Holly MatkinNorth Port, FL – The star of the reality television show “Dog the Bounty Hunter” announced he has joined the manhunt for Brian Laundrie.
Laundrie, 23, has been named as a person of interest in the death of his 22-year-old fiancé, Gabby Petito.
The couple had been had been touring U.S. national parks in Petito’s converted camper van since early July.
Petito’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, said she last spoke with her daughter on Aug. 25.
Laundrie returned to his family’s North Port, Florida home in Petito’s van on Sept. 1, but she was not with him.
He refused to speak with police or Petito’s family about where he last saw her before he supposedly vanished while hiking in a Florida nature reserve on Sept. 14.
Petito’s body was discovered in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming on Sept. 19.
Her death has been ruled a homicide, but her exact cause of death has not been released.
Police named Laundrie as a person of interest in Petito’s homicide, but investigators have stopped short of labeling him as a suspect.
The U.S. District Court of Wyoming issued a federal warrant for Laundrie’s arrest on Sept. 22 for use of unauthorized devices, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Denver office announced in a press release.
He has been accused of using a Capital One bank card and someone else’s personal identification number to make unauthorized charges or withdrawals exceeding $1,000, according to the Associated Press.
According to the indictment, the unauthorized use of the card occurred from approximately Aug. 30 until Sept. 1.
The name of the card owner was not listed in the indictment, the Associated Press reported.
Dog the Bounty Hunter, whose legal name is Duane Chapman, showed up outside the Laundrie family’s North Port home on Saturday and was seen knocking on the screen door multiple times.
Laundrie’s mother, Roberta Laundrie, ended up calling 911 when he arrived, FOX News reported.
Chapman, 68, said he had already stopped by and talked to the North Port Police Department (NPPD) before he headed over to the Laundries’.
“It’s a shame [Laundrie’s parents] wouldn’t speak with us,” he told FOX News on Monday. “The police said we were welcome to knock on the door so we did. I wanted to tell the Laundries that our goal is to find Brian and bring him in alive.”
Chapman was already leaving the home when police arrived, the 911 recording showed.
#BrianLaundrie parents called the police on #dogthebountyhunter 😒 #GabbyPetito #justiceforgabbypetito pic.twitter.com/TVRImtcPta
— NEWS (@Up2dateVids) September 26, 2021
“We’ve been called to the house numerous times for all sorts of issues: media, protestors, celebrity searchers,” NPPD Public Information Officer Josh Taylor told FOX News. “If the family calls and is concerned, we will respond like we would for anyone.”
Chapman said he doesn’t think Laundrie in in the 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve area police have been searching for over a week.
He said he has received hundreds of tips regarding Laundrie’s possible whereabouts, and that many indicate he could be on the Appalachian Trail.
“That is the most leads coming in right now that say that,” Chapman told the New York Post. “[Petito’s] friend Rose [Davis] said she was 100 percent sure and more that because of his past, being there for two months at a time that she said ‘I’m telling you right now that’s where he headed.’”
He said he also doesn’t believe Laundrie committed suicide because he doesn’t think he seems like a “violent guy” in the videos he has seen of him, the New York Post reported.
Chapman alleged that if Laundrie was involved in Petito’s homicide, the outcome was likely “an accident,” according to the paper.
He said he thinks Laundrie’s parents helped him escape because he could potentially face the death penalty in Wyoming if he is charged and convicted of murdering Petito, the New York Post reported.
“That’s their baby,” Chapman said. “This is not going to jail for 20 years – this is execution.”
Chapman vowed to find Laundrie before the fugitive turns 24 on Nov. 18.
“I want anyone with information on Brian Laundrie’s whereabouts to call me at 833-TELLDOG,” he said, according to the New York Post.
Chapman said he will cooperate with law enforcement officers, but that he will keep the names of anyone who reaches out to him confidential.
“And the dad can still reach out to me, through social media,” Chapman told FOX News. “Let’s get the kid captured alive. Alive.”
