NORTH PORT, Fla. — North Port police, FBI and other law enforcement are conducting a search Saturday morning in the Carlton Reserve area of Sarasota County for 23-year-old Brian Laundrie.
Police said late Friday that 23-Laundrie is a person of interest in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Gabby Petito.
North Port police said in a statement that Laundrie's family told officers they haven't seen him since Tuesday. Family members said they believe he went to the reserve earlier this week.
Police said the conversation Friday evening was the first time they'd spoken with the Laundries in detail about the case, and that the meeting came at the family's request. An attorney for the family called FBI investigators and said they wanted to talk about Laundrie's disappearance, police said.
Previous stories about Gabrielle Petito search
Attorneys for the Petito family released a statement saying that Laundrie was not “missing.”
“All of Gabby's family want the world to know that Brian is not missing, he is hiding. Gabby is missing,” the statement from the law office of Richard B. Stafford said.
North Port police detectives spent two and a half hours inside Brian Laundrie's family home Friday night.
The home is where his fiancé, Gabby Petito, also lives, but she went missing after a cross country road trip with him.
Meanwhile, Laundrie's attorney, Steven Bertolino, released a statement after 10 p.m. Friday saying that his client's whereabouts weren't known.
"Be advised that the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie are currently unknown," the statement said. "The FBI is currently at the Laundrie residence removing property to assist in locating Brian. As of now the FBI is looking for both Gabby and Brian. Brian was last seen by his parents on Tuesday morning."
Cell phone video captured an unmarked minivan pull into the Laundrie family driveway a few minutes after 6 p.m.
Three detectives got out of that minivan and entered the home.
About an hour later, two detectives came out of the home and went through a car parked in the driveway before returning. Officers were seen bringing brown evidence bags into the home.
Police say Brian, 23, was not inside the home Friday night.
The North Port Police chief said the conversation at the Laundrie family home was complete and they'll make a statement after they review the interview.
Laundrie and Petito, 22, left in July on a cross-country trek in a converted van to visit national parks in the U.S. West. She was reported missing on Sept. 11 by her family.
Gabby was last seen on August 30 in Wyoming.
Investigators said Laundrie returned in the van to his parents’ home in North Port, on Sept. 1. He was then identified as a person of interest in the case. He has refused to cooperate with police about her disappearance.
“It is important to note that while Brian is a person of interest in Gabby's disappearance, he is not wanted for a crime,” North Port police said in Friday's statement. It added that the investigation is now a “multiple missing person” case.
A lot of protesters and residents showed their support for Gabby outside the home during the police interview.
There was also a candlelight vigil held for gabby Friday night at North Port City Hall. More than 50 people showed up for that vigil.
The case has captured national attention, with both local and national media filling the street Friday.
The case is also drawing out many residents who had bullhorns, signs and stayed Friday until police left.
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