It’s been two weeks since the skeletal remains of Brian Laundrie were discovered. As Mamas Uncut previously reported, Laundrie’s remains were discovered at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park after the water receded from an area that had previously been underwater.
At the time of his death, Laundrie was the only person of interest in the homicidal death of his fiancé Gabby Petito. Petito was discovered in Wyoming on September 19, 8 days after she was reported missing by her parents.
Autopsy results revealed she died by manual strangulation. Petito’s death comes as she and Laundrie were on a cross-country trip together in a white Ford van they customized together.
During that trip, issues between the young couple were documented when a bystander told 911 he witnessed a domestic issue between them. They were pulled over by Utah police officers and questioned for over an hour.
In the end, it was decided to separate Petito and Laundrie for the night. At some point, Petito and Laundrie reunited to continue their travels.
Police Sheriff Says He Has an Idea As to What Happened to Brian Laundrie
On September 1, Laundrie returned to Florida without Gabby Petito. It’s believed Petito died sometime between August 27 and August 30. On September 17, his parents notified police that on September 13, Brian left him home to go on a hike and never returned.
Since Laundrie, his dry bag, and notebook were discovered in the Florida park, preliminary autopsy results have been inconclusive. But now North Port, Fla., Police Chief Todd Garrison is speaking out about what he thinks happened to Brian.
According to the Sarasota Herald–Tribune, while a panelist at a law enforcement forum, Garrison discussed parts of the case. He even discussed the mistake in which officers mistook Brian’s mom for Brian while surveilling him. “As a leader, what do I do?” Garrison said. “Do I not tell the public what’s going on, do we conceal it, cover it up? No, people want open, transparency, and honesty from their law enforcement officials.”
“Yes, we made a mistake,” he said “It was human error, but I still stand behind my team.” Garrison also added, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, “I can tell you one thing. The amount of work that was done, behind the scenes, 24 hours a day, from our team and the FBI team working on the second floor of the police department, was phenomenal work.”
Also on the panel was Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman. The Sarasota police force aided in the search for Brian Laundrie.
After praising Garrison and his team for their work on this difficult case, Hoffman revealed what he believed happened to Brian Laundrie. “That guy went out there and by all accounts probably committed suicide and he was right out there where we thought he was. There was four feet of water out there at the time.”
It’s still unclear if the police were able to obtain any answers from the notebook Brian Laundrie left behind.
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