Neighbors of Brian Laundrie, Gabby Petito’s fiance, claimed Wednesday that they witnessed the family leave home with an “attached camper” a week after Laundrie returned.
Petito was killed during a cross-country trip the couple took together and authorities continue searching for Laundrie. Charlene and William Guthrie have lived directly across the street from the Laundrie family since the early summer of 2021 in North Port, Florida, according to Fox News. The couple told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum that they assumed the Laundries were going on a camping trip after they saw them packing up the camper attached to their pickup truck.
“I was doing some work in the front yard and I noticed they got a new camper for the back of the pickup,” William said, according to the outlet. “I saw them loading it up, so I assume they were preparing for a camping trip with the new camper.” He added that it was “odd” that the parents would take their 23-year-old son on a camping trip in a small camper.
The couple told MacCallum they also saw the white van used by Petito and her fiancé during their trip. The vehicle appeared in police body cam footage where Petito can be seen hysterically crying and saying that she was enduring “personal issues.”
“We didn’t know it was Gabby’s [van], we just assumed it was [Brian’s] van,” Charlene said, according to Fox News. “We just thought they had come back from wherever. We didn’t know they were on a trip. We just assumed they went back to their house or wherever they got a house…We didn’t know much about them at all.”
‘STRUCK ME AS ODD’: Laundrie’s neighbors say they saw Brian take trip with parents after Gabby vanished https://t.co/TMZVF7e4R1 pic.twitter.com/SDRHiOtpth
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 22, 2021
The couple said they informed the police that the family went on a trip, Fox News reported. (RELATED: Parents Of Missing 22-Year-Old Woman Ask Fiance’s Family To Disclose Her Location If They Have ‘Any Decency Left’)
Chris and Roberta Laundrie pushed back on reporters’ questions regarding their son’s whereabouts on Thursday morning, The New York Post reported.
“Mr. and Mrs. Laundrie, do you know where he is? Can you tell us?” a reporter asked, according to the outlet.
“Go,” Chris replied. “I’m going to go that way, I’m going to go that way.”
The couple were removed from their home Monday morning after FBI agents swarmed their home with a court-authorized search warrant.
Laundrie returned home Sept. 1, but was reported missing by his parents Sept. 17. Authorities identified Petito’s body in the Grand Teton National Forest on Tuesday, ruling her death a homicide.