KEY POINTS

  • Police say nothing related to Brian Laundrie was found in the swamp
  • Officers are working to figure out how he left the house undetected
  • North Port Police were reportedly monitoring Brian before he went missing

Officers searching for Brian Laundrie say there are "a lot of oddness" in his parents' statement and some of them don't even "make sense."

The Florida fugitive, who is the sole person of interest in YouTuber Gabby Petito's death, has been missing since mid-September.

"What the family has told us is that he drove out to the park and walked out into the woods," North Port Police spokesperson Josh Taylor told News Nation. "I don't necessarily know what to believe anymore. I think it's certainly possible that they're expressing what they know, but we'll see. This is an ongoing investigation that will continue to evolve."

Brian's parents told police they last saw him on Sept. 13, but they initially claimed their son left home on Sept. 14. The Laundries also said Brian went for a hike in the 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve. A search has been going on in the reserve since Sept. 18.

"We've said from the beginning there's a lot of oddness here, a lot of things that just didn't make sense," Taylor said. "I mean your son walks out there, now they're saying on a Monday, you know, to report that on a Friday, and then be confused on what day that was. I mean there are a lot of things that are odd there."

The officer thinks the fact that Brian's father is helping the FBI search for his son "could be a sign that the Laundries are trying to help investigators." However, nothing related to Brian has so far been found in the swamp, he added.

North Port Police has been facing criticism for making no progress in the investigation. The officers had claimed earlier that they were monitoring Brian before he went missing.

"What I'll say to that is that we were doing everything within the law that we could with the facts and the circumstances at that time," he said. "What I'll say is that that is … something that we're working to figure out as far as how he got away."

The officer said it is possible that Brian is still alive.

"It's possible. I certainly think that it would not surprise me if he is," Taylor said. "It would not surprise me if he's not."

Brian returned home from his cross-country trip alone on Sept. 1. Petito's remains were found at a Wyoming campground on Sept. 19.

brian laundrie house
North Port Police officers stands in the driveway of Brian Laundrie, who is a person of interest after his fiancé Gabby Petito went missing on Sept. 20, 2021 in North Port, Florida. Octavio Jones/Getty Images