Brian Laundrie's parents say they don't know where son is as FBI dials down search

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Gabby Petito: Timeline of fateful cross-country trip

Gabby Petito was traveling with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, in a cargo van the two had outfitted as a makeshift recreational vehicle for a months-long cross-country road trip when she mysteriously disappeared.

NORTH PORT, Florida (WABC) -- The parents of Brian Laundrie say they do not know where their son is and hope the FBI can locate him.

The FBI said Monday they will dial down the large-scale search efforts for Gabby Petito's fiancé as the manhunt enters a second week.

Authorities collected personal items from the Laundrie home in Florida in hopes they can use DNA samples to help solve the case.

Teams combing a nearby nature reserve for Laundrie hope to gain ground on the search as water recedes in areas that were previously hard to reach.

An attorney for the Laundrie family said Brian's parents, Chris and Roberta, are concerned about their son.

"The speculation by the public and some in the press that the parents assisted Brian in leaving the family home or in avoiding arrest on a warrant that was issued after Brian had already been missing for several days is just wrong," the family's attorney Steven Bertolino said Monday.

The statement comes amid news that Petito's family will hold a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

TOP NEWS | Instagrammer details explosive argument between Gabby Petito, Brian Laundrie at Wyoming restaurant

Nina Angelo says Brian Laundrie was screaming and Gabby Petito was in tears and apologizing.

As the search for Laundrie continues, some are hoping that money might talk. Two separate rewards totaling $30,000 have been offered to anyone who provides law enforcement officials with Laundrie's whereabouts.

Boohoff Law, a personal injury law firm, said in a release on its website it is offering a $20,000 reward to be "paid once the investigating law enforcement agency supplies" the firm with "written verification that a tip helped lead to locating" Laundrie.

The law firm, which has multiple offices across Florida, including North Port, said its reward "will remain open for two months starting from the receipt of the tip" by law enforcement.

This comes as the Laundrie family attorney said the FBI "requested some personal items belonging to Brian Laundrie to assist them with DNA matching."

Meanwhile, a second reward has been offered by Jerry Torres, who said in a tweet Wednesday he was a neighbor of the Petito family. Torres wrote that he and his daughter "offer our deepest condolences to the family of Gabby Petito," adding, "We are offering a reward of $5,000 for tips leading to an arrest."

Torres said Friday the reward he's offering had been raised to $10,000, thanks in part to help by people like Steve Moyer, the former deputy chief of police for Sarasota, Florida.

"Money gets people to talk," Moyer told CNN affiliate WZVN Friday.

Meanwhile FBI said investigators are still seeking information from anyone who may have seen the couple around Grand Teton.