There has been national focus over the last few days on the unfolding story of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old U.S. woman whose death was ruled a homicide Tuesday, nearly a month after she was last seen on a cross-country road trip with her now-missing boyfriend RON DESANTIS, governor of Florida, the United States, has directed all state agencies to assist federal and local law enforcement in the search for Brian Laundrie. The search for 23-year-old Laundrie is centered around North Port where investigators said he returned to his home Sept. 1 without his fiancee Gabby Petito, 22, but driving her 2012 Ford Transit. She was found dead in Wyoming. Petito had been traveling with Laundrie prior to her disappearance. Laundrie has been named by police as a “person of interest” in Petito’s disappearance. He has refused to speak to the police and has not been seen since Sept. 14. Investigators searched a 25,000-acre (101-square-kilometer) Florida nature preserve over the weekend without success. They focused on the area after Laundrie’s parents told police he may have gone there. The search moved to another part of the reserve Tuesday. Authorities deployed multiple all-terrain vehicles and drones in their search. Despite rumors on social media late Tuesday, North Port Police said Laundrie is not in custody. They confirmed they received reports of “suspected sightings,” however, none have been accurate. Petito died by homicide, a coroner concluded while also confirming that the human remains found recently at a Wyoming national park were those of the 22-year-old woman. Her body was discovered at a Wyoming national park over the weekend, months after the couple, originally from Long Island, set out on a cross-country road trip. Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue said the cause of her death remains pending final autopsy results. An image surfaced on social media that appeared to be a man matching the description of Laundrie was captured on a trail camera walking on a property in the Florida Panhandle area. The individual was purportedly spotted late Monday night or early Tuesday morning on a trail camera in Baker, which is northwest of where authorities have focused their search for Laundrie. Neighbors have put up teal ribbons around the Petito family home in Blue Point, New York, on Long Island. It’s a show of support to remember and pay tribute to Gabby’s memory. In Wyoming, someone set up a makeshift cross with river rocks from the slowly disappearing Spread Creek. The location is where Petito’s remains are believed to have been found. An attorney for the Petito family released a statement promising a statement from the family when “Gabby comes home.” On Monday, the FBI went to Laundrie’s parents’ home in North Port and removed several boxes and towed away a car neighbors said Laundrie’s mother typically used. Laundrie and Petito had been living with his parents before making the trek. According to a separate warrant filed in a Sarasota County court, Petito’s mother Nichole Schmidt received an “odd text” Aug. 27 — a message which is described as “the last communication anyone had with” Gabby. The text message read “Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls.” The reference to “Stan” was regarding her grandfather, but per the mother, she never calls him “Stan.” The mother was concerned that something was wrong with her daughter. Her family said that the final message was “not normal behavior” for Petito and became more worried about her. Petito’s mother said the last video chat she had with her daughter was Aug. 24 or 25, though they exchanged text messages for a few days following. She said she is unsure if it was her daughter actually sent those text messages. Petito’s parents, who live on Long Island, New York, reported her missing Sept. 11 after not hearing from her for two weeks. Petito and Laundrie were childhood sweethearts who met while growing up on Long Island. His parents later moved to North Port, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Sarasota. The engaged couple had been documenting their trip on YouTube, and they were set to arrive in Portland in October. They embarked on a cross-country trip in June. They planned to travel in Petito’s white Ford van to the West Coast and visit state and national parks across the western United States. She had been excited to share her journey with her family and others on social media, according to police. “She maintained regular contact with her family members during her travels; however, that communication abruptly stopped around the end of August,” police said at a news briefing. They did have one encounter with police in Utah. Video released by the Moab Police department showed that an officer pulled the couple’s van over Aug. 12 after it was seen speeding and hitting a curb near the entrance to Arches National Park. The body-camera footage showed an upset Petito. Laundrie said on the video that the couple had gotten into a scuffle after he climbed into the van with dirty feet. He said he did not want to pursue a domestic violence charge against Petito, who officers decided was the aggressor. On Monday, officials released the 911 call that led to that investigation. The caller is heard saying “a gentleman was slapping the girl” before driving off in a white van. Also in September, a woman publicly claimed that she and her boyfriend gave Laundrie a ride Aug. 29 in Wyoming — and that Laundrie claimed he’d been camping by himself for multiple days while Petito was at their van working on social media posts. In a series of videos posted on TikTok, Miranda Baker said she and her boyfriend picked up Laundrie that evening while he was hitchhiking in Colter Bay, Wyoming. Laundrie told them he had been camping at a site outside the Grand Teton National Park, near the Snake River, she said. A couple from Louisiana who were vacationing in Jackson, Wyoming, last month said Wednesday they saw an incident involving Petito and Laundrie in a restaurant in one of the last sightings of Petito before her death. Nina Angelo said she and her boyfriend, Matt England, saw a “commotion” as Petito and Laundrie were leaving restaurant Aug. 27. Angelo said Petito was in tears and Laundrie was visibly angry, going into and out of the restaurant several times, continuing to show anger toward the staff around the hostess stand. The couples’ waitress was also visibly shaken by the incident, according to Angelo, who said she did not see any violence or physical altercation between Petito and Laundrie. (SD-Agencies) | 