Dog the Bounty Hunter finds fresh campsite on island search for Brian Laundrie

Dog the Bounty Hunter discovered a fresh campsite on Florida‘s Shell Island during Wednesday’s search for Brian Laundrie as a plane flew a sign taunting the 23-year-old fugitive. 

The banner, which was flown over the islands off the western coast of Florida, according to Outsider, read ‘Aloha Brian Laundrie’ and was signed ‘Dog’. 

The TV reality star — real name Duane Chapman, 68 — shared a photo of the banner on his Instagram account, revealing that he was not responsible for the sign.

‘Frankly, I wish I had thought of that, but it wasn’t our team,’ Dog wrote. ‘I’d love to shake the hand of whoever is behind the banner, I’ll tell you that.’ 

During a ground search Wednesday, Dog and his team recovered a can of Monster Energy Ultra Gold which appeared to have been freshly drunk at a makeshift campsite deep in the woods at Shell Island along the coastline Wednesday, Fox News reported.

However, the team did not find solid evidence suggesting that Laundrie, who is a person of interest in the homicide of his fiancée, Gabby Petito, 22, is in the woods on Egmont Key – located southwest of Florida’s Fort De Soto Park.

Dog is likely not searching on Thursday, but will be following up with leads from his temporary headquarters in the Sarasota area, according to a statement from his spokesperson.  

‘This has been a very different search,’ Dog said. ‘Social media has enabled us to do this alongside everyone out there. America is along for the journey with us and I’m ready to do more!’ 

Dog, who announced he was launching a search for Laundrie at the weekend, has focused his attention on the coastline and creeks surrounding Fort De Soto park.  

The TV reality star used boats and K9 units top search the area Wednesday. 

His spokesperson said he has been ‘working on very strong leads’ and that it ‘could very well be the last day of the hunt to apprehend Brian Laundrie’.  

Dog believes it is probable that Laundrie is hiding somewhere in the 1,136 acre Fort De Soto Park area — which is made up of five interconnected islands.

‘This would be and could be a perfect spot for him to hide, not too many people out here, but there’s a lot of environmental things that we’re gonna fight,’ he said in a video posted to Twitter.

It was also revealed Thursday, according to North Port police logs provided to DailyMail.com, that officers received two 911 calls connected to the Launderie family home on September 10 — the day before Petito was reported missing.

The were both ‘public service’ calls, with the first placed just before 4pm and the second around 6.30pm.

It is unclear who called 911 or what those calls entailed as the logs have been partially redacted. However, both calls have been given the brief description of ‘problem settled’.

Officers also received three calls connected to the residence on September 11, the day Petito’s mother filed a missing persons’ report for the 22-year-old.

Those incidents were listed as ‘follow up/investigation’ and ‘agency assist.’ 

Response to the calls was described as ‘problem settled,’ ‘no police action needed’ and ‘report submitted’. 

On Wednesday, Brian Laundrie’s father, Christopher, was spotted breaking cover at the family home Wednesday to pick up a Dunkin’ Donuts delivery and a bunch of flowers that were left on their doorstep in North Port, Florida, as the hunt for his fugitive son continued. 

Photos obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com show Christopher Laundrie inching outside momentarily to collect the supplies before he ducked back inside the property that his family used to share with their son’s dead girlfriend Gabby Petito.  

Laundrie’s mother, Roberta, was also seen in the doorway helping her husband with the goods but stayed inside away from the crowd of protesters who continued to make their presence known to the couple.

It is not clear who sent the Laundries the bunch of flowers but dozens of bunches have been left at a makeshift memorial to Gabby on their lawn as questions continue to mount over the whereabouts of Brian and what his parents know.  

New details have emerged about a camping trip that Brian took with his parents days before Petito was reported missing and around one week before he went on the run. 

Documents obtained by Fox News reveal Brian’s mom changed her reservation for the campsite to three people from September 6 to September 8, after Brian returned home early from his and Gabby’s campervan trip early and alone.   

On August 31, she also reportedly canceled a stay for two people from September 1 to 3, suggestion she may have known Brian was heading home the next day.

The FBI is now examining surveillance footage from the Fort De Soto Park campsite where the family’s attorney admitted the trio visited and Dog the Bounty Hunter believes Brian could be hiding out. 

Monday night, the reality star revealed that Laundrie’s parents spent the night in the campsite from September 1 to 3, staying in spot number 1.

They returned again with Laundrie to stay on spot 15 from September 6 to 8, and left without him, Dog claimed. Records did not show the Laundrie family staying at the park from September 1 to 3.  

The family’s attorney, Steven Bertolino, confirmed all three Laundrie family members went camping at the park from September 6, leaving together the next day – September 7.

‘They all left the park,’ Bertolino said, according to Fox 13. 

Bertolino gave the confirmation after initially saying of Dog’s allegations: ‘I will no longer give that dog credibility or dignify his false claims with the time of my reply.’  

If Dog’s claims that Laundrie’s parents left without him are accurate, the 23-year-old could have had a nine-day head-start on law enforcement before his dad, Christopher, and mom, Roberta, told police he had vanished.  

This would also mean that the Laundries hid from authorities for almost a week that he was not at the family home as cops were denied access to enter the property due to Brian’s first amendment rights. 

Federal investigators are also following a lead that Laudrie bought a burner phone from an AT&T store in North Port before he disappeared. He was said to be accompanied by an ‘older woman’.

Bertolino confirmed to ABC News that Laundrie did purchase a new cellphone — which he left behind at his parent’s residence before embarking on a hike in the Carlton Reserve on September 14 — on September 4, three days after returning home from his cross-country roadtrip.

The lawyer says Laundrie opened a new account at AT&T and the phone, which is currently in the possession of the FBI, was not a burner. 

Federal agents have also seized surveillance footage from the AT&T store.   

The North Port AT&T store declined to comment on whether Laundrie and Roberta visited the establishment, telling DailyMail.com: ‘We are not confirming or denying anything and we are not making any statements.’ 

No further details about the woman have been revealed but it comes as speculation has been mounting that Brian’s mom has also been using a burner phone. 

Reporters in Tampa approached the FBI after internet sleuths showed screen grabs of Dog the Bounty Hunter’s daughter Lyssa Chapman appearing to confirm the FBI believe Roberta Laundrie is using a burner phone.

It has not been suggested that she is using the burner phone to communicate with her son. 

‘We do not confirm or deny contact with any individual or entity in order to preserve their privacy, as such, we do not confirm or deny the receipt of any tip. We have no additional comment,’ the FBI said, according to 10 Tampa Bay reporter Shannon Clowe. 

Dog’s daughter, Lyssa Chapman, tweeted that the FBI confirmed the accusations that Roberta is in possession of a burner phone but did not present any evidence of the confirmation. 

Internet sleuths have also claimed that Laundrie is using a burner phone after allegedly noticing changes to his Instagram and Spotify accounts since he disappeared two weeks ago. 

His Instagram account reportedly went live for three seconds on Monday showing waves and just a peak of an olive green boat, according to Inside Edition. 

The account also reportedly unfollowed several people. 

There have also been claims online that Brian’s Spotify playlist name changed from ‘Selfconsomption’ to ‘Nomatic Statik.’ The playlist was reportedly created after Petito’s disappearance.   

Meanwhile, the whereabouts of Petito’s phone remain unknown. 

Laundrie was named a person of interest in the homicide of his fiancée, Petito.

A warrant is out for his arrest for allegedly fraudulently spending $1,000 on Petito’s Capitol One Bank debit card between August 30 and September 1. 

The young couple set off on a cross-country trip in their campervan back on July 2 and were documenting their travels on YouTube. 

Petito was last seen alive on August 24 leaving a motel in Salt Lake City, Utah, with Laundrie and last spoke to her mom by phone the following day. Her family said they believe texts from her phone after then were ‘suspicious.’

Brian returned to his home in North Port alone on September 1 driving the couple’s campervan.

Petito was reported missing on September 11 by her family and her body was discovered in a campsite near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on September 19. 

Her death has been ruled a homicide but the cause of death is not yet clear.  

Laundrie refused to speak to authorities during a week-long search for his missing girlfriend. On September 17, his parents told police they hadn’t seen him in three days when he headed for a hike at the nearby Carlton Reserve. 

As the manhunt for Laundrie continues, new details have emerge about his whereabouts between September 1 – the day he returned to Florida without Petito – and September 14 – the day his parents claim they last saw him. 

Documents from the Fort De Soto Park reveal Brian’s mom Roberta made a booking on August 24 for two people to stay at the campsite from September 1 to 3, Fox reported.

But on August 31 – the day before Brian returned home – Roberta canceled the reservation. 

Brian and Petito were not expected to be back in Florida until October after setting out on the four month-long trip on July 2.   

On September 3, seven days before Petito was reported missing, Roberta made a new reservation for three people at the same park for the weekend running September 6 through September 8. 

A source who used to work at Civic Plus which manages the campground’s reservation system told Fox they believe this indicates the Laundries knew Brian was heading home on August 31 and then made new plans to include him in a trip.   

Other documents from the park, which is about 75 miles north of the family’s home, show the Laundries did check in and out of the campsite on the dates booked.  

Brian visited the park with Petito just two months ago with photos showing the young couple at the beach and campsite.  

In one photo from the fateful couple’s visit, Laundrie and Gabby are seen peering through the bars of a jail cell at an old fort. 

‘Really nice campground, beautiful area with many hikes and easy walks, the beach, historic sites, really nice camp store and well maintained sites!’ the couple said in a review. 

Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office told Fox Wednesday that the FBI is now examining surveillance footage from the area around the campsite as part of the search for Laundrie.  

A spokesperson said the footage was being looked at as part of ‘the open and active investigation’ led by the FBI’s Denver field office. 

‘The surveillance footage is part of that and that’s why it is not being released,’ they said.  

A couple who stayed at the campsite at the same time recalled seeing a red truck with a camper similar to the one now seen parked in the Laundries’ driveway.

Marcie and Kenny Newson said they could not confirm physically seeing Laundrie but a selfie from their trip appears to show him walking across the campsite.

‘They kept to themselves. They were there and then they weren’t’, they told NBC 2. 

Another camper whose name appeared on the ledger was celebrating his anniversary with his wife three spots down from the Laundries.  

Thomas Rutherford told Fox News that he could ‘vaguely remember’ spotting the Laundries’ vehicle, which they noted due to the novelty of seeing a camper attached to a vehicle.