FBI Searches Brian Laundrie's Home As Gabby Petito Investigation Continues

Human remains suspected to be Petito's were discovered over the weekend in Wyoming.
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Federal law enforcement agents were seen searching the home of Brian Laundrie in North Port, Florida, Monday morning, as the investigation continues into the disappearance of Laundrie’s fiancée, Gabby Petito.

The FBI confirmed it was executing a court-authorized search warrant related to the disappearance of Petito, a 22-year-old lifestyle blogger who was reported missing earlier this month.

Human remains “consistent” with Petito’s description were discovered near Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park over the weekend. The remains are awaiting forensic confirmation.

Police are also searching for Laundrie himself. Laundrie’s family said they haven’t seen the 23-year-old since early last week, sparking a search operation at a sprawling wildlife area in Sarasota County, Florida, over the weekend.

Investigators suspended that effort Monday, saying they had “exhausted all avenues in searching of the grounds there.”

Police named Laundrie a person of interest in Petito’s disappearance after he returned to Florida in the couple’s van alone on Sept. 1. He and Petito had been on an extended road trip together. Petito’s parents say they last heard from their daughter in late August, and reported her missing on Sept. 11.

Body camera footage released by Utah’s Moab Police Department last week showed the couple engaged in an altercation on Aug. 12, while the two were traveling through Arches National Park.

In the footage, a visibly upset Petito told the responding officers the two had been fighting that morning and that she’d slapped Laundrie. Police separated the two for the night and characterized the incident in their report as a “mental/emotional break.”

“After evaluating the totality of the circumstances,” the officer wrote, “I do not believe the situation escalated to the level of a domestic assault as much as that of a mental health crisis.”

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