Dog the Bounty Hunter star Duane “Dog” Chapman praised a sky banner message to Brian Laundrie, the person of interest in the death of Gabby Petito, in an Instagram post on Thursday. Chapman joined the hunt for Laundrie over the weekend and has claimed in recent days that he has found clues that may lead to him. Laundrie was last seen by his parents on Sept. 14 and there is a warrant out for his arrest for alleged debit card fraud.
On Thursday, Chapman shared a photo of a sky banner reading, “Aloha Brian Laundrie – Dog.” Chapman claimed he wasn’t behind the banner, but wished he was. “Frankly, I wish I had thought of that, but it wasn’t our team,” reads a quote his team shared on Instagram. “I’d love to shake the hand of whoever is behind the banner, I’ll tell you that.” Before Chapman posted about the banner on Instagram, a photo of it went viral on Twitter, claiming Dog was behind it. Not only was he not, but it’s also not clear if the banner was ever really flown or if it was just a photoshopped image.
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Since Chapman visited the North Port, Florida home where Laundrie lived with his parents on Saturday, the reality TV star has said he’s made some progress. On Instagram, he claimed he found a fresh campsite that allegedly had evidence of Laundrie being there. Chapman and his team “discovered a campsite and fresh Monster can deep in the woods while searching Shell Island off the coast of Florida for Brian Laundrie Wednesday,” the post claimed. His team “found no conclusive evidence” that Laundrie was on Egmont Key.
In another post, Chapman’s team noted that his daughter, Lyssa Chapman, is working on the search from home in Hawaii. “Dog and team are heading in from their search and will share their findings with Lyssa Chapman who’s running the tips command center from Hawaii and they will decide next steps with the team. Dog sends a thank you to everyone across the nation who is assisting them in the search with information,” his team’s statement read.
While Chapman is involved in the hunt for Laundrie, he is also reportedly working on a new series. Thinkfactory Media, the same company behind Mama June: From Not to Hot, is reportedly shopping around a new series with him. If the new show airs, it will be his first since Dog’s Most Wanted aired on WGN America in 2019. He also filmed an entire series for the Unleashed TV series, but it was never released.
Petito went missing in late August after spending the summer traveling across the country with Laundrie. On Sept. 1, he arrived back at his parents’ home in Florida without Petito. On Sept. 11, Petito’s parents reported her missing. Her body was found in Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming on Sept. 19. Laundrie is considered a person of interest. There is a federal warrant out for his arrest for allegedly using a debit card that didn’t belong to him between Aug. 30 and Sept. 1.ย
