Crime & Safety

Dog The Bounty Hunter Has Joined The Search For Brian Laundrie, Knocked On Parents' Door

Authorities narrowed their search of the nature reserve where they believe Gabby Petito's fiance is hiding. Dog the Bounty Hunter joins in.

This photo from video provided by the Moab Police Department shows Brian Laundrie talking to a police officer after police pulled over the van he was traveling in with his girlfriend, Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito.
This photo from video provided by the Moab Police Department shows Brian Laundrie talking to a police officer after police pulled over the van he was traveling in with his girlfriend, Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito. (The Moab Police Department via AP, File)

VENICE, FL — The search for Brian Laundrie entered its second week Saturday as law enforcement and search teams continued to comb through parts of Florida's Carlton Reserve in search of the missing 23-year-old man.

Reality star Duane Chapman, better known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, knocked repeatedly on the front door of the Laundrie home Saturday, but nobody came to the door. Neighbors and reporters looked on and asked Chapman why he was there.

"The reason I went to Mr. [Christopher] Laundrie is I carry a reputation with me," he told Fox News Digital. "The reputation is, ‘He gives you a second chance. He’s gonna get you, but he gives you a second chance.’"

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Chapman told reporters he could empathize with the family of Laundrie's slain fiance, Gabby Petito. The bounty hunter lost a daughter in a car crash who was about the same age when she died as Petito.

Chapman told the media anyone with information about the case could send their tips to 833-TELLDOG.

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Meanwhile, a Florida law office is offering a $20,000 reward to anyone with information that leads directly to Laundrie's whereabouts.

Laundrie, of North Port, has been named a person of interest in the homicide of his fiancee, 22-year-old Petito, whose body was found Sunday at a campground near Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park.

Preliminary results from an autopsy concluded Petito's death was a homicide.

Laundrie is the target of an arrest warrant for taking money from a bank account he doesn't have access to, the FBI said.


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Boohoff Law P.A., a firm that practices in North Port, announced this week it was offering the $20,000 reward. The firm told Fox News it has already received numerous tips, which have been forwarded to law enforcement.

"We have an office in North Port, and our employees work and live there," Tatiana Boohoff told Fox News on Friday. "We serve clients there and we want to do what we can to help find answers and get justice."

In July, Laundrie and Petito embarked on a cross-country road trip while documenting the journey on social media. The trip was supposed to end in Oregon in October, but Laundrie returned alone to the couple's Florida home, located about 35 miles south of Sarasota. Petito's parents reported her missing 10 days later.

After he returned to Florida, Laundrie and his parents refused to talk to investigators about Petito's disappearance. Authorities later learned that Laundrie left his parents' home on Sept. 14, and his parents reported him missing on Sept. 17.

For the past week, authorities and search teams have combed the 24,000-acre Carlton Reserve, where Laundrie reportedly told his parents he planned to camp.

Authorities said Thursday they were looking for Laundrie in a specific section of Carlton Reserve, the first time the search has been narrowed, according to a USA Today report.

Officials said 75 personnel from 16 different federal, state and local agencies have been searching for Laundrie in the reserve, which includes thousands of acres of swampy terrain and wildlife including alligators, snakes, panthers and coyotes. Teams are using underwater dive personnel, K-9 units, drones and more.

The reserve has little food or safe drinking water, local survival expert Mark Burrow told USA Today. Clouds of gnawing insects also populate the reserve, he added.

"If he's down there in the Carlton Reserve, he's living in hell," Burrow told the newspaper.

Still, after a week of searching, officers have come up short.

Some search-and-rescue agents have speculated that Laundrie lied to his parents about where he was going when he left their house, while others have suggested Laundrie's parents were not forthcoming to authorities about his location.

People all over the internet have been reporting potential sightings of Laundrie. Most have been debunked.

The latest theory gaining traction is a photo shared to Twitter of a diner in Merida, Mexico, who looks like Laundrie. Many online sleuths think Laundrie is in Mexico due to the current chaos at the border.

Anyone with information about Laundrie or Petito is asked to call 800-CALL-FBI, or 800-225-5324.

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