NEW YORK – Authorities plan to “scale back” their manhunt for Brian Laundrie at a Florida nature reserve more than a week after the intensive search began.
The ongoing search of the Carlton Reserve was set to resume Monday, a day after a memorial service was held for Gabby Petito on Long Island and the FBI returned to the Laundrie home in Florida.
Here’s the latest:
8:30 a.m. EST, Sept. 27:
AUTHORITIES TO ‘SCALE BACK’ SEARCH FOR BRIAN LAUNDRIE AT FLORIDA RESERVE
Law enforcement agencies plan to “scale back” their search for Brian Laundrie at the 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve in Sarasota County, nine days after the search began on the weekend of Sept. 18.
“I don’t think you’re going to see those large scale types of efforts this week,” North Port Police Department spokesman Josh Taylor told Fox News on Monday.
“The FBI is now leading the search. I’m told it will be scaled back and targeted based on intelligence. Hopefully, water will lower in areas hard to currently access,” Taylor said.
Authorities have been searching the largely flooded reserve by land and air after Laundrie was reported missing by his parents on Sept. 17, three days after they say he left for the reserve. An arrest warrant has since been issued for Laundrie.
7 a.m. EST, Sept. 27:
TV ANCHOR SUSPENDED AFTER DISPUTE OVER GABBY PETITO COVERAGE
An anchor for Fox-owned station KTVU in the San Francisco area was reportedly “suspended indefinitely” following a dispute over the coverage of Gabby Petito.
Frank Somerville wanted to add a tagline at the end of a report about the case that questioned the “extraordinary” level of media coverage surrounding it, according to The Mercury News.
Somerville, who is the adoptive dad of a Black teenage daughter, reportedly wanted to mention that missing person cases involving women of color and Indigenous people often don’t receive as much coverage, an issue referred to as "missing white woman syndrome."
Station management deemed the tagline inappropriate and told Somerville that he was suspended the next day, sources told The Mercury News. Somerville had returned to the air just weeks prior; he was forced to take an indefinite leave of absence to “focus on his health” after he reportedly slurred and stumbled over his words during a newscast back on May 30.
KTVU faced criticism online this weekend after Somerville was suspended.
5 p.m. EST, Sept. 26:
MOURNER REMEMBER GABBY PETITO AT LONG ISLAND MEMORIAL SERVICE
Hundreds of mourners grieved Gabby Petito's tragic death on Long Island, with her dad delivering an emotional eulogy to attendees.
Long lines formed outside the Blue Point funeral home for a public memorial service that ran through the afternoon for members of Petito's hometown. The event was live-streamed and drew thousands of viewers.
"When you leave here today, be inspired by what she brought to the table because the entire planet knows this woman's name now. And she's inspired a lot of women and a lot of men to do what's best for them first," Joseph Petito said at Moloney's Holbrook Funeral Home.
Petito also made an apparent reference to Laundrie, when giving advice during his eulogy.
"If there's a relationship that you're in that might not be the best thing for you, leave it now," he said.
3:15 p.m. EST, Sept. 26:
FBI VISITS LAUNDRIE HOME AGAIN, REPORTEDLY FOR 'DNA MATCHING'
The FBI was filmed briefly visiting the home of Brian Laundrie's family in North Port, Florida, to collect items for DNA matching purposes, according to multiple outlets.
"The FBI requested some personal items belonging to Brian Laundrie to assist them with DNA matching and Brian’s parents provided the FBI with what they could," Steven Bertolino, Laundrie's lawyer, told Fox News.
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