Brian Laundrie’s cause of death under investigation

Updated: Oct 26, 2021 / 04:25 AM CDT

NORTH PORT, Fla. (NewsNation Now) — Brian Laundrie’s cause of death is still under investigation as anthropologists examine his remains, the Laundrie family lawyer said Monday.

“No manner or cause of death was determined,” Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino said Monday to NewsNation affiliate WFLA. He also confirmed there would be no funeral service for Laundrie.

Brian Laundrie’s remains were found last week after more than a month of searching a 24,000-acre Florida reserve, law enforcement sources told NewsNation. Personal items, including a backpack and a notebook believed to belong to Laundrie, were also found.

The items and remains were found in a swampy area — home to alligators, snakes, coyotes and other wildlife — that had previously been underwater, according to Michael McPherson, chief of the Tampa FBI office.

The Laundrie family left their North Port, Florida home over the weekend following the discovery of the remains.

“The family is grieving privately somewhere in Florida,” Bertolino said to NewsNation’s Brian Entin.

It had been weeks since any firm new details emerged in the case as authorities searched for the boyfriend of Gabby Petito. Brian Laundrie’s parents say they last saw him Sept. 13, when they said he drove to the 24,000-acre Carlton Reserve. He was reported missing Sept. 17.

The Carlton Reserve connects to the 160-acre Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, which is a heavily wooded area near an interstate freeway. North Port police said the remains were about a 45-minute hike north into the Carlton Reserve.

Petito, 22, vanished while on a cross-country road trip with Brian Laundrie in a converted camper van. The trip was well-documented on social media until it abruptly ceased, allegedly somewhere in Wyoming.

Petito was reported missing Sept. 11 by her parents after she did not respond to calls and texts for several days. Petito’s body was found Sept. 19 just outside Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. A Teton County coroner said earlier this month that Petito died by strangulation three to four weeks before her body was found.

Brian Laundrie was a person of interest in Petito’s death.

The Associated Pres and NewsNation affiliate WFLA contributed to this report.