Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman suggested Friday that Brian Laundrie likely died by suicide in the Carlton Reserve.
The sheriff made the comments during a police gathering in Florida.
“That guy went out there and by all accounts probably committed suicide and he was right out there where we thought he was,” he said.
Mr Laundrie’s skeletal remains were found along with his notebook and backpack on 20 October in a park connected to the Carlton Reserve. The Sarasota County Coroner matched the remains to Mr Laundrie using dental records and - being unable to determine a time or cause of death - sent the bones for further analysis by an anthropologist.
During the same event, North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison explained himself for erroneously claiming he knew where Mr Laundrie was located. He made the comments at a 16 September press conference. In reality, Mr Laundrie was likely already dead.
He blamed the incident on his surveillance team mixing up Mr Laundrie and his mother.
Gabby Petito’s family has been mostly quiet since the discovery, though her father, Joseph Petito, told a radio station that it was unlikely that any new information gleaned from Mr Laundrie’s journal would bring him closure or solace.
