The attorney for the family of Brian Laundrie has shut down suggestions that his parents "planted" a bag recently discovered in the search for their son.
Yesterday, FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael McPherson told reporters that "what appears to be human remains" had been discovered in the Carlton Reserve in North Port, Florida, during the search for missing 23-year-old Brian Laundrie.
Brian is currently the only person of interest in relation to the murder of his girlfriend, 22-year-old travel blogger Gabby Petito.
McPherson told reporters on Wednesday that the human remains were discovered next to a bag and notebook belonging to Brian Laundrie.
Officials say the remains are yet to be formally identified - however, in an interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo, Steven Bertolino, the attorney representing Brian Laundrie’s parents, said:
"The probability is strong that it is Brian’s remains, but we’re going to wait for the forensic results to come in and verify that."
Bertolino also provided details on how the items were discovered, revealing that it was, in fact, Brian Laundrie's father that uncovered the items.
Brian's parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, were reportedly assisting law enforcement personnel with the search of their son in the area.
Bertolino then told Cuomo: "As happenstance was, they stumbled upon these items."
Listen to Bertolino speak to Cuomo in the video below:Brian's parents were reportedly always "within eyeshot" of law enforcement as they joined the search, with Bertolino adding: "As they went further in, Chris ventured off the trail into the woods. He was zigzagging in different areas, law enforcement was doing the same thing. And Roberta Laundrie was walking down the trail.
"At some point, Chris locates what's called a dry bag. The dry bag is a white bag, laying in the woods, say 20 feet or so off the trail."
Chris Laundrie then apparently did not want to pick up the bag, according to Bertolino, because "he wanted the law enforcement to see it. However, because he had ventured into a wooded area, he was now out of eyesight of law enforcement personnel. Therefore, Chris opted to pick up the bag in order because he didn't want to leave the bag near "a news reporter standing nearby".
Bertolino then said: "He did meet up shortly with law enforcement. They looked at the contents of the bag. At that time, law enforcement officers showed him a picture on a phone of a backpack that law enforcement had located, also nearby."
Laundrie's parents were then reportedly notified that remains had been discovered and were asked to leave the park.
In response to the discovery, many people have taken to social media to share their conspiracy theories that the bag was "planted" - an issue that Cuomo raised up with Bertolino.
During their interview, Cuomo asked the lawyer: "What do you make of the suggestion that Mr. Laundrie planted the bag and the backpack?"
In response, Bertolino said: "In nice terms, it's hogwash."
Cuomo responded by asking: "Would the authorities have known what [Laundrie's parents] walked onto the trail with?"
To which Bertolino replied: "Absolutely - they met them at the gate, or somewhere nearby. They walked in with them. And, more importantly, Chris, this is what I said - fortunately for the Laundries, the press was following them in the whole time."
Referring to a meeting Laundrie's parents had with officials on September 17, Bertolino said that the discovery was made in the "very area of the park that we initially informed law enforcement on".
Gabby Petito was reported missing by her parents on September 11 - ten days after boyfriend Brian Laundrie returned to their Florida home without her.
His parents say they have not seen him since September 14. Gabby's body was found 19 days later.
According to the autopsy results provided by Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue at a press conference, Gabby Petito's cause of death was strangulation, under the manner of "homicide".