Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - GABBY PETITO AUTOPSY NOW: Boyfriend Brian Laundrie on the Run

Episode Date: September 21, 2021

An autopsy is being conducted today on the body believed to be Gabby Petito. This is as authorities in Florida resume their search for Petito’s boyfriend Brian Laundrie. Laundrie’s parents said he was headed into the Carlton Nature Reserve in Sarasota County. The focus this time is on the backside of the reserve. On Sunday, investigators found human remains matching Petito’s description in Bridger-Teton National Forest, weeks after Petito fell out of contact with her family during a cross-country road trip with Laundrie. Laundrie returned to Florida on September 1 in a converted camper van registered to his girlfriend, but without Petito.Joining Nancy Grace Today: Dale Carson - Criminal Defense Attorney (Jacksonville), Former FBI Agent, Former Police Officer, Author: "Arrest-Proof Yourself, DaleCarsonLaw.com Dr. Alan Blotcky Ph.D. - Clinical and Forensic Psychologist (Birmingham, AL) specializing in Criminal, Child Custody and Abuse Sheryl McCollum - Forensic Expert & Cold Case Investigative Research Institute Founder, ColdCaseCrimes.org, Twitter: @ColdCaseTips Joe Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics Jacksonville State University, Author, "Blood Beneath My Feet", Featured on "The Piketon Massacre: Return to Pike County" on iHeartRadio Audrey Conklin - Reporter, Fox News Digital, Twitter: @audpants Michael Ruiz - Reporter, Fox News Digital, Twitter: @MikeRreports Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. At this hour, we know that a forensic pathologist is on his way traveling across the state of Wyoming to perform the autopsy on 22-year-old Gabby Petito. This as the so-called boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, on the lam, missing or hiding, as Gabby's parents say. But why and where? Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. crime stories with nancy grace joining me an all-star panel to make sense of it all but first i want you to take a listen to our cut 111, our friends at Fox 13. This morning, Norport police announced the search at the Carleton Reserve,

stating more than 250,000 acres had been finished. They said at this point, it appears that they've exhausted all avenues of searching there and they were moving on to other locations. Now, the search started after Brian's family called investigators on Friday to report him missing. They told investigators he left on Tuesday with a backpack, saying he was headed out to the Carlton Reserve. We know at some point a car that Brian's parents said was his was found at the park, but his parents then brought it back home here to their Norport address. Okay, you're hearing Kimberly Kuzan at Fox 13, but what we know is it's a 25,000 acre reserve.

The search is back on now. It was called off. Many legal eagles thought the search was done, Carlton Reserve, but apparently the search is back on. With me, Dale Carson, high-profile lawyer out of Jacksonville and also former FBI agent. Dr. Alan Blotke, forensic psychologist joining us out of Birmingham, specializing in criminal psychology. Cheryl McCollum, founder and director of the Cold Case Research Institute. Joe Scott Morgan, professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University and author. Audrey Collins joining us from Fox News Digital. And Michael Ruiz, special guest joining us also from Fox News Digital. Straight out to Fox News Digital, Michael Ruiz.

Now, I understand that Dr. Brent Blue is the Teton County coroner. That's where the autopsy on Gabby is to take place. But I don't think that's who's performing the autopsy. Yes, there is going to be a forensic pathologist coming in to assist with the autopsy. We're expecting to hear some of that today. So we should maybe get results later today or possibly depending on how long it takes into tomorrow. Yeah, let's talk about that one quick moment before we go back to the search for Brian Laundrie, the so-called boyfriend. Joe Scott Morgan, death investigator, professor of forensics at Jacksonville State University. Joe Scott, a regular autopsy will take anywhere between one to 10 hours. Would you agree on that? Oh, yeah. Very, very much so. This case in and of itself, Nancy, is going to be so very involved.

And there's a reason they didn't do this post yesterday. The reason is, is that they're attempting to marshal every resource they can. Not only are they going to have a board-certified forensic pathologist there to do the autopsy. My suspicion is. First of all, before we get to your suspicions and all that's going on up in your head, let's talk about what we absolutely know. OK. You said a board certified forensic pathologist. Now, Dr. Brent Blue, we know he's a doctor. Why wouldn't he perform the autopsy?

He's right there in Teton County. Why would you want somebody that's not a board-certified forensic pathologist to do this autopsy? I don't know. I'm just a JD. No, let me tell you. Let me tell you the why. Because out of all the cases that they have had in this region. Yeah, don't answer my questions with a question.

We don't like that. Go ahead. I'm not giving you a question. I'm giving you an affirmative statement here, Nancy. The idea is that this is the most high profile case they have had maybe ever. I have no idea. The blaring light of the media is on them. They're going to want a board certified.

That is somebody that has got specific training in forensic pathology to do this autopsy. And they will be there to do this post. That's why they didn't do it yesterday. Why are you calling it a post? Oh, you mean postmortem. See, the rest of us call it an autopsy. Postmortem examination. Gotcha. Post. All right. You know, Cheryl McCollum, joining me, founder and director of the Cold Case Research Institute, he's right. And Joe Scott, I know you've got a lot to say on this since that's your specialty. But Cheryl, Joe Scott is right. You don't want a foot doctor to perform your brain surgery or your open heart. This doctor, this local doctor, Dr. Brent Blue is a Teton County coroner. That's an elected position in most jurisdictions,

which means he's probably a great doctor, but I don't know if he is a board certified forensic pathologist. I mean, when you see all this on TV, like the coroners, the medical examiners that perform all of these unusual tests, that's real. That is real. That really happens. And this is an expertise. It's like in my world, hiring a tax attorney to go in and prosecute a triple homicide. That does not going to happen. So what are they going to be looking for Cheryl McCollum around the scene, the scene where Gabby's body was found. What is critical that they preserved at that scene before they even take her body to the morgue? They are going to mark and take photographs of exactly how her body was laying.

Was she face up? Was she on her side? were her feet under her, were her arms under her, exactly how she looked. They're going to measure everything. Then they're going to look for items that might be around her. Hold. Whoops. Cheryl, Cheryl, Cheryl. For instance, earlier this morning I was having a conversation about Gabby's body,

and the person said, how do I know? She didn't fall from a tree. Well, okay, number one, she didn't fall from a tree? Well, okay. Number one, she didn't fall from a tree, but the position of her body, as you were just saying, when her feet under her, that kind of a fall or an accident could be revealed in just the position of her body. And that is why God willing that the medical examiner sent their own investigators to the scene to look at everything, take the appropriate pictures before the body was moved. Excuse me. Go ahead. They're also going to look for different types of dirt on her.

Does she have gravel and there's no gravel where she is? Does she have, you know, injuries that don't have small rocks or sand or dirt in them? They're going to look for bruises that she might have had prior to her death. What were you saying about the gravel and the sand and the dirt? For example, let's just assume that somebody drug her and then threw her off. Where she would have been drugged would have some, you know, scratches from, you know, briars, so to speak. Well, they've got to find out where the actual killing occurred.

This is Dale. They've got to find out where the actual death occurred. And that might not be where the body was found. You're right. You're right, because I understand from a guest we spoke to yesterday who told me that her news agency had drones in the area. And they saw Gabby lying under some trees. They couldn't really make it out that well.

But then suddenly all of the searchers went to that area. And she was convinced, wasn't she, Jackie, that Gabby was not buried. Because they could see maybe it was the color of a t-shirt or something from the air that suggested Gabby was lying out under some trees. So what Dale Carson, Jacksonville, and Cheryl McCollum, Cold Case Research Institute, is saying is correct. Was she dragged there? right there. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I want to go out to Audrey Conlon joining us from Wyoming right now. Audrey, do you believe, as many of us do, that the social media person, as I'm calling them, the YouTuber, that was on her own trip, I think with her husband, the Bethunes, do you think them driving by and seeing that camper, they were alerted because it had a Florida tag. They're from Florida. They

wanted to say hello, but when they looked at it, it was all closed up and dark and nobody was there. Was that what tipped off the law to search that area, Bridge or Teton, the Spread Creek? Yes, absolutely. I think that those travelers, those bloggers who captured the van on their video. I think that was really helpful to the FBI. On Saturday, the FBI told us kind of where to look, and we went over to the area the next day, and there was a cop car guarding the entrance to the campsite, and that's where the search was underway.

To Dr. Alan Blotke, Ph.D., clinical forensic psychologist, joining us out of Birmingham. Dr. Blotke, it's great to talk to you. And I've done it, too. I've done it, too. And I'm not proud of it. But sometimes the hard questions have to be asked of law enforcement. Everybody's piling on the North Port police right now. Why didn't you arrest Laundrie Sooner? Why didn't police right now why didn't you arrest laundry

sooner why didn't you this why didn't you that now people are arguing about the discovery of her body dr blocky why i've hiked the area many many times it's like uh kneeling hey so you say the tetons the tetons the first time i saw the tetons, I got off a plane, I turned around, I went, because I had never seen anything like it. I remember the moment. I went, when I saw the Tetons for the first time in real life, not just a picture or in the encyclopedia. Yes, there was an encyclopedia then. They're overwhelming. So why do we want to pile on?

Is it because we're so angry about what happened to Gabby that we want to just point the finger anywhere? Yeah, and we want quick answers. And a lot of times the answers are not quick. It's a slow process. It's methodical. And we have to be patient. And we're not good at being patient. I'm not good at being patient.

I'm the worst. Nobody's good at being patient. Oh, back to Audrey Conlon and Michael Ruiz, our special guest joining us today from Fox News Digital. I mean, Michael, I'm thinking about what Audrey, your counterpart, just said about having one cop car or sheriff car there guarding the area of this vast, vast preserve. And we also have to remember, Michael, you've just come back from Wyoming. They were in a dispersed camping area, which means you're not on the grid at all. You're away from those porta potties and that gravel parking lot. And you're out in the wilderness

with the animals, which makes it even harder to find. It makes me feel bad when everyone is piling on for not law enforcement for not finding her earlier. Yes, Nancy, that's exactly right. That's bear country. There are grizzlies. There are black bears. There are at least three wolf packs, a wild boar, mountain lions, all kinds of animals out there that could have, you know, interacted with the body if they came across it first uh so it's a wild land and it is very remote several miles outside town plus several miles up the trail from where we were cordoned off by police describe what it looks like michael nancy you were just talking about you know the pictures of the teton mountains in the encyclopedia and in person it's it's so vast and so beautiful and the Teton Mountains in the encyclopedia and in person, it's so vast

and so beautiful. And the weather can change in a heartbeat. We were there, it was pouring rain for a couple minutes, then the sun came out. There was a time where right after the corner van left, the clouds cleared up and a rainbow came from the back of the trail near where they found her body. So that gives you an idea of how dynamic the sky can be when you're out there. You know, another thing, Audrey Conlon, who's joining us from Wyoming right now. Audrey, listen to what Michael Ruiz says. Jackie, you're the first person that told me that a rainbow had manifested over where Gabby's body had been found.

During COVID, at the height of COVID, Audrey, when nobody really knew anything and there wasn't a vaccine, we canceled everything that summer. And it was last summer and got an RV, rented one, and went all the way from Atlanta, all the way across the country to the Tetons in Yellowstone. And when we first got there, for one day we had a guide. Then we hoofed it on our own. The guide insisted we all take bear spray. It's like a big aerosol can and you put it in the side of, you know, like on your hip or take it with you in your backpack.

And my son and I, I was looking at it. My son said, you really think a can of aerosol spray is going to stop a bear? It is bear country, Audrey. And that's another thing they have to take into account. Has her body been so attacked by animals that we cannot get a COD cause of death. Absolutely. We have talked to some locals in the area. We talked to one photographer in particular. His name is Tim Mayo. And he has lived here for a while. He was telling us that it's very likely animals could have gotten to her remains, you know, if she was killed.

And that will definitely make it more difficult for a forensic pathologist, I think. I mean, I don't know his expertise, but it will definitely make it more difficult to examine those remains. To Audrey Conlon, I want to circle back with you, Joe Scott. Just hold that thought for just a moment. I'm going to ask Audrey Conlon and Michael Ruiz a question I bet nobody's asked you before. What was it like there during the search for Gabby? And you're out in the middle, literally of nowhere, overwhelmed by the huge expanse, the beauty of it, and the wildness of it all. I mean, what's your takeaway, Audrey, as you're standing there waiting to find out

where's Gabby? Is she here? What did you see? What did you feel? What did you hear? Well, the whole thing has been really surreal. I think it was surreal for both of us. The beauty is really kind of shadowed by the tragedy here, or at least what we think is a tragedy. And it's just wild in the most literal sense of the term. It's a beautiful landscape, but the situation is very scary. Yeah, Michael Ruiz, I'm hearing what Audrey's saying, I remember, just for example, I remember, what's the memory, going into a courtroom, pushing open the swinging doors, because I'd wait until everything was settled before I would go in and start an opening statement.

I didn't want any distractions. And that moment, that moment where either you hit a home run or you struck out. What was that like as you're standing there, Michael, and everybody's, you know, that out and that rugged terrain, people are looking for this girl who's probably dead. Well, it was, it was very difficult to, for me in my head head to put together how someone could do hurt someone in such a beautiful area i mean you know if you just look at the landscape it's so tranquil and you're in nature and it's really just gives you an idea of how impressive our country can be if you just go out into the national parks and and look around in nature and another thing i want to note you know when the search crews were leaving after they found the body, there were people with teary eyes in those vehicles as they were pulling out.

And it was so, I think it was not only upsetting for everyone watching, but the volunteer search and rescue crew who was up there helping the investigators, I mean, it must have hit them pretty hard, too. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. You know, Dr. Alan Blotke, clinical and forensic psychologist, joining us out of Birmingham. Dr. Blotke, I guess everybody on this panel may do this because I did and still do. If I let myself think about the details that Michael Ruiz and Audrey Conlon are telling us, I get overwhelmed, flummoxed. I have to have tunnel vision and look only at the facts for their probative value. What do they prove?

What can I prove with this fact? What can I prove with that fact? Because if you think about the human aspect, best case scenario, leaving her body there to be destroyed by animals and decompose, like rotting fruit, or killing her, or just leaving her chasing the van, don't leave, don't leave, don't leave, as he has done before. Those are really the only three scenarios. If you think about that, it's overwhelming. It's hard to keep going. What is that part of us that switches it off so we don't compartmentalization? Is that what it is?

Yeah, exactly. Being able to compartmentalize. Because like you said, if you stick with the emotional part of it, it's overwhelming and it's upsetting and it paralyzes you. And you have to get away from that. You have to put it in your back pocket, stay focused as best you can on the facts, on the reality of it. In order to make progress and in order to do what needs to be done for this young girl. Yeah, Cheryl McCollum, you and I have been in the trenches, and I mean in the physical trenches in so many crime scenes across Atlanta and Metro Atlanta in the middle of the night, early morning,

hot sun, hot afternoons. And I was just thinking, Cheryl, about what I think it was Michael said, Michael Ruiz, that when a lot of the searchers left, they started crying. But in the moment, they performed, how many times, I mean,

have I had to just pull off the road, leaving a crime scene or an autopsy or a day in court and just, oh, break down. I could just see them after finding Gabby's body. You know, they did what they had to do. They processed the scene and then just go to their car and fall apart. You know, you and I both have talked about when we were younger, To Kill a Mockingbird was a very influential book for both of us. And there's a part of that book where it says some of us are chosen for the unpleasant jobs. And that's just

true. There are a lot of times where you and I both have been inside a crime scene that was just evil. And what another person can do to another is just unspeakable. But we're in the middle of it. And we have got to make sure that the worst thing has happened, but we're going to daggum well do something about it. And so we have to rise to that occasion. Now, again, once that's over, we're human, and we're going to react like anybody else is going to react at the loss of this incredibly beautiful young life that should not have happened. Oh, yeah, talk about should not have happened, where a male caller, not the cops in Moab that separate them, and you've got the body cam, and I thought the cops were very, very gracious. Although I think Laundrie was the aggressor. I think they got that part wrong.

But there's another 911 call where they see Brian Laundrie slapping and hitting Gabby as she's running up the sidewalk, and then they drive away. So, yes, there were all the warning signals. But Joe Scott Morgan, and we're going to circle back to Brian Laundrie. Where the hay is he right now? But Joe Scott Morgan, I guess everything, I don't think you liked anything that Michael Ruiz or Audrey Collins said, because they're talking about the vastness of the scene, animal activity, the elements,

you know, it's cold, then it's hot, then it's rainy, then it's wet. What is that going to do for this medical, this medical exam that as we speak is probably right now entering the Teton County coroner's office to commence the autopsy on Gabby Petito. And we go to air right now with this in our minds that that's what's happening right now. Yeah, all of those elements are going to play into the final judgment that this forensic pathologist makes, Nancy, because the environment that a body is found in is going to dictate, most importantly, the rate of decomposition. And as you well know, time is the biggest issue here. When we're trying to develop a timeline as to what has happened, this has got to be one of the most confusing cases relative to evidence, where people were, all these sorts of things.

And everybody is looking at this body that to this point is not officially identified as that marker in time. Don't you think the ID from the tattoos? I don't believe in tattoo ID. I think that I want scientific ID. It's a great place to start. That's not what I asked you. They came out and said, while we don't have an official ID, we think it's Gabby. Why did they think it was Gabby?

I assume because of the color of the hair, which would still be attached to the scalp, and the possibility that her tattoos were still intact. Yeah. We're making a big... Wait, who's that? Is that Dale? It's Dale. Personal items would tell you as well. You mean her clothes? Sure, her clothes, anything like that would give you a clue.

In combination, it's like a... So you find a piece of luggage that's hers, you find a mark on her arm that's hers from the tattoo. All those things in combination tell you pretty quickly whether it's her or not. And I can assure you the Bureau is not going to go on live and say it's her when it's not. Yeah, you're right about that, Dale Carson, your former FBI agent. Joe Scott, that I've immediately jumped the next step. And that is if they could identify her from a tattoo.

Well, you know what that means. That means she still her skin is still on her body, which may mean we're going to get a cause of death. Yeah, we very well might. And we will. We will. They'll come up with something at this point, but not today. It's not going to happen today. Everybody needs to just dial it back.

What if they see dark bruise marks on her skin? I can tell you why. We've been doing this long enough, Nancy, that all of us understand what they're going to come out and do is they're going to say this is going to be pending toxicology. That's what they're looking. This is a big piece of this. Remember that moment in time when she was on the side of the road and she was saying, I'm suffering from OCD. I've got anxiety issues. And there's also been this has been floating around out there that both of these individuals were without medication. Now, I can tell you they're going to want to determine what was in both in her system

specifically. They're going to want to know that because, again, this goes to the narrative, the investigative narrative about the behavior. Gotcha, gotcha. They're not going to pull the trigger too early on this. So bottom line, they're not going to give us a COD cause of death today, although I want one, but I think they're going to know. They're going to say they're waiting on toxicology, but they're going to know.

If they're going to ever get the COD, they'll have it today. They'll be able to determine, is there deep tissue bruising under her neck and the muscles? Are there strangle marks on her neck? Is there a stab wound to her body, a nick to one of the bones? Guys, could it all have been avoided? Take a listen to our cut 115, the 911 call. Grant County Sheriff's Office. Were you able to get cut 115, the 911 call. I'm driving by and I'd like to report a domestic dispute. Florida with a white van. Florida license plate. Whiteland.

Gentlemen. Where's it at? Five, six years. They just drove off. They're going down Main Street. They made a right onto Main Street from Moonflower. What were they doing? Cooperative.

But what did you say? What were they doing? We drove by and the gentleman was slapping the girl. He was slapping her? Yes, and then we stopped, they ran up and down the sidewalk, he proceeded to hit her, hopped in the car, and they drove off. Okay, you said it's a white van? White van, I can give you the license plate if you give me one sec.

I took a picture of it. Crime stories with Nancy Grace. They ran up and down the sidewalk. He proceeded to hit her, hopped in the car, and they drove off. Okay, you said it's a white van? White van. I'll give you the license plate if you give me one sec. I took a picture of it. You just heard a 911 call that was played. It went to the sheriff's office. This is not the same incident where the Moab police saw Gabby's van jump up on a curve and then they stopped them. You've all seen that body cam footage. This is an entirely different thing. Same jurisdiction, but remember they were talking about the Moonflower Co-op?

This was before they were pulled over. Another 911 call comes in and the witness sees Brian Laundrie slapping and hitting Gabby. Then, as I understand it, they go on and then they jump a curb and are going a few miles over the speed limit. Then they're pulled over. Then the body cam happens and you never hear Gabby one time state, Brian Laundrie just hit me and slapped me. In fact, they named her as the aggressor. They're very gracious and very kind and very professional, but they named her the aggressor. But I believe she showed all the hallmarks of being a battered

woman. That said, we've got a whole nother can of worms as the search for Brian Laundrie resumes. Audrey Conlon joining us from Fox News Digital. The search for Brian Laundrie has resumed. What's happening? We've got reporters down in Florida right now in Northport. Police are still searching the reserve down there near his near Brian's home near his family's home. They concluded their search I think yesterday I'm not sure about that but they resumed this morning so they're still searching in that area but so far there's been no signs at all at either his family's home or in the reserve. They have moved to the other side. They're in the Venice side of the reserve now, which is only a short distance from the

family home, about two and a half miles. So they're just taking up another area that they're going to do a matrix search on looking for him. Del Carson, are they out there with tracker dogs? Absolutely. They've still got a time frame for him. And if he's moving about, you know, damp weather is better for dogs than fire. So yes, absolutely.

They're going to find him if he's in that area. And remember when they took the car, they were looking in that car to determine whether or not he actually used that car to go to that other location where the car was ultimately found. Because after that search, they decided we'd better go back. He's not in the house. We've searched that thoroughly. We better to hell go back to the preserve, the reserve rather. Yeah. you said something really important delcar says straight out to cheryl mccullum joining us they thought there

was a chance he was in the home when the fbi swarmed the home yesterday because witnesses say that one of the feds said look in there and was holding a gun in a big garden container that had a top on it and they hit the top off and looked in there. So obviously they were thinking Brian Laundrie may be there. Guys, the FBI and police have announced they are resuming the search for Brian Laundrie right now in a 25,000-acre Florida reserve. This is the rainy season. Much of it is underwater. There are times where cops are having to,

searchers are having to wade through two and a half, three feet of water looking for Brian Laundrie. They called the search off yesterday. They're back at it today. Joe Scott Morgan, if Dale Carson is right, and there are tracker dogs out there, if Brian

Laundrie had killed himself out in this preserve, they would know it very quickly, I believe. Yeah, yeah, they would. However, they are going to want specific cadaver dogs as well. So that's going to be an interesting point relative to what kind of resources are they bringing out there? Are they going to use bloodhounds to look for a living individual? Are they going to go back and get a cadaver dog that is actually trained for this? So this is something the media needs to keep a very, very close eye on. You would think so. And this is the other thing.

If he is intent on and he knows he's purposed in what he's doing to kill himself, let's just put that out on the table, it's going to be even more difficult to find him if he's gone to a specific location that's in the water perhaps, which I've actually had happen. In this environment, it's going to make it doubly difficult to find his body. I'm still not buying that he's deceased, though. As the dangers work for search crews, they're wading through gator and snake-infested swamps and flooded hiking and biking trails.

Cheryl, was that you jump in? This is Dale. His mama. Nope. Dale, this is really important. His mama is not acting in a way that would be indicative of her believing that her baby is not alive. She's out getting coffee. She is, you know, waiting Tuesday. She's waiting Wednesday.

She's waiting Thursday. She's waiting all day Friday before she reports him, quote, missing. She ain't out there searching for him. She ain't frantic. She ain't got the priest at her house. She's not begging any friend that she might have left to look for him. She don't believe it, and neither do I. Devoid of urgency, I got to say, Mac. So, Dr. Aliblocki, based on what Cheryl and Dale Carson and Joe Scott are saying about the mother's own behavior, let me throw this at you. You're the shrink. If he were remorseful over what happened to

Gabby, why would he wait till now to kill himself? I mean, what's the likelihood? I know this is a crap shoot, but why would you go out into a swamp, snake and gator infested, soaking

wet reserve to kill yourself. Yeah, I don't buy it either. I don't buy that he's trying to kill himself. Is this blocky? Yes. Go ahead. Go ahead, doctor.

I don't buy that he's trying to kill himself. None of it makes sense. Like you said, he hasn't been remorseful since day one. Everything he's done has been to avoid it. Save his own skin. Right. And to hide, to hide, to hide so i i don't buy that this is a suicidal mission he may end up deceased but i don't believe this is a suicidal

mission which leads me to one of my old adages you've all heard when you don't know a horse look at his track record he with his parents help had been hiding him and all pertinent evidence since September 1. Why would they stop now? Hey, guys, here's an update. Take a listen to our cut. 117. This is Brendan Kirby, Fox 10 in Mobile. A check with Mobile Police here and also with the Mobile County Sheriff's Office.

Lots of tips coming in but nothing confirmed all this exploding on social media with people posting on facebook and twitter about supposed sightings of brian laundry over the weekend here in the mobile area some have indicated that with certainty that he's been here in the mobile area law enforcement officers have been today busily trying to run down those leads. But a spokeswoman for Mobile Public Safety Director Lawrence Batiste tells me that none of those leads produced anything solid. They may not have produced anything solid, but do we believe, Michael Ruiz, Fox News Digital, that Brian Laundrie has been cited? Well, I do think that the social media tips are very helpful in this case. I mean, they've led us to a few breaking news incidents,

incidences that people around the country recognize his face now. And people are seeing what his movements and they're very alert for that. And they're sharing that information with authorities. And I sort of closing in on someone on the lam right now um audrey conlon reporter fox news digital cops are probing a brian laundry siding in alabama near mobile uh what if anything do we know now i do know uh there at tillman's corner that a body was found near Walmart. It's not him. That was a homeless person, not Brian Laundrie. But what about these sightings, Audrey? Is there anything to them? Like Mike mentioned, I think social media tips can be really helpful, but they also need to be

scrutinized. They need to be looked at by law enforcement, by the FBI to determine if they're real or fake. And I think the authorities are probably handling that in this case about the sighting in Mobile. I don't know for certain if it was a real sighting or not. I've seen conflicting reports, so I can't speak to that. If somebody gave him a ride, I'm guaranteeing you that that vehicle is being processed right now for fingerprints. If we even have his fingerprints back home. Guys, right now, let's keep in mind that the autopsy on this beautiful girl, Gabby Petito, is occurring as we speak, as you are listening. She's being autopsied, cut open to find a cause of death.

This, as a search for Brian Laundrie resumes, and let me tell you one thing. I don't know what's going to happen at the end of the day with the cause of death or finding Laundrie today, but I can tell you this with certainty. If the COD is homicide, there's going to be hell to pay. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend.

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