NewsBite

Brian Laundrie hunt intensifies as armed cops tape off area

The Brian Laundrie search has intensified as officers armed with rifles and cadaver dogs move into new part of Carlton Reserve taped off by police.

Gabby Petito’s cause of death revealed by coroner

The search for Brian Laundrie has intensified as officers armed with rifles and cadaver dogs have moved into a new part of Florida’s Carlton Reserve which they have taped off from the public.

The 23-year-old fugitive has now been on the run for a month since the discovery of the remains of his fiancee Gabby Petito, who was murdered by strangulation, in a remote Wyoming campsite.

Police are again combing the Florida wilderness park known as the Carlton Reserve, where efforts had appeared to be winding down.

Instead, a hive of police activity was seen at the park’s entrance on Thursday as cadaver dogs were brought in.

As police tape sealed off one exit, officers could be seen flocking to the scene.

They entered through the reserve’s west entrance, which had not been used before in the search for Laundrie.

A reporter for Florida TV news channel WFLA spotted a “Do Not Cross” tape at the North Port side of the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, which gives access to the 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve.

Police from North Port, where Brian Laundrie’s parents reside and he lived with Gabby Petito before their fateful road trip, told News Nation armed officers were moving in for “training and searching.”

Laundrie was reported missing on September 17 by his parents Chris and Roberta, who claim he told them he was going hiking in the reserve in the Sarasota region of southwestern coastal Florida.

The search for Brian Laundrie has intensified as police armed with rifles and cadaver dogs move on a new section of a Florida reserve. Picture: WFLA.
The search for Brian Laundrie has intensified as police armed with rifles and cadaver dogs move on a new section of a Florida reserve. Picture: WFLA.
Brian Laundrie is wanted after the strangulation murder of his fiancee, Gabby Petito. Picture: Instagram.
Brian Laundrie is wanted after the strangulation murder of his fiancee, Gabby Petito. Picture: Instagram.
Police taped off a new section of the Carlton reserve in Florida’s southwestern coastal Sarasota region. Picture: WFLA.
Police taped off a new section of the Carlton reserve in Florida’s southwestern coastal Sarasota region. Picture: WFLA.

Laundrie allegedly told them on September 13 that he was going for a hike in the Carlton Reserve before vanishing the following day.

Police have scoured tracts of the vast national park for weeks without finding any trace of him.

Laundrie had returned to Florida on September 1 driving Gabby Petito’s van, but without his fiancee.

Her parents reported her missing on September 11 and that day Florida Police attended the Laundrie home but were refused access to speak with Brian, on the advice of the Laundrie family lawyer.

Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie (above) on the fateful van tour they made which ended with the 22-year-old’s death by strangulation. Picture: Instagram.
Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie (above) on the fateful van tour they made which ended with the 22-year-old’s death by strangulation. Picture: Instagram.

Sightings of Laundrie have been reported in different parts of America, but none have been confirmed.

candace.sutton@news.com.au

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/brian-laundrie-hunt-intensifies-as-armed-cops-tape-off-area/news-story/197567a4ee45b747c6b93942a79799bc