# Van lifer goes missing on cross country trip with fiancee **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 13, 2021, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604 "2021-09-13T13:48:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 50
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/984 "2021-10-20T18:00:07Z")
There are reports that partial human remains were found near his backpack at the Brian Laundrie search site. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/985 "2021-10-20T18:07:36Z")
NBC News producer: > > > Shawn Reynolds @ShawnReynolds\_ ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/986 "2021-10-20T18:09:34Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Apparently the parents took law enforcement to the site. If they have known where he was all this time, then I hope they face charges for their inaction. So you want Americans to be required to help the police? OK, we should probably start by repealing the 5th Amendment. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/987 "2021-10-20T18:09:43Z")
And the cadaver dog has been called out too. [Brian Laundrie: Medical examiner and cadaver dog called to park where investigators found Laundrie’s items - CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/20/us/brian-laundrie-update-gabby-petito/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/988 "2021-10-20T18:26:07Z")
Man Recounts Alligator Attack Where Laundrie Manhunt Ensues [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/cCE6HJXhwDw/maxresdefault.jpg "Man Recounts Alligator Attack Where Laundrie Manhunt Ensues") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCE6HJXhwDw) ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/989 "2021-10-20T18:27:09Z")
So the parents contact law enforcement with a suggestion on where to search, meet law enforcement at that location, and after a “brief search” find some belongings. Got it. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/990 "2021-10-20T18:47:59Z")
> **[Apparent human remains found after Brian Laundrie's possessions located in...](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/brian-laundrie-s-personal-items-found-florida-nature-reserve-medical-n1281975)** > > Laundrie, considered a person of interest in the Gabby Petito case, has been missing for five weeks. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/991 "2021-10-20T19:37:59Z")
Is this a separate area in the big reserve they’ve been searching? I’m puzzled why buzzards and other birds didn’t reveal this spot weeks ago. Hoping for closure for both families. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/992 "2021-10-20T19:42:21Z")
It sounds like the body was under water until recently. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/993 "2021-10-20T19:44:20Z")
It’s part of the same overall wilderness, the Carlton Reserve and the Environmental Park that is, I think they are both within a larger state park (Myakka River State Park.) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/994 "2021-10-20T19:44:24Z")
Or in a large alligator. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/995 "2021-10-20T19:48:03Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m puzzled why buzzards and other birds didn’t reveal this spot weeks ago. I’ve seen this comment before - I’d think that things are dying in the swamp all the time, so birds and buzzards gathering is not uncommon. And if he was in underbrush, under a tree canopy, or underwater not sure that you would even get a classic buzzards/ravens/etc circling in any case. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/996 "2021-10-20T19:53:44Z")
The search for Gabby and Brian found 5 other bodies. They’re unrelated cases but the media attention helped in recovery. > **[Manhunt for Brian Laundrie leads authorities to at least 5 bodies of missing...](https://nypost.com/2021/10/20/brian-laundrie-hunt-leads-cops-to-5-bodies-of-missing-persons/)** > > While the 23-year-old remains on the lam more than a month after skipping out of his family’s Florida home, the other bodies have been found in areas where authorities have been looking ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/997 "2021-10-20T20:38:15Z")
The press conference has concluded. The FBI confirmed that apparent human remains have been found. Not much other information released. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/998 "2021-10-20T20:41:46Z")
Unsurprising, police basically never talk much about a recovered body until basic processes have been followed and completed. I imagine if it’s identifiable as Brian we will know within a day or so at most. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/999 "2021-10-20T21:05:10Z")
So many questions… How could it be that after a solid month, the parents suddenly thought of an area in the park where Brian might be? Or if they knew where he was all along, what would have made them suddenly be concerned enough to contact police? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1000 "2021-10-20T22:11:21Z")
They found a backpack and notebook near the remains. It’s most likely Brian Laundrie. It’ll take a few days for authorities to confirm. > **[Partial human remains found near Brian Laundrie’s backpack and notebook, FBI...](https://www.wfla.com/news/sarasota-county/brian-laundrie-police-block-entrance-of-myakkahatchee-creek-environmental-park-again-as-search-continues/)** > > Law enforcement officials searching for Brian Laundrie found partial human remains in the Carlton Reserve on Wednesday near personal items that belong to the 23-year-old, according to the FBI. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1001 "2021-10-21T00:43:09Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > So you want Americans to be required to help the police? OK, we should probably start by repealing the 5th Amendment. No. I’m saying that if the parents were obstructing the investigation or participating in a cover-up, then they should be held to the amount of account the law allows. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1002 "2021-10-21T00:59:04Z")
I would say it is 90% chance that the remains are his, 10% chance that it is another victim of his being used to slow down the search while he tries to get away. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1003 "2021-10-21T01:11:50Z")
I’m wondering, did he off himself and did animals scavenge, or did he get killed by a gator? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604.md?page=49) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604.md?page=51)