Potential human remains and items believed to belong to Brian Laundrie were found on Wednesday at a Florida wilderness park during the search for the primary person of interest in the murder of Gabby Petito, law enforcement sources and a Laundrie family lawyer said.
Michael McPherson, chief of the Tampa FBI office, said at a news conference that it will take time to identify the remains, which forensic teams were examining. Mr McPherson said they were found near a backpack and a notebook linked to Laundrie.
Mr Laundrie’s parents, Chris and Roberta, took part in the search on Wednesday with the FBI and police from North Port, Florida, more than a month after Mr Laundrie was reported missing after heading into the vast Carlton Reserve park.
“After a brief search off a trail that Brian frequented, some articles belonging to Brian were found,” lawyer Steven Bertolino said in a text to The Associated Press. “As of now, law enforcement is conducting a more thorough investigation of that area.”
MSNBC first reported on the discovery, citing a senior law enforcement official.
A coroner earlier this month said Petito had been killed by strangulation.
Mr Laundrie, 23, was declared a "person of interest" in the case. He declined to co-operate with police before disappearing.
The Sarasota County Medical Examiner's Office was called on Wednesday morning to the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park where the search for Mr Laundrie was under way, a representative for the office said.
Police have been searching for Mr Laundrie for weeks, and live television images on Wednesday showed search teams and sniffer dogs at work.
"Items of interest were located at the Carlton Reserve this morning in connection with the search for Brian Laundrie," FBI Tampa said in a statement.
"An FBI Evidence Response team is processing the scene. The reserve is closed to the public and no further details are available at this time."
The body of Petito, 22, lay in the Wyoming wilderness for a month until it was discovered in mid-September.
Petito had quit her job and packed her life into a camper van for a cross-country adventure with Mr Laundrie, starting in July, and they documented their journey in a series of social media posts.
She posted her final photo to Instagram on August 25, the same day she last spoke to her mother by phone. Petito was last seen alive on August 26.
Her family filed a missing person report on September 11 after she vanished, and Mr Laundrie returned home to Florida without her.
Petito's disappearance captivated the country, first as an internet sensation and then as a tabloid mystery that grew more enigmatic by the day.
It also triggered debate over the disproportionate attention afforded to missing white women.
Agencies contributed to this report
Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
AGL AWARDS
Golden Ball - best Emirati player: Khalfan Mubarak (Al Jazira)
Golden Ball - best foreign player: Igor Coronado (Sharjah)
Golden Glove - best goalkeeper: Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah)
Best Coach - the leader: Abdulaziz Al Anbari (Sharjah)
Fans' Player of the Year: Driss Fetouhi (Dibba)
Golden Boy - best young player: Ali Saleh (Al Wasl)
Best Fans of the Year: Sharjah
Goal of the Year: Michael Ortega (Baniyas)
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The National photo project
Chris Whiteoak, a photographer at The National, spent months taking some of Jacqui Allan's props around the UAE, positioning them perfectly in front of some of the country's most recognisable landmarks. He placed a pirate on Kite Beach, in front of the Burj Al Arab, the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland at the Burj Khalifa, and brought one of Allan's snails (Freddie, which represents her grandfather) to the Dubai Frame. In Abu Dhabi, a dinosaur went to Al Ain's Jebel Hafeet. And a flamingo was taken all the way to the Hatta Mountains. This special project suitably brings to life the quirky nature of Allan's prop shop (and Allan herself!).
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
RACE CARD
4.30pm: Maiden Dh80,000 1,400m
5pm: Conditions Dh80,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Liwa Oasis Group 3 Dh300,000 1,400m
6pm: The President’s Cup Listed Dh380,000 1,400m
6.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Group 2 Dh300,000 2,200m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (30-60) Dh80,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Handicap (40-70) Dh80,000 1,600m.
