INTERNET sleuths have claimed that Brian Laundrie may be hiding in a "crawl space" beneath his parent's home as the renter of a different property owned by the family has spoken out.
Laundrie, 23, has now been missing for more than five weeks. He vanished on September 13 just days before Gabby Petito's decomposed remains were found in a wooded area at a campsite in Teton County, Wyoming.
As a nationwide FBI hunt to find him continues, followers of the case have speculated that Laundrie may be hiding closer to home than investigators think.
Actress Kirstie Alley, famed for her role as Rebecca Howe in the sitcom Cheers, tweeted over the weekend that she believes Laundrie never actually left his parents' home in North Port, Florida, as they claimed to cops.
"I think Brian Laundrie is in his house," Alley wrote. "When the FBI went in they didn’t go in with dogs. I think he was either not there at the 'moment' or in a crawlspace.
"I literally think he’s in there," she continued.
NEW THEORIES
A number of users agreed with Alley, putting forward their own theories as to where the fugitive may be holed up on the property.
"I thought of the attic and behind the ductwork of the house, but it's unclear how thorough they checked that house which makes things incredibly frustrating," one commenter said.
"[His parents'] body language indicates he's alive and a present attorney confirms it even further."
"They need an infrared/thermal imaging scan that shows how many people are in the house," another sleuth wrote. "Might be difficult with Florida being so hot. Maybe at night when the temperatures are cooler?"
Read our Gabby Petito live blog for the very latest news and updates…
Others alleged, without evidence, that Laundrie's parents were helping him to hide amid the ongoing investigation into Gabby's death. Brian's parents have not been charged with any wrongdoing.
"His parents are helping him and should also face charges," one user wrote.
Another said: "I think that's a good theory. They need to keep going back to the parent's house because they won't be able to fool everyone all the time."
Not all were convinced by Alley's theory, however.
"You honestly think the FBI missed him in the house?" one inquired. "I can assure you they checked every square inch & checked every withdrawal, credit/debit card charges by every member of his family to find him.
"Unfortunately, he had a big head start to leave the state and maybe even the country."
"Doubtful," responded a second. "My bet is he drove to meet a friend or family member at Carlton Reserve since it was secluded enough to avoid recordings. Got in their vehicle and was driven 'somewhere'.
"Explains why the parents went and got the car without waiting," they added.
MYSTERIOUS CONDO
Laundrie has not yet been named as a suspect in Gabby's murder, but he is the sole person of interest in the case.
A warrant has also been issued for his arrest for fraud after he allegedly used a credit card belonging to Gabby, racking up charges of more than $1,000 between August 30 and September 1.
Laundrie arrived home alone to Florida two months early from his cross-country road trip with Gabby on September 1 – but there was no sign of Petito.
Neither Laundrie nor his family reported Gabby missing. She was eventually reported missing by her mother in New York on September 11.
Brian then vanished two days later, allegedly telling his parents he was going hiking in Carlton Reserve but never returned. They didn't report him missing until September 17 – two days before Gabby's body was found.
Theories as to what happened between Gabby and Brian during their so-called dream road trip have been flooding social media platforms since her disappearance started making headlines in mid-September.
Following Brian's own disappearance, the attention of armchair detectives has recently fallen on a condo recently sold by Laundrie's parents where Gabby and Brian had once lived.
While it has been widely reported that the engaged couple lived with Chris and Roberta Laundrie, a friend of Gabby's claimed in a TikTok that wasn't always the case.
“She did not live with the Laundrie parents. They had a condo that the parents paid for,” Rose Davis said.
TENANT SPEAKS
The two-bedroom condo, located in Venice just 18 miles from the family's home in North Port, was sold by the Laundrie's just weeks before Gabby vanished.
According to records, the couple purchased the home in 2015 for $99,500.
They placed it on the market this summer while Laundrie was already on his cross-country trip with fiancée Gabby.
The condo was reportedly sold after only two weeks on the market on July 30 for $144,000.
However, investigator Jonathan Lee Riches visited the condo this week, insisting Gabby and Brian never lived inside the unit.
Riches made contact with the current tenant who said she had lived in the unit for the last six years.
While the Laundrie's sold the unit in the summer, she has continued occupying the home under the new landlord.
The resident, who wasn't named but identified herself as a worker at a water treatment plant at Carlton Reserve, also insisted that she hadn't seen Laundrie – despite sleuth claims he was hiding on the property.
BRIAN ON THE RUN
As an investigation into Gabby's death continues, the FBI has launched a nationwide manhunt for Laundrie, asking for anyone with information about his whereabouts to contact them.
A weeks-long search of Carlton Reserve has so far yielded no trace of him, though police activity inside the 24,000-acre park has increased in recent days.
A second search at Fort De Soto Park – where Laundrie went camping with his parents on Sept. 6 – is being carried out by Dog the Bounty Hunter but has so far proved equally as fruitless.
The couple's story, and Gabby's tragic death, have become a cautionary tale for the false projections so often shared on social media.
While from the outside Gabby and Brian appeared to be a couple very much in love, embarking on the trip of a lifetime, not all was what it seemed.
Police in Utah responded to a domestic violence report involving Petito and Laundrie in mid-August, just days before she was killed.
Police bodycam footage shows a distraught Petito saying she had had an altercation with Laundrie.
Speaking to an officer after their van was pulled over, Petito is seen crying and saying she struggles with mental health problems. She admitted Laundrie had hit her but only after she struck him first.
Laundrie, meanwhile, is seen smiling and laughing with cops in the clip. He tells the officers he didn't hit Gabby, rather that he had pushed her away in a bid to stop her from attacking him.
At one stage in the video, he even fistbumps one of the officers.
Gabby Petito timeline
Gabby Petito, 22, was last seen on August 24, leaving a hotel in Utah. Here is a timeline of Gabby Petito’s disappearance:
- June 2021 – Gabby Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie set off on a cross-country trip across the US.
- July 4 – Gabby posts photos of herself barefoot in Gove County, Kansas.
- July 8 – Gabby posts photos of herself at the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.
- July 18 – Gabby and Brian post photos of themselves at Utah's Zion National Park.
- August 12 – Body camera footage was released in September showing an encounter Brian and Gabby had with police in Utah. Police confirmed that no significant injuries were reported.
- August 19 – Gabby and Brian post a video on their YouTube channel chronicling their trip.
- August 24 – Gabby is spotted leaving a hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- August 25 – Gabby Facetimes her mom, Nichole Schmidt, for the final time. In a later police report, Schmidt said her conversations with her daughter revealed "more and more tension" between her and Brian.
- August 25 – Gabby also posts her last Instagram. No location is given.
- August 27 – Gabby is seen for what's believed to be the final time. Witnesses claim they saw Brian in an explosive argument with staff at a restaurant in Jackson Hole, leaving Gabby in tears.
- August 27 – Four hours later, travel bloggers driving through Grand Teton National Park drive past the couple's van "abandoned" on a dirt road.
- September 1 – Brian returns home to Florida without Gabby.
- September 11 – Gabby's parents report her missing to Suffolk County police.
- September 14 – Brian's family issues a statement saying he has retained an attorney and will not be cooperating with investigators.
- September 14 – Brian is allegedly last seen by his family. He reportedly told them he was going hiking in Cartlon Reserve but failed to return.
- September 15 – Florida's North Port police announce Brian is a person of interest in the case. He is not charged with any crime.
- September 16 – Utah police release body camera footage of the police encounter with Brian and Gabby.
- September 17 – Brian's parents say they have not seen their son in a couple of days and report him missing.
- September 18 – Police announce they were searching Carlton Reserve in Florida for Brian. Police announce they have not found anything.
- September 19 – Authorities in Wyoming say they found a body in Grand Teton National Park. The FBI announces the body was believed to be Gabby's but a full forensic identification needs to be completed first to confirm.
- September 20 – Police execute a search warrant on Laundrie's home, seizing his silver Mustang and a hard drive that may contain "evidence relevant to proving that a felony has been committed."
- September 21 – Officials announce they will be conducting an autopsy on the remains found in Wyoming to confirm whether or not they belong to Gabby. Police also resumed their search for Laundrie, this time on the Venice side of Carlton Reserve.
- September 21 – The FBI announced the body found in Wyoming was identified as Gabby's. The cause of death was not yet revealed.
- September 21 – The Teton County Coroner's office said Gabby's official cause of death was still pending but the initial manner of death is homicide.
- September 22 – Police continue to scour Carlton Reserve for a trace of Laundrie but yield no leads. A specialist dive team is called in to assist with the hunt.
- September 23 – Officials announced a federal arrest warrant for Brian was issued.
- September 26 – Gabby's funeral was held on Long Island, New York.
- October 12: Gabby's autopsy results were made public. Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue confirmed Gabby died by strangulation.
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