'Dog the Bounty Hunter' Claims Searchers Found Makeshift Campsite During Brian Laundrie Manhunt

Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman has been on the hunt for Brian Laundrie for about two weeks now, and he's claiming that searchers recently found a makeshift campsite that could be connected. Laundrie went missing just days before the body of his missing girlfriend, Gabby Petito, was found in Wyoming. Chapman soon got involved in the search for Laundrie and has claimed to have some promising leads. Laundrie has been missing for more than two weeks, and is a "person of interest" in Petito's death.

In a Fox News interview this week, Chapman shared that on Oct. 1 he and his team found a "primitive camp that had some promising things around it." He explained that they gather up all the evidence and "turned it over" to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Notably, Chapman's team had previously discovered another campsite, on a small Florida island, that could possibly have been connected to Laundrie, but that remains unconfirmed.

On Sept. 29, Chapman posted on Instagram that he and his team "discovered a campsite and fresh Monster can deep in the woods while searching Shell Island off the coast of Florida for" Laundrie. It was also noted that "the Monster can showed no rust or faded colors," possibly indicating that whoever built the abandoned campsite had not been gone for long. More recently, Laundrie was reported to have been seen further north, on the Appalachian Trail.

Laundrie was reported missing by his family on Sept. 17. They told authorities that he left home on Sept. 14 but never returned. His disappearance came just days before Petito's body was found by authorities in Wyoming. Her family reporting her missing on Sept. 11, after not hearing from her for nearly two weeks. 

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 on Sept. 1 but reportedly was unwilling to cooperate with police on the investigation of Petito's disappearance.

Laundrie's sister Cassie recently spoke out about her missing brother in an ABC News interview, urging him to "come forward" and get their family "out of this horrible mess." Cassie clarified that if she knew where Laundrie was she would "turn him in," and added that she has been cooperating with investigators "since day one." Finally, she expressed that while she is worried about her brother, she strongly believes that Petito's family "[deserves] answers."