Brian Laundrie may have been EATEN in nature preserve, expert claims and says cops are ‘wasting time’ searching there
BRIAN Laundrie may have been eaten in a Florida nature preserve, according to experts who fear police are “wasting time” searching the area.
Survivalist Mark Burrow said the chances of finding Gabby Petito’s fiance alive in the Carlton Reserve are slim after he was reported missing by his parents last week.
Burrow told The Herald Tribune that police should have found evidence of him being there by now.
The fact they haven’t might mean he was never there, Burrow added.
But, he said, if Laundrie is in the reserve and struggling coyotes and bobcats “would eat” him.
Alligators would “eat you slowly”, Burrow added.
Laundrie would be in “living hell” if he was in the reserve, he noted.
That’s down to the alligators, snakes, coyotes, and insects that inhabit the 25,000-acre swampland.
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Laundrie would also need to watch out for the terrain, Burrow said, which is “waist-deep in water in many areas” and has been described as “vast and unforgiving” by cops.
Safe drinking water would also be hard to come by as would edible plants and starting a fire would be hard on the waterlogged land.
Read our Gabby Petito live blog for the very latest news and updates…
Burrow said: “It’s dehydration that’s the real danger.”
Search-and-rescue expert Chris Boyer said Brian could be “almost anywhere” and may have even lied to his parents about where he was going the day he went missing.
NOT IN FLORIDA?
He told Insider: “He may not even be in Florida. He’s had eight days to be on the run right now.”
Criminal defense attorney Philip Hollowayhad earlier told Fox News: “If you look at what they’re doing and how they are searching, trace, it tells me that they are not looking to recover Brian Laundrie alive.”
But Gabby’s best friend Rose Davis told DailyMail.com that Brian has lived off-grid before.
She said: “I know he lived in the Appalachians for what I believe was three months, and he did it by himself, so I know he’s skilled at it.”
‘VAST AND UNFORGIVING’ LAND
North Port police spokesperson Joshua Taylor noted: “Please be aware, the Carlton Reserve is a vast and unforgiving location at times. It is currently waist-deep in water in many areas.
“This is dangerous work for the search crews as they are wading through gator and snake-infested swamps and flooded hiking and biking trails.”
The search for Laundrie entered its fifth day on Thursday.
Gabbyy’s fiance was reported missing by his parents last Friday. They told cops they had not seen their son since the previous Tuesday.
Since then authorities have been using drones and all-terrain swamp buggies to help in the hunt.
DRONES AND INFRARED CAMERAS
Specialist dog units, infrared cameras, divers, and agents from the FBI are also helping.
And thermal imaging is being used in the overnight hunt.
On Wednesday, an underwater recovery team was summoned to Carlton Reserve as part of the search.
More search equipment – including an aquatic vehicle – arrived on the scene on Thursday morning, pictures show.
In the days since he vanished, a series of possible sightings of Laundrie have been reported in a number of states, including elsewhere in Florida and in Alabama.
The most recent potential sighting came in Okaloosa County, Florida on Monday, when Facebook user Sam Bass shared an image of a man he spotted on one of his trail cams.
Police later confirmed the man was not Brian.
BRIAN ‘SIGHTINGS’
Another potential sighting of Laundrie was reported around two blocks from his parent’s home in North Port, Florida on Friday.
Online sleuths are also wondering if Laundrie could have evaded authorities and made it across a border and into another country.
“Brian Laundrie most likely fled the country with his parent’s help weeks ago,” wrote one Twitter user.
A second person poked holes in that theory, noting: “This assumes that he has a passport. If flying, there would be traceable records.
“He hasn’t left the country. Highly doubtful.”
TRIP BEGINS
The Sun has not been able to verify that Laundrie went live on his Instagram page.
A video clip that lasts a couple of seconds shows the closeup of what appears to be a body of water and shot from a green vessel with the image of an empty gallon water bottle.
Gabby and Brian left in July on a journey that took them to national parks out West.
Investigators said Laundrie had returned in the van to his parent’s home in North Port, Florida, on September 1 without Gabby.
PERSON OF INTEREST
Gabby’s mother said she pleaded with Laundrie for answers about where her daughter was but received no reply. She then reported Gabby missing to the police on September 11.
They’ve identified him as a person of interest in the case.
Gabby’s body was found at a Wyoming national park on Sunday. An initial autopsy found her cause of death to be a homicide.
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