Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend Gabby Petito, who refused to cooperate with authorities since the disappearance of the van-life woman, has now gone missing. Laundrie, who remains a 'Person of Interest' in the case, hasn't been seen by his family since Tuesday.
Petito, who was on a road trip with Laundrie since June, was reported missing by her parents on September 11 after having no contact with her for two weeks.
Laundrie's Family Reported His Disappearance
NBC stated that as per the authorities, they aren't aware about the whereabouts of Laundrie. A spokesman for the city of North Port, Florida, revealed that Laundrie's family's attorney raised the matter with the city officials on Friday evening.
"Be advised that the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie are currently unknown. The FBI is currently at the Laundrie residence removing property to assist in locating Brian. As of now the FBI is now looking for both Gabby and Brian," the family's attorney said.
According to ABC News, North Port Police Department revealed that officers went to Laundrie's family's home in Sarasota County to talk to his family, following their request. "The conversation at the Laundrie home is complete. Once we have the details, a statement will be made. We ask for calm! Please let us work through this and information will be forthcoming," tweeted the authorities.
Petito, who was seen exiting a hotel room on August 24, had a last conversation with her mother, Nichole Schmidt, about stopping over at Grand Teton and Yellowstone. Prior to the information being released about Laundrie's disappearance, a large crowd had gathered outside his home on Friday. Many were even seen shouting, "Where is Gabby?" using bullhorns, the outlet reported.
Laundrie's Disappearance Raises Speculation
The disappearance of the 'Person of Interest' in Petito's case, raised several speculation on social media about the possibility of Laundrie being in Puerto Rico.
A viral screen shot of Petito's AllTrails account revealed her location to be Bayamon, Northern Region, Puerto Rico. Several netizens claimed that it was a possibly that Petito's boyfriend was in possession of her phone and might have switched it on accidentally after fleeing to Puerto Rico.
"Do we think #brianlaundrie has her phone and fled to Puerto Rico? It's easy from Florida, but wouldn't the airport notify anyone???" tweeted a user.
"Whoever's in Puerto Rico please keep an eye out for Brian Laundrie. He likes to hike and use his fiancé's phone. #gabbypetito," wrote another.
"Definitely in hiding. With her phone. Either in Puerto Rico or he is diverting everyone using her pages, which he has done since August 13th," opined another user.
"Brian Laundrie apparently geotagged Puerto Rico from Gabby's phone. Make that make sense. So who bought him the plane ticket?? Roberta Laundrie? Christopher Laundrie? Cassie Laundrie? Or Steve Bertolino? Wouldn't he be in TSA database as a suspect during check-in," read another tweet.
