Dog The Bounty Hunter Searches For Brian Laundrie On Remote Pinellas County Island: Report

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — As Duane Chapman — known as Dog the Bounty Hunter — continues his search for Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the death of his fiancee´, Gabby Petito, he focused his efforts on a remote Pinellas County island Wednesday.

Chapman joined the search for Laundrie, 23, over the weekend after a federal arrest warrant was issued for him in connection with the unauthorized use of an unnamed person's debit card to withdraw more than $1,000 at ATMs.

Since then, the reality star has fielded hundreds of tips, including leads suggesting the Laundrie family camped twice at Fort De Soto Park in Tierra Verde, just south of St. Petersburg, in early September, he told Fox News Monday. The park is about 75 miles north of their North Port home.

Though his tipsters said the Laundrie family made two trips to the historic park, first staying there Sept. 1-3, then returning Sept. 6-8, records provided by Pinellas County indicated they only visited once.

According to records, Laundrie’s mother, Roberta Laundrie, made a reservation Sept. 3, booking the waterfront site 001 for Sept. 6-8 — just days after Petito went missing. The campground check-in report for Sept. 6 shows Roberta Laundrie signed in that day.

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According to Chapman’s lead, Brian Laundrie’s parents left the park without their son.

Steven Bertolino, the family's attorney, said Tuesday that Laundrie camped at the site with his parents Sept. 6-7 and insisted the three left the park together, according to WFLA.

Chapman claims video surveillance footage from Fort De Soto Park shows Laundrie’s parents leaving the park alone. The FBI is reviewing the footage as part of its search for Laundrie, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

On Wednesday, the bounty hunter focused his search on Egmont Key State Park, according to Fox News. The secluded southern Pinellas County island, which is on the National Historic Register, is located just southwest of Fort De Soto Park and is only accessible by boat.

In an Instagram post, Chapman said he’s searching the island with boat crews, ground teams, and K-9 search-and-rescue dogs.

“We’re out here at the island. This would be and could be a perfect spot for (Laundrie) to hide,” he said in an Instagram video. “Not too many people out here, but there’s a lot of environmental things that we’re gonna fight. So, here we go. The search, now, is really on. The search has just begun.”

Laundrie is known to be familiar with Fort De Soto and the area, as Petito posted pictures from their February visit to the county park to her Instagram page.

His parents told North Port police Sept. 17 — about a week after Petito's Long Island family reported the 22-year-old woman missing in New York — that they hadn't seen their son in days.

Laundrie and Petito were traveling the western United States in her converted camper van, visiting national parks over the summer when she disappeared. Her family last heard from her at the end of August.

Her body was found weeks later, on Sept. 19, near Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park in the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping area, which is part of the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Her death has been ruled a homicide, though no cause of death has been released.

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Authorities in Florida have been searching the Carlton Reserve in Sarasota County for Laundrie since Sept. 18. His parents told police they last saw him Sept. 14 when he left their home without his wallet or cell phone to go hiking at the 25,000-acre nature preserve.

Various methods have been used to comb the swampy reserve, including K-9 dogs, ATVs, drones, helicopters, dive teams and airboats. It's estimated the search has cost taxpayers about $150,000 a day; however, the FBI, which took over the investigation in the reserve, has scaled back the search in that area.

The manhunt for Laundrie has led to tips pouring in from all over the country — and the world. Authorities, as well as Dog the Bounty Hunter and John Walsh of "Unsolved Mysteries" fame, have looked into reports of sightings of him in Alabama, northern Florida, Canada, the Bahamas, Mexico, the Appalachian Trail and other locations.