Sarasota County Sheriff, Kurt Hoffman, has stated that Brian Laundrie "by all accounts probably committed suicide" in the Florida reserve "right out there where we thought he was," per The Herald Tribune.
Laundrie was the subject of a nationwide manhunt before his remains were found on October 20 in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park.
Dental records confirmed that they belonged to the fugitive, who was last seen six days before his missing fiancée, Gabby Petito, 22, was found dead in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
In a statement, the FBI said: "On October 21, 2021, a comparison of dental records confirmed that the human remains found at the T Mabry Carlton Jr Memorial Reserve and Myakkahatchee Creed Environmental Park are those of Brian Laundrie."
Hoffman spoke at a panel on Friday, October 29, at the South County Tiger Bag Club alongside North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison about the Laundrie case.
"Now, we know that, by the time we became the lead agency, Brian had already left the house and presumably had already been deceased out in the Carlton Reserve," he said.
Hoffman then went on to praise how Garrison and his department handled the investigation.
"That guy went out there and by all accounts probably committed suicide and he was right out there where we thought he was. There were four feet of water out there at the time," Hoffman continued.
"Now, we know that, by the time we became the lead agency, Brian had already left the house and presumably had already been deceased out in the Carlton Reserve."
Laundrie's cause of death has not yet been released. However, the Laundrie family lawyer, Steven Bertolino has said that his remains have been sent to a forensic anthropologist for further testing.
Petito went missing while on a road trip across the US with her fiancé, Brian 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.
In October, the Petito family established a foundation in their late daughter's name — and the first fundraiser is scheduled in her native Long Island.
"The mission of the foundation is to address the needs of organizations that support locating missing persons and to provide aid to organizations that assist victims of domestic violence situations, through education, awareness, and prevention strategies," a statement on the website reads.
"We wish to turn our personal tragedy into a positive. It is our hope that Gabby’s foundation will bring these important issues into the forefront of the public eye to the benefit of all our communities."