Police in Florida admitted Monday that investigators who believed they had surveillance on Brian Laundrie last month were actually trailing his mother, Roberta Laundrie.
The officers said Roberta was wearing a baseball cap when the mistake happened and noted that she and her son were 'kind of built similarly', and said both issues were to blame for the mix-up.
Police say the blunder happened on September 15, two days before Brian was reported missing but two days after he actually disappeared from his parents' home.
On September 16, during a press conference with Gabby Petito's father, North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison claimed he was aware of Brian's whereabouts.
'All I'm going to say is I know where Brian's at,' Garrison told reporters at the time.
Public Information Officer Josh Taylor admitted to WINK on Monday that the department's mix-up was a 'costly mistake'.
'No case is perfect,' he said.
Police in Florida admitted Monday that investigators who believed they had surveillance on then-wanted Brian Laundrie (right) last month were actually watching his mother, Roberta Laundrie (left)
The officers said Roberta was wearing a baseball cap when the mistake happened and noted that she and her son were 'kind of built similarly'
A missing persons report was filed for Brian on Friday, September 17 after his parents, Christopher and Roberta, claimed he failed to return home from a hiking trip in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park.
The Laundries said they hadn't seen their son since he left their home on September 14. They later said he actually left on September 13.
Brian's parents went to the park on September 15 and reportedly drove their son's Mustang home so 'it wouldn't get towed.'
'When the family reported him [missing] on Friday. That was certainly news to us that they had not seen him,' Taylor said.
'We thought that we seen Brian initially come back into that home on that Wednesday. But we now know that that wasn't true.'
Taylor believes officers, who believed they saw Brian exit his Mustang at the family's home, actually mistook Roberta for her son.
'I believe it was his mom who was wearing a baseball cap,' Taylor said, as he sought to pin the blame on Laundrie's parents for his team's mistake.
'They had returned from the park with that Mustang. So who does that? Right? Like, if you think your son's missing since Tuesday, you're going to bring his car back to the home.'
Police say the mix-up happened on September 15, two days before Brian was reported missing but several days after he actually disappeared
On September 16, during a press conference with Gabby Petito's father (pictured at presser), North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison claimed he was aware of Brian's whereabouts
'All I'm going to say is I know where Brian's at,' Garrison (pictured) told reporters on Sept. 16
He continued: 'So, it didn't make sense that anyone would do that if he wasn't there. So, the individual getting out with a baseball cap we thought was Brian.'
North Port police had been keeping tabs on Brian before his disappearance through surveillance cameras they had placed around the Laundrie family home. However, they missed him leaving for the Carlton Reserve on September 13, WFLA reported.
The lack of charges against Brian - as he was not named a person of interest in the disappearance and later homicide of his fiancée, Gabby Petito, until September 15 - prevented officers from taking more drastic measures.
Taylor claims the department is now looking into the mix-up and trying determine if or where any errors occurred.
'What I'll say is that we were the ones doing everything in our power to get answers on this. If mistakes were made, there's human error involved in every investigation. It certainly wasn't from a lack of taking it seriously or hustle or knowledge. Sometimes things happen.'
Public Information Officer Josh Taylor (pictured) admitted to on Monday that the department's mix-up was a 'costly mistake'
An extensive manhunt for Brian was staged for almost five weeks, with a particular focus on the Carlton Reserve because his Ford Mustang had been parked there and it was an area he was known to go hiking.
But the search was incredibly difficult due to the swampy conditions, with the park full of alligators and snakes, and much of it underwater.
Laundrie's skeletal remains - said to include part of a skull - were found on October 20 in an area of the swamp which until recently were under several feet of water.
His autopsy was inconclusive and cause of death remains unknown. A water-damaged notebook was found close to his body, whose contents investigators say may be salvageable, and which they hope could offer clues to Gabby's killing.
Experts say it had been expected that pinpointing his cause of death would be complicated because his body had reportedly lain in the water for some time.
'Forensic anthropologists are called upon when the environment has ravaged or removed the soft tissue,' said Dr Heather Walsh-Haney, speaking to WPBF News.
'Soft tissue markers that the forensic pathologist would use.'
Laundrie's remains - said to include part of a skull - were found on October 20 in an area of the swamp which until recently were under several feet of water. His autopsy was inconclusive and cause of death remains unknown
A forensic anthropologist was also required to determine how Gabby died. Her body was found on September 19, and the autopsy results were announced on October 12.
She said the longer the remains are left outside, the greater the chances that evidence is lost.
'Four weeks is a long time for human remains to be out in the wilderness,' Walsh-Haney said.
Police recovered a notebook belonging to Brian, along with a backpack and a dry bag containing some of his personal items, from Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on October 20 in an area that had previously been underwater.
Officials claim the notebook 'may be salvageable.'
'It appears it may be salvageable. That really is a question for FBI though,' Taylor told Fox News.
He did not specify if it contained any legible writing or information that could be useful in the investigation into Gabby's homicide.
The FBI told the news outlet they have 'no new information' to share 'at this time,' but the will continue to post updates to Twitter if/when they become available.
Gabby and Brian embarked on a cross-country trip earlier this summer with a plan to document it all on film for their social media channels.
Brian Laundrie, 23, was the sole suspect in the murder of his 22-year-old fiancee Gabby Petito. Her strangled body was found in September, weeks after she was last seen alive. The pair were on a cross-country camper van trip when she vanished and he went home in September
Petito and Laundrie had been traveling throughout the U.S. and documenting their trip
Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito are shown on August 12 after being pulled over by police in their van. The cops had received reports of a fight between the pair. Witnesses said they saw Laundrie hit Petito. She was however deemed to be the aggressor in the argument, and the pair were separated for the night
However, their loved-up Instagram persona was a far cry from the combative relationship that was playing out behind the scenes.
Just a few weeks before she vanished, police in Moab, Utah, were called to the pair's van after fellow travelers saw Brian hit Gabby.
They were separated for the night, and Gabby was deemed to be the aggressor.
August 26 was the last time anyone saw or heard from Gabby.
Brian returned to his parents home on September 1.
At first, they told officers they last saw him on September 14.
They later said it was in fact September 13, when he told them he was going on a hike in the reserve and never returned.
The family lawyer, Steven Bertolino, told WFLA last week he notified the FBI of Brian's disappearance the night he failed to return home.
He had been on the run ever since and his parents refused to speak publicly about the case or help Gabby's parents.
The Petito family retrieved her remains from a mortuary in Wyoming on October 18.
According to Bertolino, the Chris and Roberta are 'quietly grieving' Brian's death at their North Port home, alongside their daughter, Cassie. They are not planning to hold a funeral for their son.
Brian's remains will be cremated and given to his parents 'when the time comes,' he said.
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