NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – The manhunt for Brian Laundrie continued Monday as Dog the Bounty Hunter, who recently joined the weeks-long search in Florida, handed evidence to the FBI, and as a hiker claimed to have seen the 23-year-old fugitive near the Appalachian Trail about two weeks after Laundrie's parents reported him missing in Florida.
10 a.m., Oct. 4: DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER TURNS OVER EVIDENCE TO FBI
Duane Chapman, aka Dog the Bounty Hunter, handed evidence to the FBI as he and his team continue their search for Brian Laundrie, nearly three weeks after he was last seen by his parents in Florida on Sept. 14.
Chapman has been searching in the area of Fort De Soto Park, south of St. Petersburg, in recent days.
In an interview with “Fox & Friends” on Monday morning, Chapman said he has received hundreds more tips.
“We’ve got tips from here to Tennessee and beyond,” Chapman said from St. Petersburg.
Chapman said his team found a “primitive” campsite in Florida on Friday “that had some promising things around it.”
“We’ve gathered up all those things with gloves and baggies and turned them over yesterday to the FBI,” Chapman said. “We’re talking with the FBI and working with law enforcement.”
Chapman tweeted video Sunday showing him waist-deep in water “on the islands off the west coast of Florida.”
“He could be island hopping back and forth,” Chapman said of Laundrie. “So we’ve left cameras in places where he’ll never see them.”
“We are covering these islands like mosquitoes would a banana,” he added.
Asked why he was focusing on leads in Florida instead of other states, Chapman said, “I know for sure he was here. To say he’s here right now, I can’t tell you that 100%. But we’re keeping concentrated on the search where he was last with the parents and his sister.”
Chapman was referring to Brian’s parents, Chris and Roberta, as well as his sister, Cassie, who spent time together at a campsite in Fort De Soto Park in early September, days before Brian went missing.
9:30 a.m., Oct. 4: GABBY PETITO’S FATHER POSTS A NEW INSTAGRAM TRIBUTE TO HER
Gabby Petito’s father, Joseph Petito, posted a new tribute to her on Instagram on Monday morning.
“We have to do better,” he wrote in the post, which appeared to include a photo of Petito. “Changes are coming. Now is the time. Don’t be silent.”
He also included the hashtags #domesticviolence and #domesticviolenceawareness.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
1:45 p.m., Oct. 3: APPALACHIAN TRAIL HIKER CLAIMS HE SAW BRIAN LAUNDRIE NEAR NC BORDER
A Florida man who was visiting the Appalacian Trail feels "100%" convinced he spoke to Brian Laundrie in Tennesse, near the North Carolina border, around midday Saturday.
Dennis Davis told multiple outlets over the weekend that he believes he spotted Laundrie driving a white pick-up truck as David was making a U-turn on Waterville Road, near the trail.
"There is no doubt about it. That was Brian Laundrie I was just talking to. 100%. Not a doubt in my mind," Davis told Fox News.
Davis said the man he believes to be Laundrie drove up to Davis as he was making the U-turn and flashed his truck’s lights, signaling that Davis could complete his maneuver.
After, Davis said the two had a brief conversation on the road.
"I pulled up alongside of the vehicle," Davis said.
“I rolled my window down and I started talking with the gentleman. I could tell right away that something wasn't right with him,” Davis continued.
Davis claimed the man appeared “mentally shot” as he explained that he was heading to California to meet up with his girlfriend, whom he said he'd been fighting with.
"He said, ‘Me and my girlfriend had a fight, and man, I love her, and she called me, and I need to go out to California to see her,’" Davis added.
After the conversation, Davis looked up photos of Laundrie and felt convinced enough to alert both the FBI and local authorities of the sighting. Local sheriff offices in North Carolina have said they've received several tips of Laundrie sightings but haven't been able to verify them.
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