Duane ‘Dog the Bounty Hunter’ Chapman Joins Search for Brian Laundrie, Knocks on Family’s Door
Lending his expertise. Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman joined the search for Brian Laundrie, the missing fiancé of the late Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito. The reality TV star even paid a visit to the home Laundrie and Petito shared with Laundrie’s parents in North Port, Florida, and knocked on the door himself.
“The reason I went to Mr. Laundrie is because I carry a reputation with me. You see me every night on Pluto TV. The reputation is he gives you a second chance. He’s gonna get you, but he gives you a second chance,” Chapman, 68, told Fox 13 Tampa. “So, I thought, well the dad’s gonna see me and crack. I know the kid knows me. [He’s] probably one of my fans. So, I thought the dad would answer and talk. But I was very persistent without disturbing the peace and knocked a few times so they saw it was me. And I didn’t play nasty and put a copy of the warrant on the front door. None of that. I was very respectful. And the dad can still reach out to me through social media. Let’s get the kid captured alive. Alive.”
“Chris and Roberta Laundrie do not know where Brian is,” the Laundrie family’s lawyer, Steven Bertolino, tells In Touch in a statement. “They are concerned about Brian and hope the FBI can locate him. The speculation by the public and some in the press that the parents assisted Brian in leaving the family home or in avoiding arrest on a warrant that was issued after Brian had already been missing for several days is just wrong.”
Laundrie, 23, lived with his parents — father Christopher “Chris” Laundrie, 62, and mother Roberta Laundrie, 55, — at their home with his late fiancée, Petito, before the engaged couple traveled to their hometown of Long Island, New York. In July, they embarked on a cross-country road trip through the American West in Petito’s white 2012 Ford Transit van as the start of their new “van life,” which is a lifestyle of living in a vehicle.
On September 1, Laundrie returned to his parents’ home in the van without Petito. Her family reported her missing on September 11. On September 15, Laundrie was named as person of interest in Petito’s disappearance. Three days later, Bertolino revealed Laundrie had also gone missing and his parents hadn’t seen him since September 14.
The search for Petito ended tragically on September 19, when human remains believed to be Gabby’s were found near the Spread Creek dispersed camping area in Wyoming, one of last places where Gabby was seen alive. Two days later, Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue confirmed the human remains that were found were Gabby’s body and confirmed her dead, according to a press released tweeted by the official Twitter account for FBI Denver. Coroner Blue’s initial determination for the “manner of death is homicide.” On September 22, a warrant for Laundrie’s arrest in relation to his “activities following the death of Gabrielle Petito” was issued.
Chapman explained his next steps will be to “work off leads” to find Laundrie. He cited one of Petito’s friends, who said Laundrie had previously spent several months in the Appalachian mountains, as a potential clue to Laundrie’s whereabouts. “Now, he’s not just a camper, then. He’s an outdoorsman,” Chapman added. “So in order to do that, I think because of his age, he felt comfortable. If there’s anywhere right now that looks the hottest, that could be the area.”
In an interview with Tampa’s News Channel 8, Chapman implored the public to share tips by calling 833-TELL-DOG.
Have a tip? Send it to us! Email In Touch at contact@intouchweekly.com.
