Frustration grows as day 5 of the search comes to a close, and the public wants to know why police are searching Carlton Reserve for Brian Laundrie. The answer? Because they know something we don’t.
Editorial / Option Piece
“Come on!!! You are wasting your time [at Carlton Reserve]. Brian Laundrie’s parents are obviously good manipulators. They have you believing he’s there, but he’s not!”
If you look at the North Port Police Facebook page, you will find that 90% of the comments share the same sentiment: Despite a massive 5-day search, Brian Laundrie is not in the Carlton Reserve. Police should not be searching there, and it’s obvious they’re there under the direction of Brian Laundrie’s parents (Laundrie’s parents told police their son went to the nature area over a week ago to “meditate” and ‘hike”. When he did not return home, they notified police three days later).
It’s clear the general public has questions and is feeling extremely disillusioned with the direction the search is headed, especially as days continue to pass without Brian Laundrie being located.
But let’s think about this rationally. Law Enforcement is searching that Reserve for a very particular reason. A reason we likely won’t know details of until Brian Laundrie is found.
The FBI has taken the reigns, and personnel from 65 different agencies are on the ground aiding. And it’s not just humans assisting in the search for Brian Laundrie. Swamp buggies, boats, drones, helicopters, and planes have also been deployed. Think of the expense — this is likely costing hundreds of thousands of dollars per day, and the treacherous terrain poses a real danger to those involved.
Something that’s interesting to note is there has never been a BOLO (‘be on the lookout’) released to the public. We haven’t seen any press conference pleas from police or newsflashes with his picture and physical descriptors urging the public to be aware and call law enforcement if spotted. No requests for information about sightings post his Florida return. This speaks volumes and tells us that police don’t believe he is anywhere the public would run into him.
The Laundrie parents have done no favors for themselves in the eyes of public perception by remaining silent. Their behavior comes across as odd and self-serving at very best. They refused to speak to both police and Gabby’s parents when they tried to locate her, instead only opting to summon law enforcement as a last resort when their own child disappeared.
If we as private citizens can pick this up, investigators certainly can as well. The FBI would not stay steadfast on a single search area just because the parents of the most wanted man in America said he was probably there. They know they have a reason to lie.
It’s important to remember that we only know a tiny fraction of what law enforcement knows. With so many massive agencies pooling their resources together to find Brian, something has solidly told them they are on the right track.
What could that be?
The Carlton Reserve has ten game cameras hidden throughout the park to take pictures of wildlife. It’s a distinct possibility Brian has been captured on one or more of those cameras.
For those curious about what Brian could be up against if he is indeed deep within the confines of nature, some of the resident inhibitors include bobcats, jaguars, black bears, wild boars, panthers, snakes, and a whole lot of gators. These are actual photos from the game cameras at the reserve.
Another likely scenario also involves the use of technology. North Port has traffic cameras (Brian was captured on one on September 1st as he arrived back home in Gabby’s van, sans Gabby). More and more homeowners are installing cameras and security systems like Ring. It’s conceivable that home and traffic cameras near or on the route to the park captured Brian entering, but never exiting. We just don’t know what they have. It could even be a physical piece of evidence.
Is it possible Brian Laundrie isn’t in the area? Sure, anything is possible. Is it probable? Reading between the lines (searching a specific area, not alerting the public to be on the lookout), it does not seem like the FBI believes so.
Earlier this week when a resident of Baker, Florida captured an unknown male on his trail cam, the internet was abuzz about the possibility of it being Brian. An anchor from Tampa’s WFLA station mentioned during a live stream that he spoke to police and was told they located the man in the trail camera photo, it was not Brian, and they had no reason to believe Brian would have been in that area. Baker is approximately 500 miles from North Port.
Another common quip heard on social media is that Brian Laundrie has left the country. Since the search has stayed in Florida, this can almost certainly be ruled out. If Brian has a passport, it would have been flagged, and checking flight and travel records is one of the first things investigators do when he a person is reported missing. It’s especially hard to travel out of the country with COVID regulations, and entering and living in another country illegally will require some sort of organization and assistance not readily available to the standard middle-class suburban American. Remember, since he returned home, there have been no credible sightings of Laundrie outside of the North Port, FL general area.
A former federal law enforcement source who is not connected to this investigation (but has participated in a plethora of similar ones in his 25-year career) summed it up well as we discussed the search for Brian Laundrie: “The FBI knows what they’re doing. They aren’t searching on a wish and a prayer or based on a hunch. They follow the evidence, and all evidence they have must point them to T. Marby Carlton Jr. Memorial Reserve. Humans are creatures of habit, and when they hide, 9 out of 10 times it’s somewhere they are familiar with, not far from their own backyard.”
Related Articles: Gabby Petito Press Conference Transcript
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