Brian Laundrie’s parents say they drove his car home after he disappeared on hike but cops ‘haven’t corroborated story’
BRIAN Laundrie’s parents allegedly claimed they drove his car home from a Florida wildlife reserve after he “failed to return from a hike” days before they reported him missing.
Police towed away Laundrie’s grey Mustang from his parents’ home in North Port after they executed a search warrant Monday morning.
The FBI had removed Chris and Roberta Laundrie from the home as more than 20 agents went inside and took out “a lot of stuff” including “boxes and boxes” of evidence, as reported by NewsNation’s Brian Entin.
It’s believed that Brian may have driven the Mustang when he allegedly went for a hike in a 25,000-acre nature preserve in the Sarasota area on Tuesday, the last time his family says they saw him.
Laundrie’s parents allegedly told police they realized Brian hadn’t come back from his hike “on Wednesday or Thursday,” and that’s when they went to pick up the Mustang and drove it back to their home.
When asked by local reporter Brian Entin if Laundrie’s parents could be leading them in the wrong direction, police said they are “working to corroborate their story.”
“They did not say ‘we believe the parents or we know for sure that Brian was hiking in this reserve’,” shared Entin.
Cops had previously left a note on the car, which requested it be removed, but the family left the vehicle there until Thursday, hoping Laundrie would return to it, Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino told the New York Post.
However, video appears to show the car parked on the Laundrie’s driveway Wednesday, according to a Crimeonline report.
And footage from reporter Brian Entin appeared to show the Mustang convertible back in the driveway on Wednesday night.
Laundrie’s parents remained at their Florida home as of Monday night.
A search for Laundrie in the swampland started Saturday morning but was called off by police Monday, who said they had “exhausted all avenues in searching of the grounds there.”
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As part of the search police also gained access to a hard drive found in the van belonging to Gabby Petito as details have emerged of the “odd” last texts sent to her mother from her phone.
The search warrant filing also includes the last message Petito’s mother received from her phone, which reads: “Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls.”
Petito’s mother said “Stan” was meant to refer to Petito’s grandfather, but since she rarely calls him by that name, she found the text “odd.”
Petito’s phone was turned off later that day after the text was sent.
According to the filing, the hard drive may also contain “evidence relevant to proving that a felony has been committed,” WNYC reports.
The hard drive was recovered from the same van that Brian Laundrie drove back to Florida alone from Wyoming 10 days before Petito was reported missing.
The warrant was granted based upon new information suggesting Petito was “unable to care for herself due to her increased anxiety,” including footage of police stopping Petito and Laundrie on a Utah highway after they received a 911 call about the couple.
In the video, Petito appears visibly upset and anxious as she describes a recent fight with Laundrie.
Read our Gabby Petito live blog for the very latest news and updates…
The search for Laundrie continues after he was declared a “person of interest” last week in the disappearance of Petito.
Meanwhile Laundrie’s attorney cancelled a planned press conference scheduled for Tuesday.
“As per my conversation with the FBI this evening there will be no press conference tomorrow” Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino told NewsNation’s Brian Entin.
The latest developments in the bizarre case came after human remains were discovered in Grand Teton National Park, where 22-year-old Petito had been camping with Laundrie when she disappeared.
The vlogger had been traveling across America since July and was last seen on August 24 leaving a Utah hotel with her fiancé.
They visited national parks and tourist attractions, documenting their trip on social media, before she went missing.
On September 1, Laundrie returned home to Florida in their white van, without Petito, got a lawyer and declined to speak to police.
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