[Correction Notice: The landscapers place the Mustang at Myakka River State Park on Sept. 13, 2021, not Sept. 12, 2021, as previously reported. We apologize for the error.]
Four eye witnesses including three landscapers noticed Brian Laundrie’s Mustang nearby Myakka River State Park on Sept. 13 when they mowed around it, and Your Content has learned neither the FBI or North Port Police have made contact with the lawn keepers.
“It was backed in,” Chauncie told Your Content noting they had three lawnmowers at Myakka River State Park when they witnessed the lone Mustang on Sept. 13. “Well, we got these two mowers out here. I think we had, actually, a third mower. Three were out here.”
Chauncie pointed to a patch of overgrown grass: “It was parked right there.”
The landscaper said he recognized Laundrie but never saw him at the park. “I’ve seen him on the news. We definitely have not seen him.” Chauncie continued.
Chauncie’s colleague, Josh, told Your Content he too noticed the Mustang when they returned that Monday when it was ‘pouring rain’ forcing them to postpone it for a third time later that week.
“It was pouring down rain out here that day,” Josh said. “I got stuck on the trails that day.”
“We got stuck for, like, an hour-and-a-half” added Chauncie. “It was flooded so bad that we couldn’t mow half of it. But it rained a good two hours, hour-and-a-half, two hours.
“We ultimately finished it later that week to be honest with you. ‘Cause it wasn’t every Monday we’re out here, ’cause we usually cut this every two weeks.”
The witness noticed whoever placed the vehicle there did so in a peculiar manner making it blatantly noticeable and suspicious.
“The car was backed up as far back as possible without hitting the woods. Any further, it would’ve been up against the fence.”
According to Chauncie’s brother—who spoke under the condition of anonymity—also corroborated the story and noted the Sept. 13 crew consisted of three men, all of whom returned twice more that week to finish the job.
“My brother [was] on that mower and the other guy was with us. It was only us three. We’re usually the only three out here.” Chauncie’s brother said. “The car was parked right there, where the grass is still a little bit taller and I was the one cutting the grass that day, but I just mowed around it and there was nobody in it, ’cause I was hoping there would be so they could move it.”
What’s more, Daniel Mitchell phoned North Port Police to report the Mustang abandoned spoke to Your Content and verified the claims made by local landscapers.
“They mow every Monday night or Monday afternoon. So when I was leaving, the lawn people were getting here.” Mitchell told Your Content. “And when I came back in on Tuesday, I noticed the car was still there and I saw the grass was tall around it.”
Mitchell believes Brian Laundrie is either dead or has accomplices supplying him with food and water.
“If he doesn’t want to be found, he’s not gonna be found, you know. So what you have to do is, you have to find him when he’s not hiding.” Mitchell said. “And, I got to tell you, I think that he’s got people bringing him supplies.”
Mitchell frequently visits the park and told Your Content the Mustang was parked in an unusual way leading him to believe the driver wasn’t from the area and ‘doesn’t know the park.’
“I was down here when I saw the car here” Mitchell explained. “I thought well, maybe somebody is, doesn’t know the park and they parked there and then they went into… you know, I’ve seen people let their kids play in this creek.
“So when I was leaving, I saw the guys, the trucks with the lawnmowers coming in,” Mitchell said noting it was at approximately 4:30, 5:00 o’clock in the afternoon that Monday.
“Tuesday when I got back here about the same time, I tried to get here around this time.
“Tuesday, when I came back, the car was still there and I could see that they had mowed around it. I, yeah, I don’t believe a word that the parents are saying.” Mitchell declared. “Do you see this is what I was saying, I know this is where it was. Well, first of all I called it in, number one. Number two, you can see the grass is coming apart.”
Correction Notice: This post was updated October 15, 2021 at 9:01 p.m. to correct a previous claim that the Laundrie Mustang was seen at the park on September 12, 2021. The post was updated to reflect information confirming the landscapers witnessed the vehicle there on September 13, 2021. We apologize for the previous error by our transcription affiliate.
Your Coverage on Gabby Petito
Your Content readers were first to learn that FBI agents zeroed in on naming their person-of-interest, Brian Laundrie, who came home alone after a cross-country trip-turned-tragedy that riveted the nation.
As Your Content readers know, 22-year-old Gabby Petito from New York’s Long Island was reported missing on Saturday by her family after her fiancé returned home alone from a cross-country road trip the two had embarked on in early July. Police and Petito’s family say the fiancé, Brian Laundrie, is refusing to speak to law enforcement.
“A couple went on a road trip and only one man came back.” the source previously told Your Content under the condition of anonymity due to the on-going investigation.
“For that man who came home: Call us now. Every second you are out there refusing to cooperate with this investigation, you are only make matters worse for yourself and for worse for this young lady’s family. You may hold some answers that will help investigators help you.
“We’re not going away.”
As Your Content previously reported, Petito was last seen in Wyoming late last month, but Moab police were called to a domestic “incident” involving the woman and her boyfriend Brian Laundrie on Aug. 12, as they traversed the state in a van.
No arrests were made and no charges were filed after cops responded to the incident.
While Gabby never returned home, her fiancé did and has since made headlines after he reportedly hired an attorney and refused to work with the police.
In an Instagram post shared last year, Laundrie wrote: “My biggest fear is that one day I’ll wake up and it will have all been a dream, because that is what every second has felt like since the moment we found each other.
“Till death do us part or until I wake up, I’m so happy the answer was yes, Love you hunny.”
To make matters worse, Nicole Schmidt said she tried to contact the 22-year-old’s boyfriend Brian Laundrie, 23, on September 10 – a day before Gabby was officially reported missing, according to an interview with MailOnline.
Her last photo came on Aug. 25. In that photo, Petito was shown holding a small knit pumpkin in front of a mural of butterflies, which is located in Ogden, Utah.
That photo — as well as a few text messages — were the last words she ever shared with her family, according to The Washington Post.
No one has seen or heard from Petito since Aug. 30.
Suffolk County Police in New York said in a statement that Petito’s last appearance was at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Her mother, Nichole Schmidt, said she was in constant contact with her daughter throughout the trip, which started in early July, according to CBS New York. The mother and daughter had a FaceTime call in late August, which was the final call the two shared, she said.
The couple embarked on their cross-country trip in June—first driving from Florida to New York and later to the West Coast and western national parks.
On July 10, Petito shared a photo of her at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is in southern Colorado.
On July 16, she shared another set of pictures of her at Zion National Park in southwest Utah. “The past two nights camping in Zion have been so cool, literally,” she wrote in part.
On July 26, Petito shared another photo of her lounging in an outdoor bathtub at Mystic Hot Springs in Utah.
And that’s where the two made it on police radar. The pair got into some type of altercation near Moab, Utah, video obtained by ABC7 and aired on Your Content’s Facebook reveals.
That same day, Petito posts an Instagram showing images of her visit to Arches National Park, also in Moab, Utah.
“We decided to take the path less traveled on the other side of the arch,” she wrote in part in the caption.
Furthermore, a video uploaded to YouTube on Aug. 19 titled “VAN LIFE | Beginning Our Van Life Journey” highlights the couple’s travels in their converted camper van.
Nicole Schmidt, Petito’s mother, spoke to her daughter for the last time on the phone on Aug. 25. Petito said they had stopped in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming before a planned trip to Yellowstone.
“I don’t know if she left Grand Teton or not,” Schmidt later FOX News. “I did receive a text from her on the 27th and the 30th, but I don’t know if it was technically her or not, because it was just a text. I didn’t verbally speak to her.”
Petito’s final Instagram post is also published on Aug. 25, featuring several photos of her standing in front of a mural wall.