Medical examiner called to North Port park at center of Brian Laundrie search

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Sarasota County Medical Examiner’s Office has been called to the North Port park where authorities have been searching for 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, an office representative has confirmed.

The news comes after items belonging to Laundrie were reportedly found at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park. Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino told WFLA’s Mahsa Saeidi that Laundrie’s parents went to the park to search for their son on Wednesday morning, and met with North Port police and the FBI.

Bertolino said “articles” belonging to Brian were found on a trail, but he did not provide any further information.

The park, which reopened to the public on Tuesday after being closed for nearly a month, saw a large law enforcement presence on Wednesday. North Port police blocked off both entrances. They told WFLA’s Allyson Henning the park was closed, but did not share any further details. North Port police spokesman Josh Taylor would only tell Henning “the search continues.”

Laundrie remains the only person of interest in the death of his fiancée Gabby Petito, a case that’s garnered worldwide attention.

The couple had set off on a cross-country trip across the United States in July, and had documented their travels online. Police said Laundrie returned home to North Port without Petito on Sept. 1, ten days before her family reported her missing.

Petito’s remains were found on Sept. 19 at a campground in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. The 22-year-old had been strangled to death, a coroner said earlier this month.

Laundrie is wanted for unauthorized use of a debit card. A federal grand jury indictment alleges he withdrew or spent $1,000 after Petito went missing, using a debit card that wasn’t his.

Laundrie’s parents say their son went for a hike in the nearly 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve on Sept. 13 and never returned. The reserve connects to the 160-acre Myakkahatchee park, a heavily wooded area just north of Interstate 75.

Local and federal agencies have spent more than a month combing the vast reserve and the park in hopes of finding Laundrie.

This story is developing and will be updated.