Water bottle matching Gabby Petito’s found near Brian Laundrie’s body

Days after the remains of Brian Laundrie were found in a swampy nature reserve, hikers claim they’ve found an item that looks to belong to Gabby Petito.

A water bottle said to match the one belonging to Gabby Petito has been found near to where Brian Laundrie’s remains were discovered in Florida.

A Nalgene water bottle was discovered by hikers this morning close to where bone fragments were found in a Myakkahatchee Park clearing.

It was also near where Chris and Roberta Laundrie found their son’s white bag earlier this week, according to Fox News reporter Michael Ruiz.

A similar-looking water bottle can be seen in the Nomadic Statik YouTube video Gabby Petito posted online in mid-August.

The bottle found looks like what was in Gabby's van.

While there has been no official confirmation the water bottle found did belong to Ms Petito, her family’s lawyer told Ruiz it may have been hers.

Richard Stafford said: “We have a picture that’s from before she left for her trip. It looks like the bottle. I don’t know why it would be left there. It boggles my mind.”

A statement from North Port Police Department spokesman Josh Taylor said: “As far as I know, nothing related to this case has been found. Bunch of false reports. However, this is an FBI led investigation and they should speak to anything such as that located. They may know more.”

The potentially important discovery comes after it was revealed Brian Laundrie’s body will be cremated without a funeral with the cause of his death currently a mystery.

The van has the same bottle found near Brian's remains.

The lawyer for the Laundrie family, Steven Bertolino, reportedly revealed that the parents plan to cremate the remains, but will not hold a funeral, according to Fox News.

Mr Laundrie’s remains were found in the Carlton Reserve in Florida near his parent’s house over a month after he vanished after reportedly telling his parents he was going for a hike in the area.

His parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, arrived at the scene because they wanted to join in the search, Bertolino announced.

The remains, which were characterised as “bones”, were identified to be Mr Laundrie’s using dental records on Thursday.

The FBI also confirmed the identification in a statement.

The bottle was found near his remains.

“On October 21, 2021, a comparison of dental records confirmed that the human remains found at the T. Mabry Carlton, Jr. Memorial Reserve and Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park are those of Brian Laundrie,” it read.

“The FBI is grateful for the tremendous investigative support from our partners.”

However, authorities are still searching for the 23-year-old’s manner of death after autopsy results came back inconclusive.

Mr Laundrie was the sole person of interest in the death of his fiance Gabby Petito, 22, who was found strangled to death in Wyoming on September 19.

Gabby Petito stands alongside Brian Laundrie.

Her remains were identified two days later, exactly one month apart from Mr Laundrie’s.

The FBI issued a warrant for his arrest on September 24 for misuse of a bank card that Ms Petito’s family confirmed belonged to her.

The pair were on a road trip passing through Grand Teton National Park before Ms Petito was reported missing on September 11.

Mr Laundrie, meanwhile, had returned home alone to Florida without her on September 1, offering no explanation for where his fiance was.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission