Brian Laundrie Reported Sighting in Canada Reflects Growing Manhunt After Gabby Petito Death Confirmed
The manhunt for Brian Laundrie continues, and the Internet continues to be transfixed by the horrific case. After his fiancée Gabby Petito's death was ruled a homicide, Laundrie was ruled a person of Interest. However, the 23-year-old went missing over a week ago, and he may have been spotted by a TikTok user in Canada.
A flight attendant who uses the handle @cwlynnn shared a video claiming that she saw a man who looked a lot like Laundrie. TMZ reports that the woman informed the hotel staff of her suspicions and she was told that the man didn't have the right hotel and wasn't sure where he was going. It's unclear If the woman also notified authorities.
Laundrie may have been seen on a trail camera in Florida earlier in the week. According to CBS News affiliate WKRG, authorities in Okaloosa County are looking into the possibility that Laundriw was spotted on the recording of a local resident's outdoor camera. "I'm not saying this is the guy but whoever was on my trail camera this morning in Baker, Florida strongly fits the description of Brian Laundrie," the individual reportedly wrote in a social media post, "authorities have been contacted but people in the North West Florida area be on the lookout."
Wherever Laundrie is, Petito's best friend Rose Davis told People that he's likely hiding out somewhere in the wilderness. "He is out in the wilderness, I promise you," Davis said. She also mentioned this is not the first time he's lived in the wild on his own –– something she says's he's more than capable of doing at this stage in his life. "He's out there. He is," Davis asserts as the search for Laundrie continues. "If he's alive, he's out there, camping out ... He lived in the Appalachians by himself for months."
Petito's body was discovered last weekend in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park. Authorities have ruled her death a homicide. The young travel influencer was reported missing on Sept. 11 by her parents in Suffolk County, New York after they were unable to reach her. Petito and her then-fiance were said to have been on a cross-country road trip in a 2012 Ford Transit Van. The couple reportedly got into an argument in Wyoming, which spurred Laundrie to go home to his parents in North Point, Florida alone. The FBI's Denver field office announced that a federal court in Wyoming has issued a warrant for Laundrie's arrest on a single-count indictment.
Laundrie is said to have "knowingly and with intent to defraud" used unauthorized access devices including a Capitol One Bank card, spending at least $1,000 on the card between August 30 and September 1.
"The warrant doesn't change anything for us," North Port Police Commander Joe Fussell said. "We're working as hard to find him now as we did on day one." He added, "We are not wasting our time out here. We are doing our due diligence to find Brian in an area that intelligence had led us that he could possibly be in."