'Dog the Bounty Hunter' Star Explains How He Would Track Gabby Petito's Fiance Brian Laundrie

By Stephen Andrew

Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman has weighed in on the search for Gabby Petito's fiance Brian Laundrie and is sharing some insight into how he would track down the missing man. "We need to run his record," Chapman told Newsweek. "We need to see what his background is, as far as domestic violence or anything else." The longtime bounty hunter then added, "A lot of circumstances point towards him being the defendant."

The nation has been gripped by the story of Petito's disappearance for the past two weeks. Her family reporting her missing on Sept. 11, after not hearing from her for several days. According to reports, Petito and Laundrie had set off on a cross-country trip in June. Near the end of August, Petito reportedly began to be less communicative before sending one last text on Aug. 30, which her family questions the authenticity of, as they feel it may not have been sent by her. Laundrie returned home to North Port, Florida on Sept. 1, but reportedly was unwilling to cooperate with police on the investigation of Petito's disappearance. At this time, Laundrie's whereabouts are unknown. His family reported him missing on Friday, telling police that he left home on Sept. 14.

"To look at the case, so far, I haven't got any info yet, inside info. But it seemed like she was very verbal when they got into arguments because there was people that heard her screaming at him," Chapman said, referring to an altercation between Petito and Laundrie that ended in Utah police officers responding to a call about the pair fighting on the side of the road. "He went straight home to tell his parents what happened. And then he took off. So we got to look at his background, look at his record, know, his friends, his family. He's not an experienced runner or criminal. Suicide is a very likely possibility-and it seems like he's kind of an outdoors kid," he said.

Chapman shared that, in many instances, missing individuals end up being close to home rather than many miles away. "A lot of times they say he's out of state when he's right there in his hometown, you know," he said. "You got to start with his friends, family members, find out where are they gone? When's the last time they saw him? What kind of vehicle is he in? There's all kinds of ways to track that vehicle. I mean, now the investigation is really kicked into high gear."

"He seems like an outdoors kid, you know, a camper," Chapman added, noting Laundrie's affinity for being outdoors. "What's his connection to the reserve? There's got to be a family member there. You know, why did he all of a sudden just go there?" There have been some reported sightings of Laundrie in areas such as Alabama, but the search for him is still continuing in Florida, following a deer cam capturing an image of a man that could be the missing 23-year-old.

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