OPINION | This article contains commentary that reflects the author's opinion.
There is a startling development in the manhunt for Brian Laundrie.
Laundrie is a person of interest in the murder of his girlfriend, Gabby Petito.
A manhunt has been underway for a month as Laundrie has successfully evaded authorities and search efforts to locate him.
Days before vanishing, his parents had contact with their son.
North Port police spokesman Josh Taylor said there was “a lot of oddness” about the comments that have come from Laundrie’s parents.
“I mean, we’ve said since the beginning there was a lot of oddness here, a lot of things that didn’t make sense,” he said.
Some people have accused Laundrie’s parents of allegedly helping their son shortly prior to vanishing, although they have not been charged with any crimes and they appear to be cooperating with authorities.
Now we are learning there is a major twist in the story from Laundrie’s parents.
The family’s attorney, Steve Bertolino, said Laundrie’s parents were off by one day in their previous timeline of when they last saw their son.
CNN and Daily Mail noted the change in their story comes as one police officer said the story fed to the cops “just didn’t make sense.”
Petito and Laundrie went on a camping trip in August. This is when she was last seen.
Laundrie returned home without Petito, whose deceased body was found last month.
“I think certainly what the family has told us is that he drove out to the park and walked out into the woods,” North Port police spokesman Josh Taylor said. “I think that is certainly on the table.”
“I mean, if your son walks out there, now they’re saying on a Monday, to report that on a Friday and then to be confused on what day that was — there are a lot of things that are odd there,” he said.
“I think it would not surprise me if he is, it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s not,” he said.
The family attorney explained, “The Laundries were basing the date Brian left on their recollection of certain events.”
“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,” he added.
More from Western Journal:
For weeks, Laundrie’s parents had insisted their son left their North Port, Florida, home on Sept. 14 to go hiking in the Carlton nature reserve.
Chris Laundrie looked for his son that night when he did not return, Bertolino said.
The next day, Bertolino said, they returned to the reserve and found Laundrie’s car with a ticket on it. They returned again the next day to bring home the car, Bertolino said.
Although searchers have found no evidence of Laundrie in the vast reserve, he said Laundrie’s parents insist Laundrie is there.
“They don’t believe he’s in another area. They believe he is in the preserve,” he said.
