Brian Laundrie’s remains confirmed to have been found in Florida park

Skeletal remains found in a Florida reserve have been confirmed as Brian Laundrie.

The FBI matched the remains to the missing fugitive’s dental records just over 24 hours after they were discovered in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park.

Follow all the latest on the Brian Laundrie search here.

On Wednesday, the lawyer for Mr Laundrie’s parents revealed personal items belonging to the missing fugitive had been located in a Florida reserve near his home.

In a statement, family lawyer Steve Bertolino said: “Chris and Roberta Laundrie went to the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park this morning to search for Brian.

“The FBI and (North Port Police Department) were informed last night of Brian’s parents’ intentions and they met Chris and Roberta there this morning.

“After a brief search off a trail that Brian frequented some articles belonging to Brian were found. As of now law enforcement is conducting a more thorough investigation of that area.”

Footage shot by a news helicopter above the reserve showed a tent has been erected in the location where Mr Laundrie’s items are believed to have been discovered.

The Sarasota County Medical Examiner has been called out to the nature reserve to examine the items.

ABC News reported that the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office have sent a human remains detection team was requested to go to the nature preserve on Wednesday by North Port.

The team consists of one dog, a handler, and two spotters.

The news was first reported by NewsNation reporter Brian Entin.

On Wednesday morning, Chris and Roberta Laundrie were seen going into the park, which is next to the Carlton Reserve.

Fox News reported that a law enforcement officer was seen telling his parents that they “might have found something.”

Chris Laundrie was seen “continually moving in and out of areas of the bush”, Fox reported.

They later what was described seeing Mr Laundrie carrying a “white bag and a dark-colored object” after walking through through a clearing.

Fox said Chris and Roberta were seen placing the object into a bag and handing it over to a law enforcement officer.

The Independent has approached the FBI and North Port police for comment.

The five-week search for Mr Laundrie has largely focused on the Carlton Reserve in Florida, which is close to the Laundrie’s family home in North Port.

His parents say he headed to the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, which connects with the reserve, for a hike on 13 September. They originally gave the date of his disappearance a day later but later revised their statement.

Mr Laundrie is said to have departed carrying only a backpack and is known to have driven there in a silver Mustang, which the family has since collected.

While authorities scaled back the search at one point, they later returned to the area with divers to continue hunting for traces of Mr Laundrie among the park’s alligator-infested swamplands.

The Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park is a heavily wooded reserve that had been closed for more than a month during an FBI-led search for Mr Laundrie.

It reopened to the public on Tuesday, the city of North Port announced.

Mr Laundrie has been named a person of interest in the homicide of his girlfriend Ms Petito, whose remains were discovered in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming on 19 September.

Mr Laundrie disappeared from his parent’s home in North Port five weeks ago, and authorities later charged him with illegally using her bankcards after her death.

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