FBI: Dental records show remains found in Florida are those of Brian Laundrie

(CNN) — The FBI’s Denver bureau said Thursday that remains recovered a time earlier successful a Florida quality reserve are those of Brian Laundrie, who disappeared past period conscionable days aft his fiancée Gabby Petito was reported missing.

The FBI said dental records confirmed the identification.

The recognition came hours aft constabulary successful North Port, Florida, said the remains that were recovered were skeletal and belonged to a human.

“They are quality remains, nary uncertainty there. I would accidental that the remains were accordant with 1 individual, you cognize skeletal remains,” North Port constabulary spokesperson Josh Taylor told CNN.

Investigators besides recovered covering believed to beryllium accordant with what Laundrie was wearing erstwhile helium took disconnected Sept. 13, according to Taylor.

Less than a week aft Laundrie went missing past month, authorities successful Wyoming recovered Petito’s remains successful a nationalist forest. Her decease was ruled a homicide by manual strangulation.

On Wednesday, investigators besides recovered a backpack and a notebook belonging to Laundrie, 23, adjacent the remains portion they were searching the Carlton Reserve successful North Port, according to FBI Special Agent successful Charge Michael McPherson.

“The notebook to my knowing has not been opened. You know, that volition request to beryllium processed,” Taylor said.

A root with cognition of the probe told CNN the notebook is “possibly salvageable.” The root said the notebook was “outside of the adust bag.”

“It had been intelligibly bedewed and they are going to usage immoderate imaginable means to adust that retired earlier opening it,” according to the source, who added: “They’ll beryllium precise cautious with it.”

The root said it is unclear however the notebook ended up extracurricular the adust bag.

When Taylor was asked astir whether a limb was found, helium said helium could not comment.

When asked if determination is an ongoing hunt for the murderer of Gabby Petito, helium responded, “That is surely not successful the North Port Police Department’s purview.”

During a hunt with police, Brian’s father, Chris Laundrie, was the archetypal to spot an point belonging to his son, according to Taylor.

Laundrie household lawyer Steven Bertolino told CNN’s Chris Cuomo connected Wednesday that “the probability is beardown that it is Brian’s remains.”

The find came connected Wednesday greeting erstwhile Laundrie’s parents and instrumentality enforcement searched an country of the reserve that had been underwater but precocious reopened to the public.

“It’s rather sad, you tin ideate arsenic a parent, uncovering your son’s belongings alongside immoderate remains. That’s got to beryllium heartbreaking. And I tin archer you that they are heartbroken,” Bertolino told Cuomo.

Search conditions had been precise difficult

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said Thursday instrumentality enforcement had been searching successful treacherous conditions, including astir chest-high h2o afloat of snakes and alligators.

“These are very, precise hard conditions. You’re searching successful areas that you conscionable can’t locomotion up and look. It’s not similar you’re searching a location oregon a car,” helium said. “These areas are immense and they’re covered by water.”

The exhaustive hunt for Laundrie stretched implicit a month as authorities tried to portion unneurotic what happened to him and Petito during their roadworthy travel done the Western United States this summer.

Petito, 22, disappeared connected the travel amid tensions successful their relationship, and her remains were aboriginal recovered adjacent wherever the mates had past been seen together.

Laundrie, who had returned by himself to his parents’ location successful Florida, refused to speech with investigators and didn’t instrumentality aft telling his parents helium was going to the quality reserve to hike.

He was not charged successful Petito’s death, though helium was indicted for allegedly using 2 fiscal accounts that did not beryllium to him successful the days pursuing her killing.

Authorities, including respective K-9 units and off-road vehicles, returned to the reserve connected Thursday greeting to further hunt the area.

Brian Laundrie’s parents were connected country erstwhile remains were found

Laundrie’s household had declined to speech publically pursuing ineligible advice, but they had directed authorities to wherever they believed Laundrie whitethorn beryllium staying successful the reserve, Bertolino said.

The parents — Chris and Roberta Laundrie — joined successful the hunt Wednesday greeting and recovered a container belonging to their lad astatine the park, which their lawyer described arsenic “happenstance.”

According to Bertolino, Laundrie’s parents informed the FBI and the North Port Police Department connected Tuesday nighttime that they wanted to sojourn the parkland Wednesday greeting to hunt for their son.

Law enforcement met them determination and intimately accompanied them arsenic they entered the park, Bertolino said.

“As they went further in, Chris ventured disconnected the way into the woods. He was zigzagging successful antithetic areas, instrumentality enforcement was doing the aforesaid thing. And Roberta Laundrie was walking down the trail,” Bertolino said. “At immoderate point, Chris locates what’s called a adust bag. The adust container is simply a achromatic bag, laying successful the woods, accidental 20 feet oregon truthful disconnected the trail.”

The adust container was successful immoderate brambles and helium didn’t privation to determination it due to the fact that helium wanted his instrumentality enforcement to spot it, Bertolino said. However, Chris Laundrie couldn’t find instrumentality enforcement and didn’t privation to permission the container determination with a quality newsman lasting nearby, truthful helium picked it up, Bertolino explained.

“He did conscionable up soon with instrumentality enforcement, they looked astatine the contents of the bag. At that time, instrumentality enforcement officers showed him a representation connected the telephone of a backpack that instrumentality enforcement had located besides adjacent and besides immoderate region disconnected the trail,” Bertolino told CNN.

“At that point, the Laundries were notified determination was besides remains adjacent the backpack, and they were asked to permission the preserve.”

The remains were recovered “about 2 to 3 miles wrong the Carlton Reserve, oregon astir a 45-minute walk” from the entranceway astatine Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, Taylor said Wednesday.

When asked wherefore the parents chose to spell to the parkland connected Wednesday, Bertolino said it was the archetypal time it was reopened to the public.

“The parents had assumed that the experts, the FBI and each the tracking teams they had would beryllium capable to find Brian based upon the accusation that we had provided them to the circumstantial areas and trails successful the parkland that Brian liked to visit,” Bertolino said. “The parkland had been closed to the public. There was truly nary different crushed for the Laundries to spell hunt anyplace else.”