12°
It came with a banner message: "Aloha Brian Laundrie."
While "Dog the Bounty Hunter" -- whose real name is Duane Chapman -- says the plane wasn't his idea. But, he said, it was a good one.
“Frankly, I wish I had thought of that, but it wasn’t our team,” joked Dog. “I’d love to shake the hand of whoever is behind the banner, I’ll tell you that.”
Chapman claims to have discovered a fresh campsite on Florida's Shell Island as he taunts Gabby Petito's 23-year-old boyfriend that he will find him.
Laundrie and his parents visited the park on Monday, Sept. 6, and Tuesday, Sept. 7, according to the family attorney.
But Dog believes Laundrie never left the park when his parents pulled out and drove back to their North Port, Florida home in Sarasota County.
Petito, age 22, of the hamlet of Blue Point in Suffolk County, was reported missing by her mother on Saturday, Sept. 11, after learning Laundrie had returned from the couple's cross-country "van life" trip alone in her white Fort Transit van.
Her body was found days later on Sunday, Sept. 19 in Wyoming. The manner of her death was determined a homicide by the medical examiner.
Since returning to Florida on Wednesday, Sept. 1, Laundrie has refused to talk with law enforcement and has been missing for more than two weeks after claiming he was going out for a hike.
During a ground search, the larger-than-life Dog and his team reportedly recovered a can of Monster Energy Ultra Gold which appeared to have been freshly drunk at a makeshift campsite deep in the woods, according to an Instagram post by Chapman.
However, the search team did not find any other evidence suggesting that Laundrie, who is a person of interest in the homicide of Petito is on Egmont Key.
The team used boats and K9 units to search the area.
"This would be and could be a perfect spot for him to hide, not too many people out here, but there's a lot of environmental things that we're gonna fight," he said in a video posted to Twitter.
Meanwhile, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies have scaled back their search of a nature reserve near Laundrie's home; the last place he is known to have visited before disappearing.
In addition, on Tuesday, Sept. 28, Petito's parents begged Laundrie to turn himself to the police during a press conference.
"The Laundries did not help us find Gabby," said the Petito family attorney Richard Stafford. "They sure aren’t going to help us find Brian. For Brian, we are asking you to turn yourself in."
The FBI is asking anyone with information or sightings of Laundrie, to contact them at 1-800-CALL FBI or submit tips at tips.fbi.gov.
This continues to be a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Hamilton Township and receive free news updates.
