Gabby Petito Case: Laundrie Parents Lead FBI To Human Remains Found Beside Brian's Backpack

The FBI on Wednesday said they recovered partial human remains in a Florida wilderness area during their search for fugitive Brian Laundrie, the fiancé of slain 22-year-old Long Island native Gabby Petito, 37 days after he left his North Port, Florida home for a hike.

According to FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael McPherson, they located the apparent corpse in an area submerged in water until recently, along with a backpack and a notebook belonging to Laundrie, 23, the FBI's sole person of interest in the murder of Petito, CNN reported.

The FBI Tampa's Evidence Response Team is on the scene using "all available forensic resources" as they work to determine whether the remains belong to Laundrie.

"I know you have a lot of questions, but we don't have all the answers yet," McPherson said.

Steve Bertolino, who legally represents the Laundries, noted that Brian's parents, Chris and Roberta, were in the park when authorities stumbled upon the human remains and some of their son's possessions "where they had initially advised law enforcement that Brian may be."

"Chris and Roberta will wait for the forensic identification of the human remains before making any additional comments," he added.

The Sarasota County Medical Examiner and a cadaver dog were earlier called to the park after aerial footage showed activity in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park near the alligator-infested Carlton Reserve, The Guardian noted.

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office Emergency Response Team and the Lee County Sheriff's Office have since deployed officers in the area along with a mobile unit.

According to Brian's family, he left for a hike at the Carlton Reserve on Sept. 13 with a backpack but left behind his wallet and his newly-purchased cell phone. He did not make any calls to his parents since then, which came weeks after his solo return to Florida on Sept. 1.

The fugitive came from a cross-country trip in the West, which began in July, with girlfriend Petito. On Sept, 19, search crews found her body in Wyoming, eight days after her reported disappearance, according to the BBC.

The victim's family said she last spoke with them at the end of August. It gave a nod to last week's coroner ruling that the woman was strangled to death and abandoned for weeks before authorities recovered her remains.

The coroner has ruled as early as September that Gabby was killed by another individual, sparking an extensive search for Laundrie, who's currently facing fraud charges over the unauthorized use of her debit card.