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He says he probably found a 'comfort zone.'
By Alice Kelly — Written on Oct 11, 2021
While the FBI continue to focus on the Carlton Reserve in their search for Brian Laundrie, one former official is doubting whether he is even in the nature reserve.
Days before he was named a person of interest in Gabby Petito’s disappearance — and now homicide — Laundrie is believed to have left his North Port, Florida home to go to the Carlton Reserve.
Since then, police and FBI have been scouring the swampy area to locate Laundrie, with little success, sparking doubts about his whereabouts.
A former FBI agent believes Brian Laundrie is in hiding.
Terry Turchie, a former deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, says the conditions in the reserve are not conducive to camping.
"Clearly he's not out in some camp or some cave somewhere on the hard, cold ground or … snake, gator-infested water,” Turchie claims.
Terry Turchie believes Brian Laundrie will have found a ‘comfort zone.’
“People don’t change because they become a fugitive. They tend to try to figure out how they can land in the comfort zone,” Turchie added.
Turchie retired from the FBI in 2001 but once directed the task force that identified the “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski and North Carolina mountains between 1998 and 1999 leading the hunt for Olympic bomber Eric Robert Rudolph.
Brian Laundrie may be receiving help to stay hidden.
Turchie points out that Laundrie may have a track record of leaning on his family for help when it comes to difficult situations.
"When you see how he came running home after something obviously happened, that kind of tells you what he's probably doing now,” Turchie theororized.
“He's somewhere where he's probably being taken care of."
It has been widely suspected that Laundrie is using his hiking experience to camp out on remote trails and evade arrest on charges related to fraudulent use of Petito’s bank card.
However, Turchie appears to be countering this theory by suggesting Laundrie is being hidden somewhere more secure.
The former FBI august doesn’t believe Brian Laundrie will be on the run for long.
Turchie says all fugitives "tire eventually, and many of them ended up being on the run for …. well over a decade."
But he says he doesn’t expect Laundrie to remain hidden for long.
In Turchie’s past cases, often it is someone close to the fugitive or someone who encountered them while on the run who winds up providing information to the authorities.
"You interview as many people who need this person as you can, you continue following that. You talk to neighbors, friends and you look for anything [the fugitive] might have said during a time that he didn't have this guard up where he hadn't done anything."
Laundrie has not yet been declared an official suspect in Petito’s homicide but as the case progresses police and Petito’s family have been pleading for him to come forward with information.
Alice Kelly is a senior news and entertainment editor for YourTango. Based out of Brooklyn, New York, her work covers all things social justice, pop culture, and human interest. Keep up with her Twitter for more.