NORTH PORT, Fla. (ABC4) – Police will not “conduct a major search” in a Florida nature reserve on Monday the man believed to be one of the last to see Gabby Petito alive. This comes less than a day after authorities found a body consistent with the description of Petito in Grand Teton National Park.
Brian Entin, a reporter for ABC4’s affiliate NewsNation, reports North Port Police have no plans to conduct a major search at Carlton Reserve for Petito’s fiance, Brian Laundrie. Dozens of law enforcement officers had been searching the reserve, located about 75 miles south of Tampa, over the weekend.
After Laundrie’s parents informed authorities they had not seen him since Tuesday, police began searching the Carlton Reserve. Laundrie is said to frequently hike in this area, prompting the search. Carlton Reserve covers over 25,000 acres and authorities deployed drones, four-wheelers, and K9 units to search for Laundrie.
The search for Laundrie came after North Port Police entered his home late Friday evening. Officers spoke with his family for some time, which police confirmed was the first in-depth conversation they were able to have with the family. The family was looking to file a missing person’s report for Laundrie.
When the search began for Laundrie over the weekend, authorities said they were treating the situation as a missing person case, not a criminal investigation. The search for Laundrie was called off Sunday evening shortly after officials confirmed the discovery of a body matching Petito’s description.
In a Monday email, ABC4 affiliate WFLA reports North Port Police believe they have “exhausted all avenues in searching” Carlton Reserve. Still, “law enforcement agencies continue to search for Brian Laundrie.”
Meanwhile, authorities are continuing to ask anyone who may have seen Petito or Laundrie in the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area of Grand Teton National Park between August 27-30 to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or upload tips online at http://tips.fbi.gov. Authorities are awaiting full forensic identification of the body found in Grand Teton on Sunday.