'We need justice for Gabby:' Gov. DeSantis dispatches FWC to help search for Brian Laundrie

Gov. Ron DeSantis has directed all state agencies to help hunt down Brian Laundrie, the person of interest in the Gabby Petito case.

The governor said the order was in response to a request from North Port police, explaining that Florida Fish & Wildlife officers were among those assisting federal and local law enforcement.

"We need justice for Gabby Petito," DeSantis wrote.

Laundrie, 23, is a person of interest in the disappearance of Petito, his fiancée, who was last seen alive in August.  The two were traveling together across the country until he returned home to Venice in their converted van without her.

A body was found Sunday in Wyoming, not far from where social media users spotted the van in footage posted by tourists from Tampa. An autopsy is underway today but investigators believe it is Gabby.

Laundrie himself has not been seen in a week. His parents retrieved his car from the preserve in Venice last week, and law enforcement is now into their third day of searching the swampy 25,000-acre site.

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Brian Laundrie

North Port police said the preserve’s "unforgiving terrain" was made even more harsh by the soaking rain that fell for much of the day Monday.

Meanwhile, deputies in Okaloosa County looked into a possible sighting of Laundrie on a rural game trail camera, but later said nothing came of their search.

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