The FBI has gotten involved in the investigation, led by the North Port police. No arrest warrants have been issued. Meanwhile, an attorney for Brian’s family, Steven P. Bertolino, said in a statement on Wednesday, Sept. 15 that Brian will not speak on the matter because “intimate partners are often the first person law enforcement focuses their attention on in cases like this and the warning that ‘any statement made will be used against you’ is true, regardless of whether my client had anything to do with Ms. Petito’s disappearance.”
“I have been informed that the North Port, Florida police have named Brian Laundrie as a ‘person of interest’ in this matter,” Bertolino said, according to NBC News. “This formality has not really changed the circumstances of Mr. Laundrie being the focus and attention of law enforcement and Mr. Laundrie will continue to remain silent on the advice of counsel.”
North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison said in a statement that day, “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.”
On Tuesday, Sept. 14, Brian’s parents said in a statement released by their attorney that this is “understandably an extremely difficult time for both the Petito family and the Laundrie family.”
“It is our understanding that a search has been organized for Miss Petito in or near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming,” the family said, according to NBC News. “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.”
Gabby and Brian had documented their travels on YouTube. On Aug. 19, more than a week before she last had contact with her family, they posted a video titled “Beginning Our Van Life Journey,” which showed them kissing, running on a beach, camping and driving in a white 2012 Ford Transit van. North Port police said in a statement that the vehicle, owned by Gabby, was recovered at the home she shared with Brian and his parents on Sept. 11 and that the van was “was fully processed for evidence along with FBI agents Tuesday evening.”
