DeSantis directs state police to assist in search for Brian Laundrie

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Florida State Police are assisting in the search for Brian Laundrie.

"At the request of @NorthPortPolice, @MyFWC law enforcement has been assisting in the search for Brian Laundrie," DeSantis said on Twitter. "I have directed all state agencies under my purview to continue to assist federal & local law enforcement as they continue to search - we need justice for Gabby Petito."

Laundrie is a person of interest in the disappearance of Petito, his fiancée. Authorities found the body of a person that fit the description of Petito near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming Sunday.

Laundrie himself went missing Tuesday while apparently going on a hike in a 25,000-acre Florida wildlife refuge, though his family did not report him missing until Friday.

Police have had trouble locating Laundrie in the vast reserve, though authorities have now focused their search on a specific area of it.

"Please be aware, the Carlton Reserve is a vast and unforgiving location at times. It is currently waist-deep in water in many areas. This is dangerous work for the search crews as they are wading through gator- and snake-infested swamps and flooded hiking and biking trails,"  the North Port Police Department said in a statement.

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The Florida home of Laundrie's parents, where he and Petito lived before embarking on their cross-country trip, was searched by the FBI Monday, with the FBI saying it was "executing a court-authorized search warrant today at the Laundrie residence in North Port, Florida, relevant to the Gabrielle 'Gabby' Petito investigation."

But authorities also made clear that Laundrie was still only a person of interest in the case, stressing that he was not yet wanted for a crime.