Laundrie family attorney speaks about recovery of Brian's remains

Brian Laundrie speaks to police during an investigation into an altercation between him and Gabby Petito in Moab, Utah. Credit: Moab Police Department. Department.

A five-week search comes to an end after remains found at the Carlton Reserve were identified as 23-year-old Brian Laundrie on Thursday.

The search for answers on how Laundrie died is just beginning.

Also to be determined is how long his remains were at the Carlton Reserve before they were found.

Investigators said on Friday that they were not able to determine Brian Laundrie’s cause of death. Now, his remains are headed to an anthropologist for further testing.

Brian’s body was officially identified using dental records.

Laundrie has been missing since Sept. 13 when his parents say he left to go on a hike at the 25,000-acre nature park in Sarasota County.

He is a person of interest in the homicide of his fiancée 22-year-old Gabby Petito and he is wanted for using her bank card after her death. He and Petito went on a cross-country trip in a converted camper van to visit national parks.

Laundrie returned to his North Port home on Sept. 1 without her but in the van they shared. Petito’s body was found on Sept. 19 in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

The body of Brian Laundrie was found on October 20 in Carlton Reserve in Sarasota County, along with a backpack and notebook.

Many people across the nation want to know what answers the Laundrie parents hold.

It was Chris and Roberta Laundrie who went to the Carlton Reserve after it reopened to the public and found the first shred of evidence that their son was there.

The park had been closed for weeks while law enforcement did a grid search of the area. The North Port Police Department said it expects the park to reopen on Saturday.

WINK News Safety and Security Specialist Rich Kolko said this could mean law enforcement has collected all the evidence they need.

“At this point, feel they’ve gotten what they can from the area. But another important factor is they don’t want to make this into a tourist area or something that people want to attend and visit,” Kolko said. “They want to get what they got to get done, clean up, and get out.”

Now, any analysis of his bone could provide insight into what happened to him. But that could take weeks.

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