Brian Laundrie: FBI says human remains, items found in Florida park
Another one of the items found was a notebook belonging to Laundrie, who McPherson said was “a person of interest in the murder of Gabby Petito.”
The apparent remains were found in an area that has been under water until recently, he said.
A source close to the investigation told CNN that the apparent human remains “appear to have been there a while.”
The source said “based on the condition of the remains, it may take some time to officially identify. It is going to be a very thorough process with the medical examiner.”
The FBI Tampa’s Evidence Response Team is on the scene using “all available forensic resources” to process the area. According to McPherson, it’s likely the team will be on the scene for several days.
“I know you have a lot of questions, but we don’t have all the answers yet,” he said reading a statement for the media.
Brian Laundrie’s parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, were in the park when the discovery took place, family attorney Steve Bertolino said.
“Chris and Roberta Laundrie were at the reserve earlier today when human remains and some of Brian’s possessions were located in an area where they had initially advised law enforcement that Brian may be,” Bertolino said. “Chris and Roberta will wait for the forensic identification of the human remains before making any additional comments.”
Earlier, the Sarasota County medical examiner and a cadaver dog were called to the park and aerial footage showed activity in the Carlton Reserve near the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park where Laundrie’s car was found parked in September.
Laundrie’s parents had informed the FBI and the North Port Police Department Tuesday night that they intended to come to the park on Wednesday morning to search for him, Bertolino said earlier. Law enforcement met them there Wednesday morning, he said.
The Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park is on 160 acres of heavily wooded land in North Port, Florida, with trails and a camping area. The park connects to the Carlton Reserve, a 25,000-acre nature reserve that has been the primary search location for investigators.
How we got here
Petito, 22, and Laundrie, 23, traveled around the western US in a white van this summer, all while regularly posting photos and stories to their social…
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