On Wednesday, police in Florida named the boyfriend of a missing woman as a ‘person of interest’ in her disappearance during a road trip taken by the couple. The North Port Police Department said Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of the missing woman Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito, returned to North Port, FL on Sept. 1 — 10 days before was reported missing by her family. North Port police Chief Todd Garrison said that Laundrie “has not made himself available to be interviewed or has provided any helpful details. We are pleading with anyone, including Brian, to share information with us on her whereabouts in the past few weeks. The lack of information from Brian is hindering this investigation. The answers will eventually come out. We will help find Gabby and we will help find anyone who may be involved in her disappearance.” Petito is described as a white female, approximately 5 feet, 5 inches tall and 110 pounds, with blonde hair, blue eyes and several tattoos including one on her finger and another on her forearm that reads “Let it be.”
Petitio, 22, and Laundrie, 23, traveled from Florida to New York before they were set to visit national parks out west in July. Petito’s family said they last heard from her on Aug. 25 when she was believed to have been in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Gabby had consistently documented the trip on social media, including her YouTube channel “NomadicStatik” but her last Instagram post was also on Aug. 25. On Wednesday, police said Petito’s van, which the couple had been traveling in, was recovered at a home she shared with Laundrie and his parents on Sept. 11 and was “fully processed for evidence along with FBI agents Tuesday evening.”
Laundrie’s attorney, Steve Bertolino, released a statement on Wednesday saying: “It is our understanding that a search has been organized for Miss Petitio in or near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. On behalf of the Laundrie family, it is our hope that the search for Miss Petito is successful and that Miss Petito is reunited with her family. On the advice of counsel, the Laundrie family is remaining in the background at this juncture and will have no further comment.”