Amid a full-scale law enforcement search for Brian Laundrie, who is wanted in connection with the Death of Gabby Petito, one of Americaās highest-profile reality TV stars has joined the hunt.
On Saturday, Duane Chapman, known better as āDog the Bounty Hunterā visited the North Port, Florida, home of Laundrieās family.
Chapman, 68, pulled up at around 4:30 p.m. and knocked on the door of the familyās home, according to WFLA-TV.
āI need to speak to the father,ā Chapman said, the U.K.ās Daily Mail reported.
āI need to ask him where his son is. Is he in there?ā
According to the outlet, no one answered the door.
Petitoās body was found last week in Wyoming and her death was declared a homicide. She was last heard from while alive on Aug. 25. She was reported missing on Sept. 11, which was 10 days after Laundrie, 23, returned alone to North Port.
After his return, Laundrie told his family he was heading to a nature reserve, but a search there has not turned up any sign of him.
Asked if he was confident in his ability to locate Laundrie, Chapman said, āYes ā I will find him.ā
āIām chasing several leads. Weāve got a lot of leads. I canāt tell you more but we are getting leads every ten minutes,ā he said, noting that he had created his own tip line of 833-TELL-DOG.
Chapman said he hopes to find Laundrie within the next six weeks.
Chapman was in Florida for his honeymoon, after marrying his new wife, Francie, on Sept. 2. He said he was intrigued by the case and felt sorry for Petitoās family.
A representative for Chapman said he was volunteering his services and will cooperate fully with law enforcement.
The Daily Mail reported an unnamed source said Chapman believes there is a possibility Laundrie is in the Appalachian mountains.
āUnless there is convincing evidence that heās in the swamp in Florida that we donāt know about, Dog does not think heās in there,ā the source reportedly said.
āHe thinks he will stick to what he knows, namely the Appalachians. Thatās where he knows he can survive for long periods because heās done it before.ā
Authorities are still searching the Carlton Reserve, a nature reserve near Laundrieās home that is heavily populated with alligators.
āThese guys, our law enforcement partners are motivated and they are hungry to find Brian Laundrie,ā North Port Police commander Joe Fussell said.
āItās rough out there, itās hot, itās wet. We are trying to cover every acre in this reserve.ā
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
