By Pei-Sze Cheng -
NBC News
Several personal belongings of Brian Laundrie, the fiancé of the murdered young woman Gabby Petito, who has been missing for more than a month, have been found in a Florida nature preserve, authorities said Wednesday.
Laundrie's parents directed FBI agents and North Port police to a location where "some items belonging to Brian were found," according to a statement from Laundrie's attorney, Steven Bertolino.
"Chris and Roberta Laundrie went to the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park this morning to look for Brian," Bertolino said.
Laundrie speaks with an officer after police stopped the van in which he was traveling with his girlfriend, Gabrielle 'Gabby' Petito, near the entrance to Arches National Park on Aug. 12, 2021. Moab / AP Police Department
“The FBI and NPPD were informed last night of Brian's parents' intentions and met Chris and Roberta there this morning.
After a brief search on a trail Brian frequented, some items belonging to him were found.
From now on, the forces of order are carrying out a more exhaustive investigation in that area, "added Bertolino.
The local medical examiner has been called to the scene, but declined to say whether he has received instructions to collect human remains.
Laundrie is considered a person of interest in Petito's disappearance.
The young woman's body was discovered Sept. 19 at the Spread Creek campground in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest, and the coroner ruled her death a "strangulation" homicide.
Petito and Laundrie were on a road trip across the country, recounting their travels on their social media.
But he returned Sept. 1 to his parents' home in North Port, Florida, without his fiancée, according to police.
Laundrie's parents have kept a low profile ever since, telling investigators that their son went on a field trip on September 14 and never returned, sparking a national persecution.
During the search for the 22-year-old from Long Island, police in the city of Moab, Utah, released a video from a body camera that captured a distressed Petito after an alleged physical altercation with Laundrie.