A federal court in Wyoming issued an arrest warrant for the fiancé of Gabby Petito over alleged fraudulent use of her debit card after her death, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The FBI made the announcement on Thursday as law enforcement officials continued their massive manhunt for Brian Laundrie in a swampy natural reserve park in Florida near his family’s home.
“We urge individuals with knowledge of Mr. Laundrie’s role in this matter or his current whereabouts to contact the FBI,” said Special Agent Michael Schneider in the press statement.
The warrant accuses Laundrie of using Petito’s debit card between Aug. 30, 2021, and Sept. 1, 2021.
The death of Gabby Petito has made nationwide headlines after she was reported missing from a cross county road trip with her fiance, who returned to his home without her and refused to participate with law enforcement.
Her remains were later found in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park.
The manhunt for Laundrie centers around the Mabry Carlton Jr. Memorial Reserve, a 25,000 acre swampy park. Laundrie told his family that he was going for a hike there and never returned. Authorities are employing a dive team as a part of the large scale search mission to find the sole “person of interest” in the death of Petito.
Steve Bertolino, the attorney for the Laundrie family, emphasized that the arrest warrant “is related to activities occurring after the death of Gabby Petito and not related to her actual demise.”
Teton County Coroner Brent Blue issued an initial finding that Petito’s death was a homicide, but he has not yet made a finding on the exact cause of death.
Witnesses have also come forward claiming that they saw the couple at a restaurant in Jackson, Wyoming, on Aug. 27 and described Laundrie as aggressively arguing with the servers while Petito was “hysterically crying.” A spokesperson for the restaurant confirmed that the couple had been there and said that they had notified the FBI.
Here’s more on the latest developments in the Gabby Petito case:
Federal arrest warrant issued for Brian Laundrie
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