Police searching for boyfriend of woman who went missing during couple’s US road trip
Police are searching for the boyfriend of a woman who went missing while the couple were on a road trip across the US.
Officers in Florida say they are working with the FBI to find 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, regarded as a person of interest in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito.
Mr Laundrie is understood to have returned home to Florida in early September alone, after the pair left in July on a cross-country trek in a converted van to visit national parks in the American West.
Police bodycam footage showed Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito getting quite emotional while speaking to officers
Late last week, police in Utah released bodycam footage, captured on 12 August before Ms Petito’s disappearance, that showed her crying and an officer talking to Mr Laundrie after the pair were pulled over.
Officers decided to separate the couple, giving Ms Petito the van and putting Mr Laundrie into a hotel room for the night.
While they were travelling, much of their journey was documented on social media accounts, but the online content abruptly stopped and Ms Petito was last in contact with her family in late August.
Mr Laundrie later came back to Florida in the van, and Ms Petito was reported missing by her family 10 days later on Saturday 11 September.
Now, Mr Laundrie’s family have told officers they haven’t seen him since Tuesday.
Police said the first time they had been able to speak to the Laundrie family in detail about the case was on Friday evening, and that the meeting came at the family’s request.
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Police bodycam of missing Florida woman
A lawyer for the family called FBI investigators and said they wanted to talk about Mr Laundrie’s disappearance, police added.
North Port police said in a statement on Friday: “It is important to note that while Brian is a person of interest in Gabby’s disappearance, he is not wanted for a crime.”
It added that the investigation is now a “multiple missing person” case.
Mr Laundrie’s lawyer, Steven Bertolino, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday night.
He had previously said that “intimate partners are often the first person law enforcement focuses their attention on”, and that he had advised Mr Laundrie not to speak.
Lawyer’s for the Petito family released a statement saying: “Brian is not missing.”
“All of Gabby’s family want the world to know that Brian is not missing, he is hiding. Gabby is missing,” the statement from the law office of Richard B Stafford said.
Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito’s white transit van has been seized by police. Pic: North Port Police
Earlier in the week, Ms Petito’s family pleaded for the Laundrie family to tell them where their son last saw her. Ms Petito and Mr Laundrie were childhood sweethearts who met while growing up in Long Island, New York.
His parents later moved to Florida.
In the body cam video released by Moab Police Department in Utah, Mr Laundrie said the couple got into a minor scuffle that began when he climbed into the van with dirty feet.
She told officers she slapped and scratched Mr Laundrie, saying: “I was trying to get him to stop telling me to calm down.”
He said he didn’t want to pursue a domestic violence charge against Ms Petito, who officers decided was the aggressor, and Mr Laundrie added: “It was just a squabble. Sorry it had to get so public.”
Ms Petito was reported missing on 11 September
The police’s conversation with the family on Friday came shortly after North Port police chief Todd Garrison expressed frustration that Brian Laundrie was not helping.
The police chief had earlier tweeted: “Two people left on a trip and one person returned!”
Meanwhile, a sheriff in Utah said on Friday that detectives had determined there was no connection between Ms Petito’s disappearance on the trip and a still-unsolved fatal shooting of two women at a campsite near Moab – the same tourist town where police intervened in the fight between Ms Petito and Mr Laundrie.
Fourteen people have died after the US launched its latest attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, which it says were transporting illegal drugs to the country.
It brings the total number of dead from 13 airstrikes to 57, amid increasing tensions between the US and the governments of both Colombia and Venezuela.
A 30-second video posted on X by the US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, showed four vessels exploding on Monday on what he said were the orders of US President Donald Trump.
Analysis: Is Trump going to attack Venezuela?
One of the boats appears to be piled high with packages.
Mr Hegseth, who is with Mr Trump on a tour of Asia, said US forces carried out “three lethal kinetic strikes on four vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organisations (DTO) trafficking narcotics”.
They were identified as drug boats by US intelligence, he said, travelling on “known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics”.
A total of 14 “male narco-terrorists” onboard were killed, he said, “with one survivor”, who was rescued by Mexican authorities.
Narco-terrorists “have killed more Americans than Al-Qaeda, and they will be treated the same. We will track them, we will network them, and then, we will hunt and kill them,” he added.
The condition and whereabouts of the survivor are not known.
President Trump and Japan’s Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, in Tokyo on Tuesday. Pic: AP
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaking to troops on the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, in Japan. Pic: Reuters
It is the latest in a series of attacks on boats the US says have been carrying drugs in both the Pacific and Caribbean, and comes as Washington continues its military build-up in the latter, deploying guided-missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine and thousands of troops.
The administration has ordered the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier and its supporting strike group to the region, and it is expected to reach the Caribbean in the coming weeks.
Mr Trump has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of leading a drug-trafficking organisation, which he denies.
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September- ‘drug boat’ attacked by US military
Mr Maduro has repeatedly claimed that the US wants to drive him from power, while some in Venezuela believe the military build-up is aimed at destabilising his government and ultimately forcing regime change in Caracas.
Mr Trump has also authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
The Pentagon has provided little information about any of the strikes, including the quantity of drugs the boats allegedly carried and the identities of those killed.
Read more from Sky News:
Venezuela opposition leader wins Nobel Prize
Trump may have another motive in war on drugs
Democrats in Washington have asked whether the attacks comply with the laws of war, while legal experts have asked why the US Coast Guard, the main US maritime law enforcement agency, hasn’t been involved and why other efforts to stop the shipments have not been tried first.
Venezuela’s government says the strikes are illegal, amount to murder, and are acts of aggression.
In August, the Trump administration doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million (£38m).
US warships in the region, the green light for covert operations, and deadly strikes on what the Trump administration claims are “narco terrorists” – could America’s next move be to strike Venezuela?
President Donald Trump has accused President Nicolas Maduro of leading an organised crime gang (without providing evidence) and declined to answer when questioned if the CIA has the authority to assassinate him.
In return, the Venezuelan leader has accused Mr Trump of seeking regime change and of “fabricating a new eternal war” against his country, as he appealed to the American people for peace.
The rhetoric coming out of the White House, coupled with the presence of military ships in the region, has raised questions about a possible armed conflict between the US and Venezuela.
The question in the air is: Will the US actually attack Venezuela?
The USS Gravely destroyer arrives in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on 26 October. Pic: AP
What are US warships doing?
The docking of the USS Gravely guided missile destroyer in the capital of Trinidad and Tobago – just 25 miles from the coast of Venezuela – is the latest incident to escalate tensions.
Venezuela’s government condemned the arrival and called it a provocation by Trinidad and Tobago and the US.
The USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier – the largest warship in the world – is also moving closer to Venezuela.
Satellite image shows USS Gerald R Ford on 25 October off the coast of Croatia, a day after the announcement it would be deployed to the Caribbean. Pic: EU Copernicus
It comes as the US has acknowledged carrying out at least seven strikes since September on vessels near Venezuela that it claims were transporting drugs, killing at least 32 people.
Venezuela’s government says the strikes are illegal, amount to murder, and are acts of aggression.
Earlier this month, Trump confirmed he has authorised the CIA to carry out covert operations – including lethal operations – in Venezuela.
The CIA has a long history of operations in Latin America, with actions varying widely from direct paramilitary engagement to intelligence gathering and support roles with little to no physical footprint.
What could happen?
To get an idea of what could happen next, Sky News spoke to Dr Carlos Solar, an expert on Latin American security at the RUSI defence thinktank.
He says the level of military strategy the US is applying around Venezuela seems “unproportionate” for the task of tackling drug trafficking.
In Venezuela, the government has civilians trained in the use of weapons to defend the country in the event of a US attack. Pic: AP
“A build-up this size can only suggest there’s a strategic military goal,” he added.
Dr Solar says the role of the CIA is “not surprising”, as the US often deploys spying capabilities in countries deemed adversarial.
“With the chances of a military conflict looming, having the most intelligence capable on the ground would be reasonable.”
The world’s largest warship, the USS Gerald R Ford, has been tasked to the Caribbean. File pic: Reuters
Asked what could happen next, Dr Solar told Sky News: “One scenario is Trump authorises a round of long-range precision attacks in Venezuela’s territory linked to drug trafficking operations, eventually forcing Maduro to reciprocate later.
“We saw this early in the year when the US attacked Iran’s nuclear facilitates and Tehran returned missiles to US bases in Qatar.
“If the US decides to move more strongly, destroying all critical military targets from the Venezuelan forces, then the US could have Maduro surrender and leave the country immediately.
“This would be the least disruptive without causing greater destabilisation of the country.”
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Venezuelan President: ‘We don’t want a war’
What does Trump say about Venezuela?
Trump said his reasons for the strikes on vessels were the migration of Venezuelans, allegedly including former prisoners, to the US – and drug trafficking.
“I authorised for two reasons really,” he said. “Number one, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America…they came in through the border. They came in because we had an open border,” he told reporters. “And the other thing are drugs.”
He has accused Venezuela of trafficking huge amounts of cocaine into the US, and alleged Mr Maduro is the leader of the Tren de Aragua gang – a claim most of his own intelligence agencies do not support.
President Donald Trump is currently on a tour of Asia. Pic: Reuters
The US leader has not provided evidence for the claim about prisoners, and Sky News chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay pointed out the fentanyl drug that is causing destruction in America is largely manufactured in Mexico, not Venezuela.
“We are looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” Mr Trump added. It is not clear what actions this could entail.
The Pentagon recently disclosed to US Congress that the president has determined the US is engaged in “a non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels.
When asked if the CIA has the authority to execute Maduro, which would be a massive intervention, Trump declined to answer. Instead, he said: “I think Venezuela is feeling heat.”
Read more:
Venezuela opposition leader wins Nobel Peace Prize
Trump may have another motive in escalation of war on drugs
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro. Pic: Reuters
What does Venezuela’s leader say?
Maduro has been in power since 2013, including re-elections in contests marred by accusations of fraud.
The last decade has seen his country gripped by spiralling hyperinflation and a humanitarian crisis that has seen an estimated eight million Venezuelans flee the country.
As the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier moved closer to Venezuela, Maduro accused the US government of “fabricating a new eternal war” against his country.
Venezuelan ambassador to the UN, Samuel Moncada, holds a newspaper article about a recent US military strike. Pic: Reuters
“They promised they would never again get involved in a war, and they are fabricating a war that we will avoid,” he said in a national address.
“They are fabricating an extravagant narrative, a vulgar, criminal and totally fake one,” he added, perhaps a reference to Trump’s claim that he is the leader of the Tren de Aragua gang and that his country trafficks cocaine into the US.
“Venezuela is a country that does not produce cocaine leaves.”
Members of Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Guard. Pic: Reuters
Tren de Aragua, which traces its roots to a Venezuelan prison, is not known for having a big role in global drug trafficking but instead for its involvement in contract killings, extortion, and people smuggling.
Venezuela has raised a complaint to the UN Security Council and demanded accountability from the US.
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