VENICE (WSNN) – The search efforts continue for Brian Laundrie here at the Carlton Reserve. This entrance in the East is where Laundrie’s parents say he was a week ago. North Port Police officers led the search over the weekend, put it on pause on Monday. Several agencies picked up the search Tuesday morning at the Venice entrance here. But this search is not an easy task for investigators.
From swampy to rugged terrain, the Carlton Reserve is 25,000 acres of some unforgiving territory.
“The terrain is very difficult, essentially 75-percent of it is underwater,” North Port Police Commander Joe Fussel said. “And other areas that are dry, we’re trying to clear.”
North Port Police say the FBI is now leading this criminal investigation. It’s the first time authorities have indicated a crime has occurred.
“The contingent that they’ve sent us to assist with is ATV’s, UTVs,” Fussel said. “We have multiple drone operators that have been sent out in numerous teams.”
Punta Gorda resident Beth Gerken comes to this reserve often to take pictures of wildlife and it can be treacherous out there.
“I get lost at these parks all the time,” Gerken said. “It is almost a joke except for a lot of the times it is kind of scary.”
Some of the waters are waist-deep crews are wading through gator and snake-infested swamps.
“So we’ll mix the resources and deploy them out,” Fussel said. “So that if they encounter flooded areas or terrain they can’t access with these wheeled vehicles, we’ll deploy our drones directly out to the wooded area.”
Drones and helicopters are circling the sky to help search for Laundrie. A temporary flight restriction is in effect from 11:45 to 7 pm, Tuesday.
“We’ve just got to keep a close eye and protect each other and the rest of our community so I guess we are just on the lookout, and if we see anything suspicious, we will call,” Nokomis resident Gerardo Gonzalez said.
“I think that a lot of the news stories, always just seems it is so far off and happening to somebody else,” Gerken said. “I think that whenever a person is close by, it just really hits hard
North Port Police have covered thousands of acres, but there are still no leads on where Brian Laundrie is. Governor Ron DeSantis is deploying more resources to help with the search.
