# 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:** 54
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1064 "2021-10-21T16:49:09Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > My speculation is that it wasn’t the police requests to talk to Brian that spooked them, which was of course completely predictable under the circumstances, but what Brian told them before he pulled his disappearing act. Do you think they hired a lawyer because Brian told them “yes, Gabby and I decided to break up. And now, I think I’ll go into the wildlife reserve and get some fresh air”? Once Brian’s parents realized Gabby’ parents hadn’t heard from Gabby in two weeks and were calling THEM to ask if they knew anything … I think that’s when the gears truly began to turn in the Laundries’ heads. I doubt Brian volunteered anything approaching the truth before this. Although … sometime after Gabby’s parents called, Brian could have told HIS parents something like "_No one will believe this … but I found Gabby’s body and freaked out. I didn’t know what to do. Because of the Moab stop and the fight in public in Jackson Hole … I knew I’d be the only suspect. I couldn’t see a way out. Help me …_ " Though seemingly very unlikely, I still think it’s plausible that Brian Laundrie did not kill Gabby Petito. Most everything we know publicly points to him, true … but a speculative “_I found the body and freaked!_” scenario, IMHO, leads him to adopt a “_No way out, no hope_” mindset and to act pretty much the same way as he apparently did. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1065 "2021-10-21T17:05:23Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I like the conspiracy theory that whoever killed Gabby has now killed Brian in a way that suggests suicide. That’s a good start, but it needs more crazy. And a motivation. I think that while off the main roads, Gabby and Brian stumbled across a cabin in Moab that was hiding the routers that conclusively prove the election was stolen. The Deep State offed both of them, Gabby directly and Brian by zapping his brain with Italian-Jewish space laser beams to make him run and hide in a predator-filled swamp. (And by predator, I mean Predator - those things are invisible) ---
**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 21, 2021, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1066 "2021-10-21T17:18:21Z")
Laundrie’s (potential) body seems to have been found around a kilometer from where his Mustang car was found on September 14. [Google maps - Location of abandoned Mustang at 6968 Reisterstown Road in the Myakkahatchee Environmental Park](https://www.google.com/maps/place/6968+Reisterstown+Rd,+North+Port,+FL+34291,+USA/@27.1192422,-82.1923897,15.27z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x88dcad2fd13172f3:0x818521273997afb9!2s6968+Reisterstown+Rd,+North+Port,+FL+34291,+USA!3b1!8m2!3d27.1201906!4d-82.1965568!3m4!1s0x88dcad2fd13172f3:0x818521273997afb9!8m2!3d27.1201906!4d-82.1965568) > **[Laundrie's Ford was found MILES from reserve where parents claim he went hiking](https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/16349315/brian-laundries-mustang-found-miles-carlton-reserve/)** > > BRIAN Laundrie’s abandoned Ford Mustang was found 16 miles from the Carlton Reserve, where his parents claim he went hiking the last time they saw him. The redacted abandoned vehicle report f… [Google Maps - Location of discovered remains](https://www.google.com/maps/place/27%C2%B007'44.4%22N+82%C2%B011'28.7%22W/@27.1266947,-82.2016236,14.25z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d27.1289887!4d-82.1913102) Here are a couple of aerial views from a Reddit user showing locations and late-September flooding: [![](https://preview.redd.it/scr145uthpu71.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=f12bd8aca2a126c60ffa6031cc710c30696bc8c2) ](https://preview.redd.it/scr145uthpu71.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=f12bd8aca2a126c60ffa6031cc710c30696bc8c2) > **[r/GabbyPetito\_Case - Sept 27 flooding with locations](https://www.reddit.com/r/GabbyPetito_Case/comments/qcg8cb/sept_27_flooding_with_locations/)** > > 92 votes and 12 comments so far on Reddit ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1067 "2021-10-21T17:41:59Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > Also interesting – though there may be a perfectly good explanation – is how come, while the parents are in Florida, this lawyer’s practice is in Long Island, New York? > > Referred to Bertolino by someone local to the Sarasota area? Heck, maybe Petito’s parents’ attorney up on Long Island tipped off a friend in the LI legal community – “_Hey, someone at your firm might want to reach out to the Laundries_”. Both families are originally from Long Island and moved to FL just a few years ago; in fact one of Gabby’s parents still lives on Long Island. Gabby and Brian met at Bayport-Blue Point High School on Long Island, when she was a sophomore and he a junior. He graduated in 2016. The media in that area all use phrases like “Long Island native” in coverage of the story, recent example in the link [Suspected Human Remains Found In Florida Wildlife Preserve Where Authorities Are Searching For Brian Laundrie - CBS New York](https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2021/10/20/gabby-petito-brian-laundrie-search-myakkahatchee-creek-environmental-park-north-port-florida/). ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1068 "2021-10-21T17:44:11Z")
Thanks for that. I wasn’t aware of this background. ---
**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, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1069 "2021-10-21T17:49:14Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > 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. I am changing this to 70/30. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1070 "2021-10-21T17:59:14Z")
Re. the Long Island background, just to add, there are lots of connections between LI and FL. With the high cost of living on LI, there’s a load of LI transplants all over FL as well as people who have condos or timeshares to escape the cold weather. I know of many families who’ve moved there or to SC, NC or TX. 5 families in my son’s 1st grade class all moved to FL or other Sunbelt states at the end of that school year, 2006. It was probably NY family or friends of the Laundries who connected them with the lawyer, whose office is 20 minutes from the HS where Gabby & Brian met. Who knows, maybe they knew him themselves. And here’s a local news site with the story prominent, describing him as “Blue Point’s Brian Laundrie” > **[Long Island](https://longisland.news12.com/)** > > The latest news from Long Island ---
**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 21, 2021, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1071 "2021-10-21T18:11:59Z")
Confirmation that the Myakkahatchee park has alligators: > **[Does Myakkahatchee park have alligators? Laundrie sleuths share theories](https://www.thefocus.news/culture/myakkahatchee-park-alligators/)** > > Some want to know if Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental park has alligators after partial remains, linked to Brian Laundrie were found at Carlton Reserve. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1072 "2021-10-21T18:59:49Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m puzzled why buzzards and other birds didn’t reveal this spot weeks ago. I’ve probably been ninja’d, but the report I heard while listening to news at work today was that the area had been flooded due to heavy rains until very recently. Carrion eating birds generally don’t swim or dive for their dinner. > [@aceplace57](#): > > The search for Gabby and Brian found 5 other bodies. They’re unrelated cases but the media attention helped in recovery. Well, I hope that other families can finally have some answers. > [@cochrane](#): > > The press conference has concluded. The FBI confirmed that apparent human remains have been found. Not much other information released. Well, yes, there would need to be an autopsy and formal identification before much more information could be released. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1073 "2021-10-21T19:02:39Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I’m innocent, and I don’t have an attorney, either on retainer or on speed dial. If police want to talk to me about anything, I’ll happily talk to them. Very bad play. > [@wolfpup](#): > > It didn’t work. It made the parents look guilty and the lawyer look like a fool. To paraphrase from Chris Rock, I would rather look foolishly guilty while at home in my EZ chair watching the History Channel that look innocent inside the county jail cell. It is much better to feather the short term heat from the media than to say or do something that makes you a suspect that could cause your long term incarceration. > [@wolfpup](#): > > But he had a lawyer. So why didn’t he talk to the police? Why did said lawyer also advise his parents to not talk to the police? Because any lawyer who isn’t a fool will tell his client not to talk to the police under these circumstances. All of the country and all of the police think he is a murderer. Unless he has solid proof to convince them otherwise, talking will only give them ammunition to use at a later criminal trial. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1074 "2021-10-21T19:04:46Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > > [@Folacin](#): > > > > > [@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. > > When I was in the Everglades a few years back, the place where we parked to begin our hike was absolutely infested with carrion-eaters, and there was a large bin of tarps to use to cover your vehicle to protect it from the various bodily fluids they would exude… > [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](#): > > This is normal? Holy crap. And… you went in there in spite of this? > _twitch_ Yep, nature isn’t always pretty and almost never tidy… the Carrion Crew does a great service for the rest of us but they gotta pee and poop somewhere and it ain’t gonna smell any better exiting than it did entering… Unrefined nature - it’s like that sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1075 "2021-10-21T19:06:51Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Because any lawyer who isn’t a fool will tell his client not to talk to the police under these circumstances. All of the country and all of the police think he is a murderer. Unless he has solid proof to convince them otherwise, talking will only give them ammunition to use at a later criminal trial. Luckily a lawyer is there for legal advice only, and not advice on how to be a good person. A good person should certainly share their information with the police, even if it incriminates their son. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1076 "2021-10-21T19:09:05Z")
That’s a pretty bold statement. I’m not sure I would so easily jump at the chance to put my children in prison for life. Especially if I wasn’t 100% convinced that they were guilty, which the Laundries are probably not so convinced. Or maybe they aren’t sure if it is murder or manslaughter and they believe that their kid should be punished, but by talking now, he will get more time than he deserves? None of us know, so I think it is unfair to say that they are doing something morally wrong even. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1077 "2021-10-21T19:11:23Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > A good person should certainly share their information with the police, Richard Jewell or the Duke Lacrosse players may disagree with you. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1078 "2021-10-21T19:12:17Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > That’s a pretty bold statement. I’m not sure I would so easily jump at the chance to put my children in prison for life. Especially if I wasn’t 100% convinced that they were guilty, which the Laundries are probably not so convinced. Or maybe they aren’t sure if it is murder or manslaughter and they believe that their kid should be punished, but by talking now, he will get more time than he deserves? > > None of us know, so I think it is unfair to say that they are doing something morally wrong even. I’m sure we can all dream up scenarios in which refusing to talk to the police is a net good. Waiting to see how good a deal their son could get from prosecutors before helping isn’t one of them. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1079 "2021-10-21T19:14:21Z")
Nobody is “dreaming up” anything. When the police are focused on _you_, it is hardly ever a good idea to talk to them. Why would you want to help the police in _that_ situation? If the police are trying to solve a crime that doesn’t involve you or your family, then sure, help away as a good citizen. It is not your job to help put you or your family behind bars, and I’m stunned that you think it is. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1080 "2021-10-21T19:17:08Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > If the police are trying to solve a crime that doesn’t involve you or your family, then sure, help away as a good citizen. It is not your job to help put you or your family behind bars, and I’m stunned that you think it is. It’s certainly not your job to help solve murders, to tell the truth, or to help bring peace to grieving people. But it certainly seems like, in this case, it would have been the right thing to do. ---
**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 21, 2021, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1081 "2021-10-21T19:17:25Z")
Again, keep in mind we have no idea what Laundrie’s parents knew. I would agree if they had any information on where Gabby was, alive or dead, and withheld that from Gabby’s parents that’s deeply immoral. I would say they had a moral obligation, even larger than the moral obligation to their son, to tell Gabby’s family _if they knew something like that._ But I’ve seen no evidence they had any such knowledge. If all they knew is Gabby was missing, they have no idea where, they have no information that can help find her, and that Brian is implicated, I think it is entirely ethical to take the approach of protecting Brian’s right to not incriminate himself and his right to counsel, and his right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1082 "2021-10-21T19:21:13Z")
How do you know this? What information did the Laundries have about the guilt of their son? None of us know this. And if it was a situation, which seems likely, that he told a rather fishy story, why run to the police to provide evidence that may get him convicted of the harshest crime possible when he may have an innocent explanation or be guilty of a lesser flavor of homicide? And why do that to your own child? How is that “right”? ---
**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 21, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1083 "2021-10-21T19:24:36Z")
Also let’s really consider what people have as information in terms of the “parents behaving badly” 1. No evidence the parents even knew Gabby was missing before 9/10 or 9/11. 2. No evidence they hired an attorney until they became aware that Gabby’s parents and police wanted Brian to “answer questions.” 3. On 9/13 (previously 9/14, but the family attorney updated that this was actually on 9/13) Brian goes to a reservoir, which he told his family, and hasn’t come back ~3.5 days later. At which point they contact police. The “big crime” is that they waited 3.5 days? When we have no idea they had any reason to assume Brian was doing anything other than getting some “alone time” out in the wilderness? When Brian **had no warrants out for his arrest or legal limits on his movements?** The police were supposedly surveilling Brian and somehow lost track of him, and that is the parents’ fault? That they didn’t _update the police on where Brian might be, which they had ZERO obligation to do at all, of their own free will, for 3.5 days?_ We wouldn’t even know about the Carlton Reserve if not for Brian’s parents–Brian wasn’t even named in a warrant until 9 days after he went to the Reserve. Brian’s parents actually came forward to police when they were under **no legal obligation to tell the police anything.** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604.md?page=53) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604.md?page=55)