Florida Police Say Brian Laundrie Likely Died by Suicide as His Cause of Death Remains Unclear

A Florida police official said Brian Laundrie likely died by suicide at the Carlton Reserve in Sarasota County, where his remains were found.

During a police gathering in Florida on Friday, Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman said that Gabby Petito's fiance "went out there and by all accounts probably committed suicide."

"He (Laundrie) was right out there where we thought he was," Hoffman said.

After a month-long manhunt, the sheriff's team, together with the North Port police and FBI team, found Laundrie's remains at a swampy area of the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park that connects with the Carlton Reserve on October 20, the Independent reported.

Hoffman said they supported other law enforcement officials in their decision to look for Laundrie at the park.

"We talked probably 20 times during that situation, and obviously we supported them out in the preserve looking for Brian," he noted. Hoffman also said he believes Laundrie probably went into the Carlton Reserve because he knew the area well.

The Sarasota County medical examiner said the skeletal remains found at the park were confirmed to belong to Laundrie based on "comparison to known dental records."

However, the autopsy by the medical examiner did not produce concrete results on Laundrie's death. The initial autopsy of Laundrie's remains did not uncover a cause or manner of his death, so his remains were sent to a forensic anthropologist for further examination.

Location of Brian Laundrie's Remains

The attorney for the family of Brian Laundrie, Steven Bertolino, told The Sun that he does not know who has the remains of Laundrie now.

Bertolino noted that he was told that the updated report on Laundrie's cause of death would be released "one to two weeks."

"And that was a week ago so I suspect another week or so," the lawyer said. Aside from not knowing where Laundrie's remains are, Bertolino noted that he also does not know who has Laundrie's notebook and other possessions found along with his remains.

Brian Laundrie Is Likely Dead for Weeks

Police earlier admitted that Brian Laundrie was probably already dead when officers had mistaken him with his mother the night he disappeared.

Police watching the Laundrie family home had witnessed Gabby Petito's fiance left on September 13 through surveillance cameras.

At the time, police said they could not keep Laundrie from leaving since he was only a person of interest in the case of Petito's disappearance.

On September 15, police watching the Laundrie home through hidden cameras thought they saw the young Laundrie pull up to the property in his Ford Mustang. But police eventually admitted that what they really saw was his mother wearing Laundrie's baseball cap.

"I believe it was his mom who was wearing a baseball cap... They had returned from the park with that Mustang," North Port Police Department spokesperson Josh Taylor told WINK.

"But we now know that that wasn't true... No case is perfect," Taylor added.

According to Laundrie's parents, they last saw their son on September 13, leaving home to go to the Carlton Reserve area for a hike.

The elder Laundries had changed the date of their son's disappearance from September 14 to September 13. They announced that Laundrie was missing on September 17.

After Laundrie's remains were found, police speculated that he was already dead when the mistake happened.

Brian Laundrie was named a person of interest by North Port police after returning home on September 1 or 10 days before Gabby Petito was reported missing by her family.

Petito disappeared on a cross-country road trip with Laundrie. The couple was traveling to Oregon when the YouTuber stopped communicating with her family in Wyoming in late August.

Gabby Petito's body was found at the Spread Creek Dispersed Campground near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on September 19.

A Teton County, Wyoming coroner said she was strangled to death by a "human being," and the manner of death was homicide.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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