(NORTH PORT, Fla.) — A massive search is continuing in southern Florida for Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old woman who went missing on a cross-country trip and who authorities confirmed Tuesday as the body discovered on Sunday in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming.
The search for the 23-year-old Laundrie is centered around North Port, Florida, where investigators said Laundrie returned to his home on Sept. 1 without Petito but driving her 2012 Ford Transit.
Laundrie has been named by police as a “person of interest” in Petito’s disappearance. Laundrie has refused to speak to the police and has not been seen since Tuesday, Sept. 14, according to law enforcement officials.
The search for Laundrie is the latest twist in the case that has grabbed national attention as he and Petito had been traveling across the country since June, documenting the trip on social media.
Petito’s parents, who live in Long Island, New York, reported her missing on Sept. 11 after not hearing from her for two weeks.
Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern:
Sep 23, 9:37 am
Reported witness describes seeing Petito ‘upset’, Laundrie ‘angry’ at Wyoming restaurant
Nina Angelo opened up to “Good Morning America” on Thursday about purportedly seeing Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie at the Merry Piglets restaurant in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Aug. 27, three days after her last known sighting.
The Blue Collar Restaurant Group told ABC News it believes Petito and Laundrie were at its Merry Piglet restaurant and have notified the FBI. However, its security cameras don’t go that far back so there is no footage of the duo allegedly inside the eatery.
Angelo described Laundrie in vivid detail as “aggressive” and “angry”.
She said the couple was in an angry confrontation with restaurant staff.
“He was just very visibly angry. [Petito] was really upset, she was crying and he immediately went to the hostess stand and was just going in on the hostess and waitress, then eventually the manager,” Angelo said.
“I think she was being apologetic towards the restaurant staff for his behavior. She just kind of wanted to diffuse the situation. She was like, ‘I’m sorry, come on, let’s just go.’ But she was visibly upset. She was crying,” Angelo said. “You could feel his temper. He was he was angry.”
Authorities previously said the last time Petito was seen was Aug. 24.
Aug. 27, the day of the alleged restaurant sighting, was the same day Petito’s mom said she received a strange text from her daughter in which she referred to her grandfather as “Stan.” Petito’s mother said her daughter “never” referred to him as Stan.
Sep 22, 7:24 pm
Search for Brian Laundrie halted for the night
North Port, Florida, police announced Wednesday evening that they ended that day’s search for Brian Laundrie with no updates on his whereabouts.
The department said it will resume its search Thursday morning.
Sep 22, 4:35 pm
Man captured on wildlife camera in the panhandle not Brian Laundrie
The Okaloosa County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday afternoon that a man whose image was captured on a wildlife camera in the Florida Panhandle this week is not Brian Laundrie.
The sheriff’s office said deputies tracked down the individual, who is a local resident.
The owner of the wildlife camera told ABC News that the image was taken on a wooded trail in Baxter on Sept. 20 and that he alerted the sheriff’s office because the man, who was walking with a backpack, resembled Laundrie. Baxter is about 500 miles northwest of where authorities have focused their search for Laundrie in the Carlton Reserve near North Port.
Several Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputies who viewed the image recognized the individual from his neck tattoo, enabling authorities to locate and speak to him, the sheriff’s office said.
The report of the trail camera image set off an extensive search of the area in Baxter on Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said.
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