Gabby Petito: Florida police say no phones located in van, no campsite found: LIVE UPDATES
North Port Police spokesman Josh Taylor tells Fox News on Friday that his department was "doing everything we could to keep an eye on [Brian Laundrie] legally."
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"The family of Gabby Petito and the City of North Port have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support shown by residents of the City and beyond," the city of North Port, Florida posted on Facebook Friday.
"The physical memorial set up at City Hall has been a shining example of that support, but items have become damaged in the Florida sun and rain," the post added. "On Tuesday, October 12, City staff will be collecting the materials at the memorial at City Center Front Green. The items are going to be given to the Petito family. Work on a donated permanent memorial is in motion. Those looking to pay their respects may also want to consider supporting the Gabby Petito Foundation to help parents locate missing children. Thank you for your understanding in this sensitive and important issue."
Chris Laundrie accompanied law enforcement into the Carlton Reserve for the first time this week to look for his fugitive son, which former FBI special agent Ken Gray said reflects the bureau's strategy to base their search on specific targeted intelligence.
Gray was a member of the New Haven FBI SWAT team when he briefly helped search for Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph in the Appalachian Mountains in the late 1990s.
"SWAT teams came in, went out on the Appalachian trail area there in North Carolina, did a lot of searching through that area, but continued to come up empty-handed," Gray told Fox News Friday.
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Brian Laundrie’s best bet is to surrender safely to police so his defense team can get to work in court, a top U.S. defense attorney told Fox News, as a manhunt is underway for the Florida fugitive wanted on a federal debit card fraud charge following the death of fiancée Gabby Petito.
"The only thing that a lawyer can do is to advise his client to surrender to the warrant," said Texas attorney Dick DeGuerin, whose clients have included David Koresh and Robert Durst. "Now that depends on whether he is in contact with his client -- and certainly if he is in contact and knows where he is or has any kind of control over his client, the advice that he gives to the client is, ‘Let's surrender to the warrant.’"
However, Laundrie is on the run and his attorney, Steve Bertolino, says he hasn’t been able to reach him for weeks.
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A plane with the banner "End the silence — justice for Gabby” flew over the Laundrie family's home in North Port, Fla., on Friday.
Richard Stafford, the attorney representing the Petito family, tells Fox News' Michael Ruiz that "Gabby’s body is still in Wyoming and bringing her home is the family’s top priority.
"The family is also working hard to help other families in their situation," he added. "That is why they are creating the Gabby Petito Foundation.”
The Petito family is holding a fundraiser for the foundation on Oct. 17 in Patchogue, N.Y.
A trail sign at Clingmans Dome, a major scenic viewing point along the Appalachian Trail near Cherokee, N.C. (Getty Images)
Florida fugitive Brain Laundrie’s whereabouts remain unknown almost four weeks after his parents say they last saw him leaving their North Port home for a hike in a nearby environmental reserve.
The 23-year-old New York native is wanted on debit card fraud charges and has been named a person of interest in connection with the death of his 22-year-old fiancée, Gabby Petito, whose remains the FBI uncovered at a campsite in Wyoming on Sept. 19. That marked eight days after her mother reported her missing and more than two weeks after Laundrie allegedly showed up at his parents' home in Petito's van – without her.
Although there have been conflicting reports regarding the extent of his skills as an outdoorsman, he has a history of spending lengthy periods of time at state and national parks.
It’s the wrong time of year to start heading north on the Appalachian Trail from its southern tip in Georgia, according to trail guides, but the stretch along the North Carolina-Tennessee border could be an ideal place to hide out. Even though it’s nearing the end of the southward season, with through-hikers who started up in Maine nearing completion, the trail meanders its way along the state lines in places far removed from major towns.
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Visitors on Friday are continuing to pay their respects to Gabby Petito at a growing memorial across from North Port City Hall in Florida.
The Laundrie family attorney, Steve Bertolino, tells Fox News' Michael Ruiz that there are "no" plans for Christopher and Roberta Laundrie to join law enforcement today to help search for their fugitive son in nearby Florida parks.
North Port Police spokesman Josh Taylor tells Fox News' Claudia Kelly-Bazan on Friday that his department was "doing everything we could to keep an eye on [Brian Laundrie] legally."
"I can not talk about specifics. There was no campsite found" in the T. Mabry Carlton Jr. Reserve, he added, and "no phones were in [the] van."
Ex-convict-turned-writer-and-producer Seth Ferranti tells 'Fox & Friends First' on Friday that “right now, Brian, wherever he is, there is tremendous mental burden on him, especially with the widespread scrutiny of this case.”
“Basically he just has to stay hiding in an apartment or camper somewhere or he is easily going to be seen," Ferranti said.
“I’m looking at that whole thing with his Dad coming to visit – or help the police – is it a ruse? Is it something that they even planned?” he added. “When I first became a fugitive I actually staged my suicide on the banks of the Potomac to throw off investigators, so I am kind of looking at that with some suspicion.”
Brian Laundrie has been on the run for several weeks since his fiancé, Gabby Petito, was declared missing and the Petito family believes he holds the answers to what happened to their daughter.
The Petito and Schmidt families sat down with Fox News senior correspondent Laura Ingle to vocalize their frustrations regarding the ongoing manhunt for Laundrie and their hopes to find answers."
Just turn yourself in," Petito’s mother Nichole Schmidt said of Laundrie. "It’s just getting more and more frustrating as days go on. I don’t know what’s taking so long."
Steven Bertolino, the Laundrie family lawyer, released a statement about Brian Laundrie's father, Chris Laundrie, assisting police in the search effort.
"Today Chris Laundrie accompanied members of law enforcement into the Reserve to show them the trails and places Chris and Brian have hiked and which Brian was known to frequent," Bertolino said. "There were no discoveries but the effort was helpful to all. It seems the water in the Preserve is receding and certain areas are more accessible to search."
"The entire Laundrie family is grateful for the hard work of the dedicated members of law enforcement that have been searching the Preserve for Brian over the last few weeks," he continued. "Hopefully Brian will be located soon." -Michael Lee
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