Brian Laundrie Bought New Burner Phone After Returning Home Without Gabby Petito: Family Lawyer

Brian Laundrie brought a new burner phone after he returned home alone from his cross-country trip with girlfriend Gabby Petito, his family's lawyer has confirmed. Laundrie is the person of interest in connection with Petito's death.

The said phone is now with the FBI, lawyer Steven Bertolino told Insider Wednesday, adding that he did not know when exactly Laundrie bought the item. He also claimed Laundrie left the phone behind when he was last seen on Sept. 14.

When asked why the Laundries purchased a new cell phone, Bertolino answered, "Sorry I can't speculate." The lawyer then clarified that he didn't know if the FBI also has Laundrie's old phone.

Earlier reports said Laundrie was spotted with an older woman inside one of the cell phone stores in North Port, Florida, on Sept. 14, the day he was last seen. The FBI reportedly visited the store and seized footage from the surveillance cameras.

According to a report from TMZ, an employee at an AT&T store in North Port said she could neither confirm nor deny Brian went there on Sept. 14, adding that she was told not to talk about the matter. When the outlet tried to get a statement from AT&T corporate, it reportedly replied, "Thanks for contacting us. I have to refer you to law enforcement on this one."

Brian Laundrie's family reported him missing on Sept. 17, three days after he was last seen.

Meanwhile, a photo making rounds online appears to show a man who strongly resembles Laundrie at a restaurant in Mexico.

A Twitter user who posted the photo wrote, "This is the ONLYYY #BrianLaundrie sighting so far that I've thought even REMOTELY looks like him. I put them side by side. This was taken in Mexico. Look at the ears. Look at the foreheads. Curved and then FLAT. The forehead rlly matches to me. Remember angles are different, too."

Another Twitter user wrote, "If he was in Mexico they would be able to track his flight information. He hasn't left the country."

A TikTok user also claimed to have seen a man resembling Laundrie at a hotel in Canada. The netizen, who has the handle @cwlynnn and claims to be a flight attendant, said in a video that she was in Toronto when she noticed a man who looked like Laundrie.

According to her, the man was getting "flustered" as he was walking out of the hotel. He reportedly got into a car and then drove off with another man. When the woman reported the sighting to the hotel staff, she was reportedly told they didn't know where he was going and he had the wrong hotel.