Dog the Bounty Hunter Joins the Hunt to Find Brian Laundrie
Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman is volunteering to help authorities find Brian Laundrie, the man wanted by police in a case involving the murder of Gabby Petito. The high-profile killing and Laundrie's disappearance caught the famous bounty hunter's attention while he was on his honeymoon.
Chapman and Francie Frane were in Florida to celebrate their Sept. 2 marriage when they began to hear of Petito's disappearance. Her body was later found in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming, and her death ruled a homicide. Her fiance, Laundrie, returned home from their trip west without her but has not been seen since Sept. 15.
"I will find him," Chapman tells the Daily Mail, giving himself six weeks to do it.
The 68-year-old started his search at Laundrie's parents home in North Port, Fla. Photos at the British outlet's site show him banging on the door, but no one answered. "I'm chasing several leads. We've got a lot of leads. I can't tell you more but we are getting leads every 10 minutes," he said.
The Daily Mail furthers that Dog doesn't think the 23-year-old Laundrie will kill himself — he strongly believes he's hiding in the Appalachian Mountains. Thus far, the local and national authorities' search has focused on Florida's Carlton Reserve. Petito's remains were found on Sept. 19, and soon after, an arrest warrant was issued for Laundrie, charging that he spent $1,000 from her debit card without authorization.
Frane accompanied Chapman on this initial visit to the Laundrie house, made just three weeks after they married. Their relationship has been widely covered since early 2020, as they found each other soon after Chapman's wife Beth died of cancer in June 2019. The wedding was marred by family drama, as two of his daughters were not invited. Still, photos show the ceremony and reception were a success.