Brian Laundrie's Days on the Run Are Numbered as Top Special Warfare Experts Join the Hunt
Bounty hunter Duane Chapman’s search for Brian Laundrie has been augmented by two- and four-footed allies.
“We got a bunch of volunteers. … Most of them are former law enforcement, former Navy SEALs and Marines,” he said, according to Newsweek. “So we’re on the hunt, I feel real good about it.”
Chapman, also known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, said a K-9 unit has had a “little bit of action” in Florida.
“These dogs are trained to track the scent, the adrenaline of a human — not, like, a sock — and find the guy, so these dogs are incredible,” he said.
A spokesperson for Chapman said in a statement that “Dog does not care who brings [Laundrie] in, just that he is apprehended.”
Laundrie is wanted in connection with the death of his girlfriend, Gabby Petito.
On Friday, Chapman’s team announced that it has law enforcement support.
“As an example of Dog’s cooperation with law enforcement, a plain clothed officer is embedded with the search team today. No other details are available,” Chapman’s PR firm said in a statement, according to the Daily Mail.
Chapman has also kicked in $10,000 of his own money to the reward for finding Laundrie, according to Newsweek.
“Whenever there is a case like this, people naturally send him messages and info because of his past track record as a bounty hunter,” a spokesman for Chapman said.
“He and his wife, Francie, have been working tirelessly on all the leads pouring in and are glad to be able to help in some small way in the hopes that Brian Laundrie can be located,” he said.
One expert said that time is running out in the manhunt for Laundrie, whose parents last saw him on Sept. 14.
“Time is that one thing that we are constantly fighting in law enforcement,” said Bryanna Fox, a former FBI special agent and associate professor of criminology at the University of South Florida, according to CNN.
Petito’s body was found last month in Wyoming. Her death has been declared a homicide.
Laundrie’s parents say they do not know the whereabouts of their son.
“They are concerned about Brian and hope the FBI can locate him,” wrote attorney Steven Bertolino, who represents Chris and Roberta Laundrie.
“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.”
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