Dog the Bounty Hunter Turns Attention to Brian Laundrie's Parents After Remains Found in Florida Park Confirmed to Be Gabby Petito's Fiance
Dog The Bounty Hunter said the hunt for Brian Laundrie is officially over after officials confirmed that the human remains found in a Florida park belonged to Gabby Petito's fiance.
"We are praying for Gabby's family as yet another day ends with seemingly more questions than answers though it does seem the search for Brian is indeed over," the 68-year-old reality star told Newsweek.
Dog the Bounty Hunter, whose real name is Duane Chapman, has started a high-profile search for Laundrie late last month.
Following the discovery of the skeletal remains in Florida's Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on Wednesday, Chapman lauded the law enforcement for their efforts in finding Laundrie. He said he was grateful to the authorities also "working to process the evidence as quickly as possible."
However, Dog The Bounty Hunter questioned Laundrie's parents about the timing of their involvement in the search that led to the discovery of their son's belongings and remains.
Accompanied by Laundrie's parents, authorities found the Florida fugitive's backpack and notebook, along with the human remains, on Wednesday.
Chapman also questioned Laundrie's parents if they helped their son disappear, although he noted that answers to these questions likely put off to the future.
"There will be a time to ask questions such as what was the extent of the Laundries' involvement in aiding Brian, how exactly did the discovery of the belongings happen today, did the looming possibility of potential indictments prompt more cooperation, and so forth," the reality star told Newsweek. "But now we wait."
Dog The Bounty Hunter earlier suggested that Laundrie's family know more about the disappearance of Petito's fiance and what he had done than what they have shared with authorities.
Public Attention Turns to Brian Laundrie's Parents
The FBI field office in Denver announced Thursday that the skeletal remains found by authorities searching for Gabby Petito's fiance were confirmed to be Brian Laundrie after a review of dental records.
This came after the elder Laundries parents directed North Port police and FBI agents to an area where "some articles" belonging to Laundrie were found, NBC News reported.
Laundrie's family attorney, Steven Bertolino, said Wednesday that the elder Laundries found the items in an area where they had initially advised law enforcement that their son might be.
Former Florida and Michigan police officer David Thomas told NBC that it's likely that Laundrie's parents involved themselves in the search with the direction of their attorney.
"I would suspect that any move that they made when the dad went out and helped them with the search... anything you see them do, I don't think they would do that without the advice of their attorney," Thomas said.
Bertolino has defended the elder Laundries' involvement in the search, noting that they "have been cooperating with law enforcement" since the first day.
He dismissed speculation on why it took so long to find the belongings and remains, saying the evidence was only discovered because the water in the area where they were found had receded. He noted that this area was previously submerged and inaccessible.
"If Laundrie's parents went to the reserve by themselves and discovered evidence, law enforcement would never believe them," the lawyer said. "The Laundrie family don't want to be an accessory after the fact... It may help them avoid a criminal charge down the line."
Bertolino added that speculation that Laundrie's parents helped their son escape was also "wrong."
But another former police officer questioned the events leading up to the discovery of remains and items that were "quite strange."
Former chief of detectives Robert Boyce of NYPD told ABC 7 that it's quite strange that the elder Laundries went "to this exact spot" and found the backpack and the notebook in this particular area.
Boyce noted that there were just too many strange turns that Laundrie's parents have not been involved in it "to not believe that something is amiss here."
"So, they go to this one remote location... all of a sudden we found something, we found the remains... There's a lot of things here that don't add up to coincidence, so you wonder how they got there and what they knew all along," Boyce said.
Meanwhile, Kyle Heyen, a K-9 handler and former police officer, said even if the remains were located underwater, it is "highly suspicious" that cadaver dogs missed the remains.
Heyen told NewsNation if authorities went there with cadaver dogs, "and the body had been there for more than two or three minutes, the odor would have come through the water."
Ex-FBI agent Bryanna Fox said charging Laundrie's parents for aiding and abetting or obstruction of justice requires a high bar of proof of an "awareness of an illegal act and intent to assist."
Florida Home of Brian Laundrie Remains Quiet
Brian Laundrie's home in North Port, Florida remained quiet on Thursday, without any signs of the elder Laundries, ABC 7 reported.
The report said a memorial for Gabby Petito continues to grow outside of the house. Visitors continued to place flowers at the front door.
Gabby Petito disappeared on a cross-country road trip with Brian Laundrie. The couple was traveling to Oregon when the YouTuber stopped communicating with her family in Wyoming in late August.
Laundrie was named a person of interest by North Port police after returning home on September 1 or 10 days before Petito was reported missing by her family.
Gabby Petito's body was found at the Spread Creek Dispersed Campground near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on September 19.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Joshua Summers
WATCH: Brian Laundrie Remains Found, Dog The Bounty Hunter Reacts - From Us Weekly
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