Brian Laundrie Update: North Port Police Mistook Florida Fugitive's Mother For Him During Investigation

Officers with the North Port Police Department, who were surveilling Brian Laundrie before he vanished, have reportedly made a mistake in the investigation.

Though the department had set up cameras around Brian's family home in North Port, the strategy was "unsuccessful" as officers who were watching the house mistook the Florida fugitive for his mother, Roberta, said a report by WINK.

The officers saw Brian leaving in his grey Mustang in mid-September, but they thought he returned days later. "They're kind of built similarly," North Port Police Department spokesperson Josh Taylor told the news outlet.

The officer said the department began tracking Brian after Gabby Petito's family reported her missing on Sept. 11. Officers saw him leave in his Mustang on Sept. 13 and return on Sept 15.

The North Port Police Department was very confident that Brian was inside the home. "All I'm going to say is we know where Brian Laundrie is at," Police chief Todd Garrison said on Sept 16.

However, everything changed when his parents reported him missing on Sept 17.

"When the family reported him [missing] on Friday. That was certainly news to us that they had not seen him," Taylor said. "We thought that we seen Brian initially come back into that home on that Wednesday. But we now know that that wasn't true."

The person they saw on Sept. 15 was actually Brian's mom, who was wearing a baseball cap at the time.

"They had returned from the park with that Mustang. So who does that? Right? Like, if you think your son's missing since Tuesday, you're going to bring his car back to the home. So it didn't make sense that anyone would do that if he wasn't there. So the individual getting out with a baseball cap we thought was Brian," Taylor said.

Taylor admitted that the department has made a costly mistake. "No case is perfect," he added.

The authorities never spoke with Brian before he went missing.

Investigators found Brian's human remains in Florida's Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park last week. The Laundrie family's attorney, Steven Bertolino, said Brian's parents are grieving at an undisclosed location.

"The family is grieving privately somewhere in Florida," he was quoted by NBC News.

Bertolino added they have not yet decided whether to have a formal funeral for Brian. The family plans to cremate him once his remains are released by the medical examiner. Brian's autopsy came back inconclusive and his remains were sent to an anthropologist "for further evaluation," the lawyer added.