Police in North Port, Florida, have acknowledged they made a potentially critical mistake in the first days after Brian Laundrie’s disappearance: they mistook his mother for him behind the wheel of the family’s silver Mustang, authorities say.
Florida police admit they mistook Brian Laundrie’s mother for him
That was before Laundrie’s family reported him missing, North Port police spokesman Josh Taylor confirmed in an email to Telemundo 49 on Monday night. And it was long before the feds issued that warrant for his arrest for debit card use.
Police were keeping a close eye on Gabby Petito’s ex-fiancé, 23, as he was the last known person to have contact with her before her disappearance. Her mother reported her missing on September 11. Two days later, Laundrie disappeared.
She reportedly drove her mother’s silver Mustang to Myakkahatachee Creek Environmental Park, the same area where her remains were recovered last week. As reported, his family went looking for him, found the Mustang abandoned but not her son, and Roberta Laundrie drove the car back home on September 15.
When the Mustang returned, North Port police believed it was Brian Laundrie behind the wheel, not his mother, Taylor said. He was wearing a baseball cap.
During that critical week in September, North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison said, “All I’m going to say is we know where Brian Laundrie is,” according to WINK News, which first reported the department’s admission of error.
That comment was made on Sept. 16. Laundrie’s parents officially reported him missing the next day, according to the chronology previously given by police.
