BRIAN Landrie’s parents have been slammed for immediately calling 911 on Dog the Bounty Hunter after he knocked on their door – but waiting days to report their wanted son missing to the FBI.
Chris and Roberta Laundrie, of North Point, Florida, have been dubbed the “the most hated parents in America” on social media as their son Brian, 23, remains missing.
Brian Laundrie was the fiance of 22-year-old vlogger Gabby Petito, whose remains were found by investigators at a Wyoming campsite on September 19.
He is not currently considered a suspect in her murder but has been cited as a person of interest. He is also wanted on a warrant for alleged bank fraud after running up $1,000 in charges on a debit card that’s believed to have belonged to Gabby.
The couple was around two months into their planned four-month cross-country road trip touring the US’ national parks before Gabby vanished sometime around August 27.
Brian quietly returned home to Florida alone on September 1, failing to alert police or Gabby’s family that she was missing.
He reportedly acted “without a care in the world” upon his return, neighbors said, mowing the front yard and enjoying idyllic bike rides with his mom.
As reported by The Sun on Tuesday, Brian even went camping with his parents on September 6 at Fort De Soto Park.
In a statement issued through their attorney, Chris and Roberta confirmed they had stayed at the camp with Brian until September 8, but denied claims they left their son at the park.
Gabby was eventually reported missing by her mother in New York on September 11. That came after 10 days of allegedly being stonewalled by Brian and his parents about where her daughter was, she said.
Then, on September 14, Brian allegedly vanished after telling his parents he was going hiking at a nature reserve in Sarasota.
But they didn’t report Brian missing until three days later when police showed up at their home.
Read our Brian Laundrie live blog for the very latest news and updates…
During that time, the pair said they drove to the 25,000-acre reserve looking for Brian. They claim to have found no trace of him but stumbled across his car and drove it home.
With Brian still at large, famed TV investigator Dog the Bounty Hunter joined the search to find him last week.
Dog, real name Duane Chapman, attempted to knock on the family’s front door on Monday, however, the couple called 911 on him.
While Dog called it a “shame” they’d rather call the cops that open the door to him, social media users have blasted the pair for “obstructing” the investigation into Gabby’s murder and called for them to be treated as suspects in the case.
“Laundrie’s mother called 911 on ‘Dog’ the bounty hunter but waited DAYS to call 911 about her missing son,” one user tweeted, along with a facepalm emoji.
Responding to that tweet, a second user chimed in: “Son returns home unexpectedly from a long trip. No girlfriend with him. Mom and Dad don’t ask ‘where is Gabby?’ Yeah right.”
In a separate post, one woman wrote: “IF my child is missing and I had a bunch of reporters sitting on my front lawn, and IF I had nothing to hide, I would be leaving EVERY DAY looking for my kid with reporters trailing my ass. More eyes the better, right? … Most hated parents!”
Another post read: “Good night to everyone except the Laundrie family, the most hated parents in the country.”
The user continued that they were “praying” that they’d wake up to the news that Brian Laundrie had been arrested and his parents “arrested.”
One Tweeter insisted that Laundrie’s parents have now “dethroned Casey Anthony’s parents for most hated parents in America.”
“Wouldn’t #BrianLaundrie parents be more worried if they thought Brian was going to go kill himself?” the user wrote.
“LOL,” another said. “Brian Laundrie’s parents called the cops on Dog the Bounty Hunter 3 hours after he showed up at their door to try and help … but couldn’t call the police to report Gabby Petito missing or their s**t stain of a son for WEEKS.”
Laundrie’s parents have come under increasing scrutiny in recent days as the search for their son continues.
Protesters have swarmed around the family’s home over the last week, chanting “justice for Gabby” and waving signs – one of which read, “We think your [sic] Guilty so prove your innocence.”
The home has also been inundated with flower deliveries sent from all over the country and addressed to Gabby Petito.
Laundrie’s parents deny they helped their son escape or withheld information about his whereabouts despite a massive days-long, so-far fruitless search for him.
In a statement issued through their attorney, they said they were “concerned about Brian and hope the FBI can locate him.
“The speculation by the public and some in the press that the parents assisted Brian in leaving the family home or in avoiding arrest on a warrant that was issued after Brian had already been missing for several days is just wrong.”
Dog, meanwhile, called it a “shame they wouldn’t speak” to him.
“The police said we were welcome to knock on the door so we did. I wanted to tell the Laundries that our goal is to find Brian and bring him in alive.”
North Port Police Public Information Officer Josh Taylor confirmed: “We’ve been called to the house numerous times for all sorts of issues: media, protesters, celebrity searchers.
“It’s not something normal. If the family calls and is concerned, we will respond like we would for anyone.”
In a later interview with Dr. Oz, Dog explained that he wanted to specifically speak with Brian’s father, and said “50 percent of the time parents know where their kids are.”
Another “35 percent of the parents help,” Dog said, adding he hopes the Laundrie family will fall into that number.
“Well, you know, I wanna talk to his dad and explain the difference between involuntary manslaughter and murder one out of Wyoming,” Dog said.
“In murder one, you’re facing the death penalty. Manslaughter is a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
“I wanted to explain to him, ‘I know exactly what you’re going through right now. As a matter of fact, I personally went through it.’ So, I just wanted to talk to the dad.”
Search efforts for Laundrie continued on Wednesday. Investigators were seen searching both the Carlton Reserve and Fort De Soto.
No further updates have been issued.
Gabby Petito, 22, was last seen on August 24, leaving a hotel in Utah. Here is a timeline of Gabby Petito's disappearance:
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