Florida Gov. Orders All State Agencies to Search for Laundrie After Petito's Remains Confirmed
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Earlier in the day, North Port Police stated that the agency had returned to the spacious Carlton Reserve in the "vast and unforgiving" waist-deep water and "dangerous" terrain to continue the search until dusk.
As the search for Gabby Petito's missing boyfriend Brian Laundrie enters its fifth day, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday evening has ordered all state agencies to aid in the search. The FBI and local police have dispatched ATVs and drones to a snake and alligator-infested swampland.
According to law enforcement officials, more than 50 searchers from at least eight law enforcement agencies, led by the FBI, are utilizing massive swamp-busting amphibious vehicles, ATVs, bloodhounds, other K9s, and drones to find the 23-year-old suspect.
At the request of @NorthPortPolice, @MyFWC law enforcement has been assisting in the search for Brian Laundrie. I have directed all state agencies under my purview to continue to assist federal & local law enforcement as they continue to search - we need justice for Gabby Petito.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 21, 2021
Laundrie vanished a week ago after returning home without his longtime girlfriend alone, and his parents only reported him missing last Friday, several days after he was gone.
Multiple photos and videos of the search were published on Tuesday, showing troops in tactical gear being briefed, K9 sniffing dogs in operation, specialty vehicles navigating swampland, and drone imagery of the enormous region being searched.
As of Tuesday night, the search operations were concluded for the day, to resume on Wednesday morning.
Search of the Carlton & nearby lands concluded for the evening. Nothing of note. The current plan is to return Wednesday with a similar operation. We join the FBI in asking for continued public assistance by sharing any info 1-800-CALL FBI or https://t.co/vlIagGIoHc pic.twitter.com/5DWopahBI8
— North Port Police (@NorthPortPolice) September 21, 2021
Earlier in the day, numerous reports appeared on social networks and in the media that Brian Laundrie was allegedly seen in several places by witnesses. However, according to reporters, the FBI denied the reports on Tuesday evening and reassured that "when Brian is found, we will be more than happy to let everyone know."
21 September 2021, 20:53 GMT
This comes as the FBI confirmed earlier on Tuesday after an autopsy that the human remains discovered earlier in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming belong to Gabby Petito. Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue has deemed the death a homicide. The cause of death will not be determined until the autopsy is completed.
Petito was last seen alive on August 24, leaving a motel in Salt Lake City, Utah, with Laundrie as part of a cross-country van trip she and Laundrie had begun in late June.
She was last heard from when she called her mother the next day. Petito was reported missing by her family on September 11 after Laundrie returned to North Port alone in their van on September 1 and kept mum about her whereabouts.
According to media reports, Laundrie refused to assist detectives or tell them when he last saw his fiancée, and as a result, he was labeled a person of interest in her disappearance on Wednesday, four days before the body was recovered.
