Police suspect Brian Laundrie died barely two days after his fiancé Gabby Petito's mother reported her missing. According to North Port Police spokesperson Joshua Taylor, "There is a very strong chance" the 23-year-old fugitive died on September 13 - the same day he informed his parents he was going hiking in Carlton Reserve but never returned.
Gabby Petito had been reported missing by her mother in New York two days prior, on September 11. When she vanished on August 27, the 22-year-old Vlogger was on a cross-country road trip with Laundrie.
On September 1, Laundrie returned to Florida alone, with no explanation for where Gabby had gone and filed paperwork right away. On September 12, investigators began discreetly installing cameras around his parents' house to observe him, The Sun reported.
Police reveal when Brian Laundrie most likely died
According to Taylor, North Port Police observed Brian leaving his parent's home in his grey Mustang on September 13. Investigators believe they watched him return to the family home in the same automobile two days later.
North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison informed reporters on September 16 that police were confident about Brian's whereabouts, despite increased media scrutiny. Brian Laundrie was reported missing the next day by his parents, who indicated they hadn't seen him since September 14.
In a statement released by the family's attorney, the date was later changed to September 13. Taylor told PEOPLE that the police department now believes Laundrie's mother, Roberta, was seen getting out of his Mustang on September 15 wearing a baseball cap.
A representative for the small Florida police agency that led the hunt for Brian Laundrie over the previous month and half admitted that officers made mistakes while handling the high-profile case.
According to Josh Taylor, the department's public information officer, officers mistook Brian's mother, Roberta Laundrie, for her 23-year-old son only one day before his parents reported him missing.
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Gabby Petito's memorial in Laundrie's yard torn down
North Port Police started looking for Brian when the family of his fiancee, Gabby Petito, reported her missing on September 11, ten days after Laundrie returned to Florida without her during the couple's cross-country road trip.
According to Taylor, North Port Police observed Brian leaving his parent's home in his grey Mustang on September 13th. Per Insider, officials believe they watched him return to the family home in the same automobile two days later, on September 15.
North Port Officers Chief Todd Garrison told reporters on Thursday, September 16, that police were convinced Brian was inside his home while the search for Petito intensified. Brian's parents have left their Florida home and are mourning their son in an undisclosed place, according to the Laundrie family lawyer, Steven Bertolino.
A makeshift memorial for Gabby Petito defiled the Laundrie family's front yard. On Thursday, North Port police removed the mini-memorial, worried that the pieces would be damaged by severe weather and obstruct drainage on the roadway.
The memorial's removal is certainly a little win for the Laundrie family, who the press and demonstrators have harassed for weeks. Shortly after it was announced that the bones discovered in the Carlton Reserve were those of Laundrie, the man's father, Chris, requested that the media respect their privacy as they grieved. Before returning to their home in North Port, the family grieved for two days in seclusion, as per The Independent via MSN.
Related Article: With Brian Laundrie Dead, Where Would Gabby Petito Slaying Probe Go Next? Fiance's Attorney Details Days of His Abduction
