The FBI has identified human remains in a Florida park.

October 22, 2021

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NORTH PORT, Fla. —

According to the FBI, the human remains discovered this week in a Florida wilderness park have been identified as Brian Laundrie. The remains were identified using dental data, according to the bureau.

Earlier Thursday, the Laundrie family’s lawyer stated that the family was “heartbroken” after discovering human remains and objects that appeared to be his in the park.

“As a parent, you can envision finding your son’s belongings beside the bones,” lawyer Steven Bertolino told CNN. “That must be heartbreaking. And I can assure you that they are devastated.”

The FBI confirmed the discovery late Wednesday at a park with trails connecting to the vast Carlton Reserve. Laundrie has been identified as a person of interest in the death of Gabby Petito.

Law enforcement had been searching the region for weeks, but FBI Tampa special agent Michael McPherson said the backpack, notepad, and remains were discovered in an underwater location.

McPherson has previously stated that investigators would be on the scene for several days. “I know you have a lot of questions,” McPherson said Wednesday, “but we don’t have all the answers yet.”

“We’re working hard to acquire those answers for you.” Just one day after reinstating Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, investigators shuttered it again on Thursday. Police cars, both recognised and unmarked, rolled into the park.

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno praised local officers and the FBI for searching in chest-high water filled with snakes and alligators.

“These are extremely difficult circumstances,” Marceno said on Thursday. “You’re looking in places where you can’t just stroll up and look. It’s not like you’re looking for a home or a car. These places are vast and are submerged under water.”

Laundrie vanished days before Petito’s body was discovered.

According to his family, Laundrie left his home on Sept. 13 for a trek in the Carlton Reserve, a nearly 25,000-acre tract of land in southern Sarasota County, and never returned. Laundrie’s automobile was discovered at Myakkahatchee Park many days later. Law enforcement had searched the region for five weeks without finding anything.

Bertolino said Laundrie’s parents informed the FBI and the North Port Police Department on Tuesday night that they planned to search the park Wednesday morning. They were met there by law enforcement.

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