Police admitted they mistook Brian Laundrie’s mother for him as they were investigating his disappearance after the death of his fiance Gabby Petito.

“They are built similarly, no case is perfect,” said North Port Police Department spokesperson Josh Taylor.

Authorities thought they saw Laundrie drive away in his Ford Mustang on Sept. 13 but the Mustang arrived home two days later. Authorities believed Laundrie had arrived home which explains their confusion when he was reported missing on Sept. 17.

Police now believe his mother Roberta was driving the Mustang while wearing a baseball cap when they first saw the Mustang drive away. “We thought it was him,” Taylor said. “But it was her wearing a baseball cap, and they have a very similar build.”

“So, who does that, right?” Taylor said. “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.”

Police issued a citation for the Mustang on Sept. 14 which was spotted at the Carlton Reserve, a 25,000 acre Florida campground. Family attorney Steven Bertolino noted the police should have watched the Mustang in the park so they could have found out it was Roberta and Laundrie’s father Chris retrieving the car thus debunking the notion they were hiding their son from police.

The silver Mustang was a convertible and was a recent model. North Port Police towed it from the family home on Sept. 20.

The autopsy in Brian Laundrie’s death was ruled inconclusive. His remains are being sent to an anthropologist for further evaluation.

"Other than confusion, it likely changed nothing. There is a very good possibility that Brian was already deceased," he said.

"He still needed to be found," Taylor told NBC News.

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