Duane Chapman — famously known as Dog the Bounty Hunter — believes he's found the key to finding the late Gabby Petito's missing fiancé, Brian Laundrie.

Petito, whose death has been ruled by the coroner's preliminary findings as a homicide, went missing while on a road trip across the US with Laundrie.

Laundrie was named "a person of interest" in the case, after he returned home to Florida alone and refused to cooperate with law enforcement.

He is now the subject of a nationwide manhunt, after he was last seen on September 14 — and a federal court in Wyoming has issued a warrant for his arrest.

Dog told Fox News that he received a tip that Laundrie and his parents camped together at Fort De Soto Park in Pinellas County in the early days of September.

He alleges that they took two journeys to the area, one on September 1-3, and the other on September 6-8.

However, he claims that on the second trip, only two people returned. "They were registered, went through the gate," he told the publication. "They’re on camera. They were here."

This comes after Dog and his wife, Francis Frane, alleged to have discovered a "fresh" campsite in the Floridian woods. The bounty hunter told local law enforcement about his find — and stressed that Laundrie's parents were linked to the site.

The 23-year-old's parents have denied any knowledge of their son's whereabouts in a statement read through their lawyer, Steven Bertolino, on Monday, September 27.

"The speculation by the public and some in the press that the parents assisted Brian in leaving the family home or in avoiding arrest on a warrant that was issued after Brian had already been missing for several days is just wrong," the statement reads.

On Saturday, September 25, Dog told Fox News that he intended to find Laundrie before his 24th birthday, which is fast approaching on November 18.

He said that many of the tips he received claimed that Laundrie was located along the Appalachian Trail.

"That is the most leads coming right now that say that," Dog said, detailing that he had received over 1,000 leads. "I would say within 48 hours we probably will have a location where we start the tracking at."

Featured image credit: JosephPetito/Twitter

Dog The Bounty Hunter is said to be "closing in" on the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie, who has been missing for over two weeks.

The 68-year-old reality star, whose legal name is Duane Chapman, kicked off his search for Laundrie when he showed up at the home of Laundrie's mother and father, Roberta and Christopher.

On Saturday, September 25, he repeatedly knocked on the Laundrie family's door and asked to speak to them, but to no avail.

In any case, sources familiar with Dog's involvement in the search told TMZ that as of 10 PM on Tuesday, September 28, he had received information that appeared to confirm that Laundrie is alive and moving around.

And as reported by The Independent, Dog claimed he was "closing in" on Laundrie's location.

On Wednesday, September 29, he took to Twitter to share an update on his team's search for the missing 23-year-old.

Dog said: "We’re here at the island. This would be and could be the perfect spot for him to hide. The search now is really on. The search has just begun."

In the caption, Chapman explained: "Earlier today we launched an active and specific search in a key area based on the intelligence we are receiving and researching.

"Boat crews and ground teams have been called in and we have search and rescue dogs deployed. More to follow..."

According to The Independent, Dog had received a tip that the family had headed to the Fort DeSoto campgrounds in Pinellas County, Florida - after Laundrie had returned solo from his road trip with his now-deceased fiancée Gabby Petito.

Steven Bertolino, the Laundries' legal rep, has since confirmed that the family did indeed go on a camping trip following his return from the road trip.

However, the attorney denied that Roberta and Christopher helped their son flee, stating that all three members of the family returned home from the campsite.

Meanwhile, the FBI manhunt for the 23-year-old continues - and fresh new details have emerged of a supposed burner phone that Laundrie allegedly bought the day he disappeared from his parents' North Port, Florida home.

Insiders told TMZ that Laundrie, who was with an older woman, was seen purchasing the phone at an AT&T store in their neighborhood earlier this month.

Bertolino has now confirmed that a phone Laundrie bought before he disappeared has been handed over to the FBI.

He has remained at large since September 14 - a day before he was named a person of interest in Petito's disappearance. Petito, a 22-year-old blogger, was confirmed dead on September 21.

Featured image credit: Alamy / WENN Rights Ltd

A fisherman has found a gun in the area where Dog the Bounty Hunter had been searching for the now-deceased Brian Laundrie.

Per The Tampa Bay Times, Christopher Sacco explained that he had caught something over the weekend in Fort De Soto Park in Florida, that he initially thought was a large fish. However, the catch turned out to be a black revolver in a Publix carrier bag.

The 35-year-old, who was fishing with a friend near a playground at the Florida park, decided to contact the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office to report the firearm.

As confirmed by the Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a call at Fort De Soto at 11:46 AM local time on Saturday, October 30.

Fort De Soto Park was one of the areas that Dog the Bounty Hunter had been searching for the fugitive, whose skeletal remains were found on October 20 in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park near the Carlton Reserve.

Taking to Twitter yesterday, WFLA-TV reporter Josh Benson confirmed that the Pinellas County Sheriff's office is now in possession of the weapon.

Benson wrote: "Checked in with the man who found the gun in #FortDeSoto more than a week ago. Says he only took one pic and turned the gun over to Pinellas County authorities. Sheriff's Office tells me they have it in evidence and there's been no update just yet."

The gun was submitted to the Florida Crime Information Center and the National Crime Information Center.

Dog the Bounty Hunter had joined the manhunt for Laundrie on September 27, 10 days after the 23-year-old was reported missing by his family.

The 68-year-old reality star's first port of call was the home of Laundrie's parents, Christopher and Roberta.

Chapman repeatedly knocked on their front door, saying: "I need to ask him where his son is. Is he in there?" However, he never got a chance to speak to the family.

On October 21, dental records showed that the remains discovered by investigators near the Carlton Reserve belonged to Laundrie, who was the only person of interest in the homicide of his fiancée Gabby Petito.

Featured image credit: Instagram / Gabspetito

Dog the Bounty Hunter's daughter says he's "not giving up" the search for Brian Laundrie despite getting injured, and said the "bait is set."

Lyssa Chapman shared the update after news broke that Dog was heading back to Colorado from Florida, where the search for Laundrie is still underway.

The 68-year-old reality star, whose real name Duane Chapman, has been searching for the 23-year-old fugitive, who disappeared almost a month ago, for weeks.

"Dad is headed back to Colorado temporarily to handle some business. (Remember, he was in Florida on his honeymoon)," Lyssa confirmed.

"We are still actively searching for #BrianLaundrie, leaving a team in place in Florida. As always, whatever I can share with you, I will."

Replying to a fan who hoped the team wasn't giving up, Lyssa wrote on Twitter: "Not giving up ... It's common that we (include you all) put so much heat on a fugitive they dig down, he will pop up again. Bait is set."

According to WFLA, Dog has put together a "talented team" to continue his hunt while he's away.

Chapman joined the nationwide manhunt for 23-year-old Laundrie, who has been missing since September 14, his parents told law enforcement officials.

Laundrie is a person of interest in the disappearance of his 22-year-old fiancée Gabby Petito, who was confirmed dead on September 21.

Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue has deemed the tragedy a homicide in his preliminary findings. The exact cause of death, however, will become clear once the final autopsy results have been obtained.

Laundrie returned home without Petito after they went on a cross-country road trip in the summer.

Ten days after returning to the home he shared with his parents and his now-deceased fiancée, Petito was reported missing by her family.

Laundrie later went missing himself and was named a person of interest in the case the day after September 15.

Chapman joined the search when he arrived at the home of his parents, Christopher and Roberta on September 25.

Featured image credit: Alamy / Sipa US

Dog The Bounty Hunter's daughter Cecily Chapman has slammed his search for Brian Laundrie.

Calling it no more than a "publicity stunt", 28-year-old Cecily has told her famous father - Duane Chapman - to "back off".

"It's just a publicity stunt. That's really what it is. He needs to back off and let the FBI handle it," she told The Sun.

"And that in the water stuff- that looks totally staged," she added.

Dog has been sharing daily updates with the world on how the search for Laundrie is going.

Chapman joined the nationwide manhunt for 23-year-old Laundrie, who has been missing since September 14, his parents told law enforcement officials.

Laundrie is a person of interest in the disappearance of his 22-year-old fiancée Gabby Petito, who was confirmed dead on September 21.

Laundrie returned home without Petito after they went on a cross-country road trip in the summer.

Ten days after returning to the home he shared with his parents and his now-deceased fiancée, Petito was reported missing by her family.

Speaking of her father's involvement in the case, Cecily told The Sun: "To be completely honest with you, the FBI is never going to let Dog the Bounty Hunter catch Brian anyway- the FBI is way too prideful for that."

What's more, Cecily is curious as to whom is funding Dog's search - which includes a camera person who has been capturing footage of the reality star looking for Laundrie.

Raising the question, Cecily continued: "Realistically, how is he doing this, what the hell is he doing, and who is funding this nonsense!?

"He's trying to distract everybody from everything, that's what he does. He tries to hide his problems."

Laundrie later went missing himself and was named a person of interest in the case the day after on September 15.

Chapman joined the search when he arrived at the home of his parents, Christopher and Roberta on September 25.

It was reported that he repeatedly knocked on the Laundrie family's door and asked to speak to them, to no avail.

Over the weekend, a spokesperson for the TV personality informed Newsweek that Chapman is personally adding $10,000 to the existing reward money for Laundrie's arrest.

The reward money had previously stood at $170,000, most of which had been donated by supporters of Petito's family.

He also revealed he does not share the many leads he has apparently received since launching his own search operation for Laundrie.

Featured image credit: REUTERS / Alamy