GABBY PETITO: FL police blame Laundrie family's 'lack of cooperation' for case mix-up; officials still holding remains

Laundrie
Photo credit Octavio Jones/Getty Images

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- The remains of Brian Laundrie are still in the hands of officials at this point, according to the family's attorney Tuesday. It comes after the lawyer said Monday that Brian's remains will be cremated, and no funeral service will be held for him.

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Meanwhile, Florida police are still explaining what led to them saying that they knew where Brian Laundrie was last month, when they in fact did not.

Here's the latest:

1:15 p.m., Oct. 26: FL POLICE BLAME LAUNDRIES FOR MIX-UP, ATTORNEY FIRES BACK

After North Port police confirmed they misidentified Roberta Laundrie returning home in mid-September as Brian, they're now pinning some of the mix-up on the family's lack of cooperation in the case.

North Port Police Public Information Officer Josh Taylor told NewsNation Now that officers thought they saw Brian coming home Sept. 15 in a Ford Mustang, but it ended up being his mom Roberta. Taylor said because Roberta was wearing a hat, officers were confused, which led to North Port police saying the next day that they knew Brian's location.

Taylor claimed that the misidentification didn't make much of a difference in the case, telling WFLA, "Other than confusion, it likely changed nothing. There is a very good possibility that Brian was already deceased."

But Taylor did also add that, "We just wanted people to better understand why we thought we knew Brian was in his home. It was a direct result of a lack of cooperation from the family early on in this investigation."

Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino fired back at Taylor in a text to WFLA, saying, "I concur with Mr. Taylor that Brian may have already been deceased when NPPD realized that they 'lost track' of him. However you can’t blame the family because the police didn’t know enough to follow someone they were obviously surveilling."

"This is a tragedy for two families and any mistakes made by anyone or any entity involved should be acknowledged and used to train or educate others so the mistakes are not repeated," Bertolino continued.

Bertolino also said that without the confusion, it could have "prevented all of the false accusations leveled by so many against Chris and Roberta with respect to 'hiding' Brian or otherwise financing an 'escape.'"

12:45 p.m., Oct. 26: OFFICIALS STILL HOLDING LAUNDRIE REMAINS

Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino said Tuesday that Brian's remains are still in the possession of officials.

Bertolino told Fox News that Brian's remains haven't yet been turned over to his parents, and wasn't sure when more information would be released.

10 a.m., Oct. 26: PETITO FOUNDATION POSTS ART FROM FL MEMORIAL

The Instagram page for the Gabby Petito Foundation posted a collection of some of the art that was brought to the North Port, Florida memorial for Gabby.

The account posted the collection, which included paintings and drawings of Gabby, and some messages close to the family's heart like "Let it be" and "Fly high, travel far."

The page in just a few weeks has already amassed over 27,000 followers.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Octavio Jones/Getty Images