Brian Laundrie is no stranger to taking off on his own into the wilderness.
That’s according to Rose Davis, the best friend of his fiancé Gabby Petito, whose body was found Sunday in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
A week into the search for Laundrie, who disappeared into a swampy 25,000-acre Florida nature reserve, Petito’s best friend told the Daily Mail of his wilderness chops.
‘I know he lived in the Appalachians for what I believe was three months, and he did it by himself, so I know he’s skilled at it,’ she said.
In the interview she said both Petito and Laundrie told her stories about it.
‘You could see the enthusiasm in his voice when he would talk about his adventures by himself like that trip into the Appalachians,’ she said of the difficult trek that stretches over 2,000 miles from Georgia to Maine.
The 22-year-old van-life blogger’s death was ruled a homicide on Monday, and Laundrie has since been declared a person of interest.
Laundrie returned to his parents’ North Port, Florida home without his fiancé on September 1, according to police. Unable to reach their daughter for 10 days, Petito’s parents reported her missing on September 11, a week before Laundrie himself went missing.
As the search for Laundrie, 23, enters its fifth day, it’s still unclear whether he is in the Charlton Reserve in Venice, Florida, where he told his parents he was heading last Friday.
On Wednesday, a team of about 10 divers from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s office were requested for a dive operation, CNN reported.
According to the police agency, the arrival of the dive team ‘does not mean anything has been found. It’s part of the overall search process’.
The Sheriff’s Underwater Recovery Force (SURF) is made up of highly trained water specialists who are called upon to ‘search for evidence of crimes and victims of drowning, water accidents and foul play’, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office website states.
The FBI is additionally seeking information from anyone who utilized the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area between August 27 and 30, who may have had contact with Petito or Laundrie, or who may have seen their van.
‘Mr Brian Laundrie has been named a person of interest. Anyone with information concerning Mr Laundrie’s role in this matter or his current whereabouts should contact the FBI,’ FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider said in a statement on Tuesday.
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