Human Remains Found Near Brian Laundrie's Backpack and Notebook

Human remains were discovered in Florida's Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on Wednesday, but investigators didn't say if they belong to Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the death of his fiancée, Gabby Petito.

Law enforcement has been searching for Laundrie for weeks after his parents reported him missing on September 17. Laundrie returned alone to Florida from a cross-country trip with Petito at the beginning of September and was last seen heading off on a camping trip at the Carlton Reserve on September 13.

His disappearance sparked a widescale manhunt and on Wednesday, some of his belongings, including a backpack and notebook, were found in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park. His parents had joined the search for their son that morning and a medical examiner was called to the park, which connects to the Carlton Reserve.

The FBI acknowledged that people have questions regarding what was found and said they were "diligently" working to obtain the answers. An evidence response team was using "all forensic evidence" to process the area where the human remains and belongings were found.

The newest development in the case comes a month after the Teton County Coroner confirmed that the body found in near Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park was Petito's.

"Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue confirmed the remains are those of Gabrielle Venora Petito, date of birth March 19, 1999. Coroner Blue's initial determination for the manner of death is homicide. The cause of death remains pending final autopsy results," FBI Denver wrote in a tweet.

Shortly after Petito was reported missing, Laundrie's parents told the North Port Police Department in Florida that they had not seen their son for several days.

"The search for Brian Laundrie continues Sunday morning in the Carlton Reserve. A team of more than 50 looking for anything of note after his parents say this is where he went," the North Port Police Department wrote in a tweet on September 19.

Petito went missing while on a cross-country road trip with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, 23. Her family, who live on New York's Long Island, said they last communicated with their daughter during the last week of August. They reported her missing to the Suffolk County Police Department on September 11.

Ten days before that disappearance report, Laundrie returned to his parents' home in North Port, in Petito's white 2012 Ford Transit van.

In a statement on September 15, the North Port Police Department said, "As of now, Brian has not made himself available to be interviewed by investigators or has provided any helpful details. We know Brian returned here to North Port on September 1st—ten days before her family reported her missing on September 11th. We have no information that a crime occurred here in North Port."

The statement continued, "Brian Laundrie is a person of interest in this case."

The North Port police also said Petito "is believed to have been in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming."

While the two were traveling in Utah in August, the Moab Police Department was called following an "altercation" between Petito and Laundrie. Body camera footage showed Moab officers speaking with both of them, but no charges were filed.

Laundrie's lawyer, Stephen Bertolino, issued a statement in response to his client's refusal to speak to police about Petito's disappearance.

"In my experience, intimate partners are often the first person law enforcement focuses their attention on in cases like this, and the warning that 'any statement made will be used against you' is true, regardless of whether my client had anything to with Ms. Petito's disappearance," the statement said.

"As such, on the advice of counsel, Mr. Laundrie is not speaking on the matter," Bertolino said.

At the end of Wednesday's hearing, people could be heard chanting, "Justice for Gabby."