Brian Laundrie's dad says he searched for his son one day EARLIER than he vanished

Brian Laundrie’s dad has now said he went searching for his son in the Florida nature reserve one day earlier than they first claimed he had gone on the run, in what marks the latest change in story from the fugitive’s family.

The Laundrie family’s attorney Steve Bertolino told CNN Christopher Laundrie went to the Carlton Reserve near the family home in North Port to look for the 23-year-old on the night of September 13 when he failed to return from a hike at the park.

Christopher’s search was allegedly unsuccessful and so he returned with Laundrie’s mom Roberta the following day, he said.

Then, Laundrie’s parents allegedly noticed their son’s Ford Mustang with an abandoned vehicle notice on it, he said, but left it there. They then returned again the next day – September 15 – and took the vehicle back to their home.

North Port police confirmed Wednesday the notice was placed on the car on September 14 when it was found at 6968 Reisterstown Road, North Port, in the Myakkahatchee Environmental Park in Florida. The park is an entrance to the Carlton Reserve. 

Despite being concerned enough to make multiple trips to look for their son, Laundrie’s parents appeared to forget how long it had been since they last saw him when they finally admitted to police several days later that he had gone on the lam.

Laundrie’s parents told authorities on September 17 that they hadn’t seen him for the last three days, claiming they last saw him carrying a backpack and heading to the Carlton Nature Reserve near their home in North Port for a hike on September 14. 

On Friday, Christopher refused to make any statement when he briefly broke cover from his home to collect his mail and retrieve a trash can before ducking back inside where they have been holing up over the last few weeks. 

The day earlier, he was seen in photos obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com smiling and chatting away to FBI agents as he joined the three-week-long manhunt for his fugitive son for the first time. 

The latest developments in the case are:

• The Laundrie family’s attorney said there are ‘no’ plans for Christopher or Roberta to join Friday’s search
• North Port Police poured cold water on report a ‘fresh campsite’ was found in the Carlton Reserve Wednesday
• The conditions in the swampland are said to be improving making the hunt easier to navigate 
• FBI is also investigating 11 alleged sightings of Laundrie along the Appalachian Trail near the North Carolina-Tennessee border
• Police said they had Laundrie under surveillance in the days before he was reported missing   
• Investigators confirmed neither Petito or Laundrie’s phones were found in the couple’s campervan 
• It emerged that Laundrie’s Ford Mustang was found just 16 miles from the Carlton Reserve last month 
• Petito’s family said the 22-year-old’s body is still in Wyoming and their ‘top priority’ is to bring her home 
• They revealed her body was found ‘a five minute walk’ from where the van had been seen parked
• The family issued another plea to Laundrie to ‘turn himself in’ in an interview with Dr. Phil    

In three-day period between September 14 and 17 when the Laundries claimed their son had vanished, Christopher and Roberta kept mum about his disappearance.

The family had lawyered up and refused to allow investigators to speak to him ever since the cops came knocking on September 11 – the day his fiancee Gabby Petito was reported missing. 

Now, the fugitive’s parents have claimed they actually ‘believe’ Laundrie set off from their home on September 13, meaning their fugitive son had a four-day headstart before they finally reported him missing to authorities.

The discrepancy in the timeline first surfaced Tuesday when Bertolino admitted the parents may have gotten muddled over the date when they last saw their son. 

Bertolino said they now ‘believe’ he went on the run one day earlier than they first claimed.

The new details about the extent to which the parents searched for him indicates they were fully aware – and even concerned – that he had vanished on September 13. 

Bertolino brushed off the inconsistency putting it down to ‘recollection of certain events’ – at a time when police were making repeated efforts to speak with him and his fiancee was missing. 

‘The Laundries were basing the date Brian left on their recollection of certain events,’ he said. 

‘Upon further communication with the FBI and confirmation of the Mustang being at the Laundrie residence on Wednesday September 15, we now believe the day Brian left to hike in the preserve was Monday September 13.’ 

Bertolino also insisted Laundrie’s parents believe he is still in the Carlton Reserve, where Christopher joined FBI agents in the search for his son Thursday.

‘No, they don’t believe he’s in another area. They believe he is in the preserve,’ he said. 

It is not clear why the Laundries did not alert authorities to their son’s disappearance for four days.

Nor is not clear if investigators have proof of his presence at the Laundrie family home at all from when Petito was reported missing on September 11 to when his family revealed he was on the run. 

Investigators have confirmed they never spoke to or saw Laundrie on September 11 as his family lawyered up and denied police entry to their home to speak with him. 

Instead, the timeline of his disappearance appears to largely rest on accounts given by Christopher and Roberta – accounts that have changed over time.  

Questions continue to mount about what Laundrie’s parents know about the doomed cross-country trip and their son’s current whereabouts. 

Petito’s parents said they had tried calling and texting the Laundries multiple times when they grew concerned about not hearing from their daughter in early September – but they never replied.  

Laundrie’s sister Cassie has also questioned her parents’ involvement in her brother’s disappearance, urging them to ‘come clean’ about what they know in an interview with ABC’s GMA, which aired Tuesday.  

While she insisted she had nothing to do with Laundrie’s disappearance, she admitted she wasn’t so sure about her parents Christopher and Roberta Laundrie who she urged to cooperate with investigators.

‘I don’t know if my parents are involved,’ said Cassie. ‘I think if they are, then they should come clean.’   

Laundrie’s headstart on authorities has so far proved to be problematic for investigators who are yet to locate the 23-year-old after a three-week-long manhunt.   

Christopher was asked to join the search of the snake-and-alligator infested Carlton Reserve Thursday after the inconsistencies came to light in his and his wife Roberta’s version of events. 

The 62-year-old appeared to not have a care in the world as he was spotted laughing and chatting away to an FBI agent who bizarrely bore some likeness to his fugitive son in exclusive DailyMail.com photos. 

He was asked to point out any favorite trails or spots his son frequented in the reserve, spending several hours in the park with around five officers while a police helicopter circled overhead. 

Thursday’s search served up ‘no discoveries’ while a report that a ‘fresh campsite’ had been found Wednesday was also denied by investigators. 

The Laundrie family attorney said there were no plans for Christopher or his wife Roberta to join the FBI Friday but said conditions in the swampland were improving, raising hopes the search could be smoother.  

‘It seems the water in the preserve is receding and certain areas are more accessible to search,’ said Bertolino. 

‘The entire Laundrie family is grateful for the hard work of the dedicated members of law enforcement that have been searching the preserve for Brian over the last few weeks. 

‘Hopefully, Brian will be located soon.’  

He insisted Laundrie’s parents believe ‘that is exactly where he is located.’

A source close to the Laundrie family told CNN’s Chris Cuomo Wednesday ‘traces’ of a ‘fresh campsite’ had been found in the reserve.

But North Port Police spokesperson Josh Taylor poured cold water on this claim Friday confirming ‘no campsite’ was found.

‘Is it possible that they thought that there might be a campsite out there or something they may have seen from the air but when they go on the ground that’s not what it turned out to be?’ said Taylor.

‘Sure, I think that’s a possibility. Bottom line, is that investigators are telling me that no campsite was found out there.’

North Port Police in Florida revealed Thursday that the sole person of interest in Petito’s homicide had been placed under surveillance in the days before he went on the run.

Police spokesperson Josh Taylor told CNN Laundrie was being closely watched by authorities to the best of their abilities at a time when Petito was still classed as missing and not dead and when a warrant had not yet been issued for Laundrie’s arrest.

Taylor provided no further details about the extent of this surveillance or how Laundrie was then able to slip through the net.   

Police also confirmed they have not recovered the phones Petito or Laundrie had with them on the doomed cross-country trip. 

Neither phone was found in the couple’s white campervan when it was seized by authorities.  

Last week, it emerged the FBI was investigating a line of inquiry that Laundrie had bought a burner from an AT&T store in North Port around September 14.

Brian is said to have visited the store to purchase the phone accompanied by an older woman and federal agents seized surveillance footage from the store.    

There has also been speculation that both Laundrie and his mom were in possession of burner phones.  

The Laundrie family attorney Steve Bertolino said Laundrie bought a new phone in the days after he returned home to Florida without his fiancee.

He then left that phone when he went on lam and the FBI has taken it into their possession, he said.  

The development comes as Petito’s family revealed her body is still in Wyoming – more than two weeks after she was found back on September 19.

Richard Stafford, the attorney representing the Petito family, told Fox News: ‘Gabby’s body is still in Wyoming and bringing her home is the family’s top priority.

‘The family is also working hard to help other families in their situation. That is why they are creating the Gabby Petito Foundation.’ 

Petito’s family revealed this week that the 22-year-old’s body was found in a fairly isolated area, just ‘a five minute walk’ from where the couple’s van had been seen parked.   

In an emotional interview with Dr Phil, on Wednesday, Petito’s stepfather Jim said: ‘Her body was found — I guess it would be in front of a tent, if that’s what was there — or just in front of the fire ring… there was definitely a fire ring there.’

‘It wasn’t far from the van. It was a five minute walk,’ Petito’s mother, Nichole Schmidt echoed.  

Jim, who visited the location on the outskirts of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming where Petito’s body was found, painted a vivid picture of the isolated area.

‘You would have to want to go out over into that area,’ he said.   

Jim said his stepdaughter’s remains were found in an area of dispersed campgrounds on the borderline of Bridger-Teton National Forest, about 40 feet away from where Grand Teton National Park begins. 

He explained in order to get to that area, campers would have to cross over the creek bed that separated the campgrounds from the area where the van had been parked.

‘So you have to cross over this creek bed, this rock area, and go through these tributaries and once you get on the other side it’s just some trees sparsely placed throughout and a lot sage brush, a lot of low brush,’ he shared.

‘It was in an area where there was a few trees and there was the remnants of a fire ring there… There was a clearing where I would assume – knowing I have a similar tent, where I would place my tent – and that opening would face out overlooking the mountain range.’

Jim left a stone cross and flowers in the exact location where she was found.     

Petito, 22, and Laundrie, 23, set off on July 2 on the adventure of a lifetime traveling across America in their white campervan and chronicling their adventures on YouTube. 

On September 1, Laundrie arrived back at his family’s home in North Port without his fiancée but driving their van. 

Petito was reported missing on September 11 by her mom after not hearing from her daughter for multiple days and coming up against a wall of silence from Laundrie and his parents. 

The Laundrie family lawyered up and refused to let cops speak to him about his fiancee’s whereabouts.

His parents then reported him as missing on September 17.

Petito’s body was discovered at a campsite near the Grand Teton National Park on September 19 and her death has been ruled a homicide. 

It is not clear how she died. The FBI said it believes she was killed between August 27 and August 30.

The last reports of Petito being seen alive were on August 27 when witnesses said they saw the couple involved in a ‘commotion’ in a restaurant. 

Local police and the FBI have now been searching for Laundrie for three weeks.