Possible human remains found near Brian Laundrie’s recovered belongings
Criminal defense attorneys Mercedes Colwin and Mark Eiglarsh provide legal analysis on the next steps in the Gabby Petito investigation.
North Port, Fla. – Possible human remains were discovered inside Florida's Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on Wednesday, the same day Chris and Roberta Laundrie, the parents of fugitive Brian Laundrie, were inside the park when "some articles belonging to Brian were found."
A senior law enforcement source told Fox News' David Spunt "what appear to be human remains" were found at a site being searched by a cadaver dog within the park. The FBI provided an update on Wednesday evening confirming that investigators discovered what appear to be human remains, "along with personal items, such as a backpack and notebook belonging to Brian Laundrie," just hours after his parents searched.
Earlier in the day, Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino told to Fox News Digital 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."
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Officers then began conducting a more thorough search of the area, Bertolino said. A spokesperson for the Sarasota County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that the office was called to the Myakkahatchee on Wednesday.
Sarasota County's chief medical examiner, Dr. Russell Vega, told Fox News Digital in an email that his office responded to the area "at the request of law enforcement."
The park is now closed to the public, having reopened only Tuesday following a weeks-long search for the fugitive.
Brian Laundrie has been named a person of interest in the disappearance and subsequent homicide of his fiancee, Gabby Petito. The FBI later issued a warrant for his arrest on charges related to his unauthorized use of her bank card.
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The Laundries, who have claimed their son went to Myakkahatchee on Sept. 13, the day he was last seen, left their North Port home just before 7:15 a.m. local time for the environmental park, where two men in hiking gear – including at least one who later identified himself as a law enforcement officer – began trailing behind them.
The Laundries and one of the men appeared to discuss a discovery before the parents left the park, which was then closed to media and the public.
In a worldwide exclusive, video obtained by Fox News Digital shows the Laundries and the law enforcement officer huddling and speaking as the officer appears to show the couple an unknown discovery. The officer appeared to tell the parents: "I think we might have found something."
During the couple's time inside, Chris Laundrie could be seen continually moving in and out of areas of the brush. After a short while, he and Roberta Laundrie separated, with Chris and the two men moving into brush on the left side of the trail for approximately 12 minutes.
Chris returned without law enforcement, and the couple continued on. The Laundries later discovered a white bag and a dark-colored object after traveling through a patch of brambles at the edge of the brush at a clearing. They then could be seen putting the object into the bag and handing it over to the law enforcement officer shortly thereafter, who later took it from them.
On their way out of the park, the couple made a phone call and then received a call. There they were soon joined by the law enforcement officer, who could be seen patting Chris Laundrie's shoulder as he huddled with the couple.
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The couple left the park at 8:45 a.m. The Laundries returned home shortly thereafter, and appeared emotional when confronted by protesters there.
Meanwhile, about a dozen uniformed law enforcement officers and approximately six people in plainclothes could be seen entering the park, with several police or unmarked vehicles and gators seen entering. The North Port Mobile Command Center arrived at the park shortly after 10:30 a.m. local time.
A spokesperson for North Port Police Department referred Fox News Digital to the FBI for comment. An FBI spokesperson did not immediately respond.
Chris and Roberta Laundrie said Brian, 23, left his family’s North Port, Florida, home on Sept. 13 to hike in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, located alongside the T. Mabry Carlton Jr. Memorial Reserve. The Laundries' attorney had initially identified the date of Brian's disappearance as being Sept. 14 before changing the timeline weeks later.
Since his disappearance, state, local, county and federal law enforcement have extensively searched the reserve and the Myakkahatchee, where Laundrie is said to have parked his car at the time.
His family did not announce until Sept. 17 – four days after he allegedly left – that he had not returned.
Laundrie and 22-year-old Petito left for a trip in mid-June with the plan to visit national parks in her white converted Ford Transit. The couple had met years earlier on Long Island, New York, where they grew up and later moved into the North Port home with his Brian’s parents, Chris and Roberta.
But Brian Laundrie arrived back in North Port on Sept. 1 – with the van, but without Petito.
Petito’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, reported her missing to Suffolk County Police in New York on Sept. 11. Search teams discovered Petito’s body near Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park on Sept. 19 and announced shortly thereafter that she had been the victim of a homicide.
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Authorities later said she was found to have died of "manual strangulation."
Fox News' David Spunt contributed to this report.
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