The search for Mr Laundrie entered its fifth day yesterday.
Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of Gabby Petito, whose body was found earlier this week, has been charged with bank card fraud as authorities continue to search for him.
According to a federal grand jury, Mr Laundrie made unauhtorised payments or withdrawals by using a Capital One Bank card and someone else’s personal identification number. It’s reported that the payments amount to over $1,000 (€852), and they were made during the period in which he went missing.
A FBI spokesperson declined to comment on the nature of the payments.
An arrest warrant for Mr Laundrie was issued yesterday. This will allow law enforcement officers from across the country to pursue him, while the search for him continues.
Yesterday marked the fifth day in the search for Brian Laundrie, just days after the remains of Gabby Petito were found on the edge of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Her death has been ruled as a homicide.
Ms Petito went missing while on a cross-country trip with Laundrie, who has since been named as a person of interest in the case.
Searchers are attempting to locate Laundrie in the vast Carlton Park in Florida. A team of divers have also joined the search.
Authorities have urged anyone with information to come forward, and while the case has received a huge amount of interest from online sleuths, Michael Schneider, the FBI special agent in charge, has said: “No piece of information is too small or inconsequential to support our efforts in this investigation.”
The case has generated a huge amount of public interest, but it has also raised important questions about the role race plays in missing person cases. Many have compared it to the lack of coverage given to the hundreds of cases of missing Native American women, and other minority women who disappear in the United States.
