie, Gabby Petito’s fiancé who’s been missing for over a month, officials said Wednesday,” per NBC News. “A senior law enforcement official says what appears to be partial human remains have been found in the Carlton Reserve in a location that was previously underwater. There is no confirmation the remains belong to Laundrie.”
“The remains were found near a backpack, according to this source, which may be consistent with the type of items Laundrie may have had in his possession,” the outlet added.
Fox News Digital noted Wednesday that “Chris and Roberta Laundrie, the parents of fugitive Brian Laundrie, ventured into Florida’s Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park early Wednesday morning,” and law enforcement on the scene reportedly told the parents that they “might have found something.”
“Steven Bertolino, who represents the Laundrie family, confirmed to Fox News Digital that the Laundries informed law enforcement on Tuesday night of their intentions to search the park and met officers there. Bertolino confirmed that while searching areas that Brian frequented, ‘some articles belonging to Brian were found,’” the outlet said.
The Sarasota County Medical Examiner’s Office was dispatched to the scene at the request of law enforcement, an official told Fox News. A K9 unit from Pasco County Sheriff’s Department, trained to find human remains, was also dispatched to the scene early Wednesday.
Laundrie, who has been missing since mid-September, is still considered a person of interest in Petito’s death, recently ruled a homicide by a Wyoming medical examiner. Petito was reported missing on September 11th after she failed to check in with her parents for several weeks. At the time, Petito and Laundrie were on a cross-country road trip which Petito, a travel blogger, was documenting for social media.
Several individuals claimed to have seen Petito and Laundrie in late August, including a couple who believed they ran into the pair in Wyoming, and several members of law enforcement who responded to an alleged domestic disturbance outside Moab, Utah. Petito last made contact with her family in late August, according to reports, and her parents reported her missing in September.
Laundrie, meanwhile, returned, alone, to his family’s home in Florida around September 1st. After Petito’s disappearance began to make national headlines, Laundrie also disappeared, and his family told law enforcement they believed he could be in Myakkahatchee, only five miles from Laundrie’s home in North Point, Florida.
He is currently considered a “person of interest” in Petito’s death, and there is a federal warrant for his arrest out of Wyoming. He is wanted on suspicion of bank fraud.