By Dan Whitcomb
(Reuters) – Police and FBI agents went to the family home of a missing Florida woman’s boyfriend on Friday but said they did not interview the 23-year-old man, who has refused to speak with investigators.
Police in the community of North Port, 70 miles south of St. Petersburg on Florida’s west coast, said they were summoned to the small yellow home by members of Brian Laundrie’s family.
“North Port Police are currently speaking with the Laundrie Family at their request. At this time, we are not speaking with Brian,” the North Port Police Department said on Twitter. It was not clear if Laundrie was home at the time.
The disappearance of Gabby Petito, 22, and Laundrie’s silence on her whereabouts have made nationwide headlines even as police say they have no solid evidence that a crime has been committed.
Police have labeled Laundrie a “person of interest” in the case but not a suspect. He has not been arrested or charged with a crime.
Several police officers and two FBI agents were seen coming and going from the Laundrie home on Friday, at one point searching a silver Ford Mustang parked in the driveway. They did not appear to remove anything from the car.
Petito and Laundrie left together on a long road trip in June, driving west from New York. They posted pictures and videos on social media as they traveled.
Petito’s family said they lost contact with Gabby in late August, possibly while she was visiting Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Laundrie returned to North Port, where the couple lived, without her on Sept. 1.
Petito’s parents in Suffolk County, New York, reported her missing 10 days later.
Laundrie’s attorney has defended his client’s silence, saying that anything he told police could be used against him later, “regardless of whether my client had anything to do with Ms. Petito’s disappearance.”
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Leslie Adler)
