Amy Love

Opinion Editor

aml7458@psu.edu

After weeks of exploring the vast amount of land in the Carlton Reserve for Brian Laundrie, he was finally discovered on October 20th, 2021. A backpack, notebook, and human remains were found in an area that was previously underwater, but with clearer weather, had dried out and allowed authorities to be able to search the area. It was later confirmed that all of these belonged to Laundrie. 

The search began on September 18, and investigators were dealing with harsh conditions at the time, which posed some challenges. There was high water and dangerous wildlife in the area that investigators had to deal with, hindering the search. There was already skepticism of Laundrie still being alive, as survivalists experts told CNN a few weeks ago that he was likely either no longer alive or not in the reserve at all. 

On October 21, the FBI announced that the dental records confirm the remains to be of Laundrie’s. However, a cause of death has not been confirmed as of yet and is creating a challenge. Jim Clemente, a retired FBI profiler, said that determining the cause of death would be challenging because authorities recovered “skeletal remains.” He continued on to say that “unless there’s some kind of major, serious trauma to the skull that can be identified there might not be a way to determine how he died.” 

Steve Bertolino, the Laundrie’s family attorney, confirmed on October 22 that the remains were being transferred to a forensic anthropologist to further evaluate. They hope to determine the time, cause, and manner of Laundrie’s death. 

There is speculation that Laudries death was a suicide. According to Mark O’Mara, a criminal defense attorney,  “The most reasonable explanation is Laundrie took his own life in the nature reserve.” In an interview with Good Morning America, Bertonlino stated: “We just do not know. Of course, knowing his mental state when he walked out the door, it was always a concern.” 

Laundrie was the financé of Gabby Petitio, who was recently missing and found deceased on September 19 in Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming. Her death was ruled as a homicide and the cause was due to strangulation. Although it has not been exactly confirmed when her death was, it has been estimated that she likely died about three to four weeks before her remains were found. 

Laundrie was not charged for Petitio’s death, although he was a person of interest. He was charged for allegedly using two financial accounts that were not in his ownership after Petitio’s death. 

There are still questions surrounding the case and people have pointed out that the notebook that was found near Laundrie’s remains may answer some of those questions. 

As stated by former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe: “In terms of understanding Laundrie’s motive, his feelings about Petito, maybe even any kind of notes or comments he may have made about the events we’re still trying to understand in Wyoming — that notebook could shed light on those issues.” 

Prior to the investigators finding the remains, Laundrie’s parents joined with law enforcement to aid in the search. Some people have become suspicious of the fact that there was a  sudden break in the case as soon as his parents joined. There was speculation going around that the items were planted, however North Port Police Spokesperson, Josh Taylor, rejected the idea that the belongings in the reserve could have been recently planted. 

The mystery of where Laundrie was has been solved, but there are still many questions that need to be answered that will hopefully be resolved as more information is discovered.