(Trends Wide) — The US District Court of Wyoming issued a federal warrant for Brian Laundrie’s arrest, according to the local FBI office in Denver.
In a statement posted on Twitter, the FBI said the warrant was issued “pursuant to an indictment by the federal grand jury relating to the activities of Mr. Laundrie following the death of Gabrielle Petito.”
The order was issued for “unauthorized device use” related to Laundrie’s activities after Petito’s death.
Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider said that while the warrant “allows police to arrest Mr. Laundrie, the FBI and our partners across the country continue to investigate the facts and circumstances of Ms. Petito’s murder.”
Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie shared photos from their trip through the American West.
Petito’s remains were recovered in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest on Sunday, and a coroner determined Tuesday that his death was homicide.
The couple had regularly posted online about their travels using the hashtag #VanLife, but those posts were abruptly stopped in late August. Laundrie and the truck — but not Petito — returned to his parents’ home in North Port, Florida, on September 1. Her family, unable to communicate with her, reported her missing 10 days later.
Laundrie, believed to be the last person to see Petito alive, declined to speak to authorities investigating his disappearance. His parents then reported him missing on September 17, saying that he had left home three days earlier and had not returned.
Dive team joins Laundrie’s search effort
A law enforcement underwater dive team joined the effort at the Carlton Reservation in Florida on Wednesday.
A large truck and boat from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office arrived at noon Wednesday at the Carlton Preserve, a more than 10,000-acre swampy preserve in Venice, Florida, where Laundrie told his parents he was heading last week. .
The dive team, called the Sheriff’s Underwater Recovery Force (SURF), is made up of “highly trained underwater specialists” who are “called in to search for evidence of crimes and victims of drowning and water accidents.” says the Sheriff’s Office website.
North Port Police said the arrival of the dive team “does not mean that something has been found. It is part of the general search process.”
The team, made up of about 10 divers, was requested by North Port police Wednesday morning, Sarasota Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kaitlyn Perez said.
“These divers are specifically trained and are very talented in low visibility bodies of water,” explained Pérez. “They dive where you and I can’t see anything at all. They use technology and other special equipment to help them dive into really deep bodies of water, so they’re there right now to retrieve whatever it is they can find.”
The fourth day of searching the reserve ended Wednesday night, according to officials.
“Nothing was found. We will be back on Thursday, similar operation,” the North Port Police tweeted.
The ongoing search comes as investigators try to piece together what happened to Petito, 22, and Laundrie, 23, on their road trip in a white Ford Transit truck across the American West this summer.
Laundrie’s search focuses on the nature reserve
Investigators have used ATVs, dogs, drones and more as part of their ongoing search for Laundrie in the Florida nature preserve, where his parents allegedly said he said he would go last week.
Laundrie’s parents told investigators that he left his North Port home with a backpack on Sept. 14 to go to the T. Mabry Carlton Jr. Memorial Reserve near Venice.
Trends Wide’s Randi Kaye and Kari Pricher reported from Jackson, Wyoming, and Madeline Holcombe and Amanda Watts reported and wrote in Atlanta. Eric Levenson reported and wrote from New York. Trends Wide’s Jason Hanna, Steve Almasy, Gregory Lemos, Rebekah Riess, Jennifer Henderson, and Andy Rose contributed to this report.
