2 being treated for gunshot wounds following shooting at Heritage High School in Virginia: Police

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(NEW YORK) — Two people are being treated for gunshot wounds following a shooting at Heritage High School in Newport News, Virginia, according to police. Their injuries are not considered life-threatening.

Students at the high school were evacuated and sent to the tennis courts, according to the Newport News Police Department.

Police said at 11:30 a.m., they responded to a shooting call at the school. “Four, maybe five” students were sent to area hospitals. Of those, two were being treated for gunshot wounds.

The two gunshot victims are 17 years old. One male was shot in the face and a female was shot in the lower leg, police said at a press conference Monday afternoon.

Another student is being treated after falling during the chaotic scene, while another was transported for breathing issues related to asthma, police said.

No suspect is in custody, police said.

Police said they are going through footage and evidence recovered from the scene as they hunt for the suspect. Police officers said they don’t believe the suspect is a threat to other members of the community and it seems there was some type of altercation that led to the shooting, but they’re still investigating.

An official with the FBI Field Office in Norfolk, Virginia, tells ABC News they are aware and providing assistance to local authorities. The ATF said it is also assisting.

Police have not publicly released the name of the suspect or victims.

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23-year-old woman uses TikTok to highlight influential Latinas

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(NEW YORK) — One Arizona woman is on a mission to educate others about influential Latin women — by using her TikTok.

“I think it wasn’t necessarily them trying to teach me history, but they’re just trying to teach me about these cultural icons that touched so many people in my culture,” Cortes said.

Like many 20-somethings, Cortes downloaded TikTok during the pandemic and began to get ideas for videos she could make. While millions of others were learning the latest dance crazes, she decided to make it a space where she could teach others about Latinas who changed the course of history.

“I just decided to start talking about these women that inspired me,” Cortes said. “I felt like they weren’t being recognized or acknowledged. … I wanted to put their names out there, their stories out there and hopefully connect with someone and have another young Latina find someone that they can see themselves in.”

Cortes began a series on her account called “Bad a— Latinas in History.” In every video Cortes highlights a different Latina and shares how she helped change the world. She began her series honoring Mexican film actress María Félix and has now highlighted nearly 100 influential Latina woman through her videos.

“I’ve talked about Rita Moreno, how she was the first Latina to win an Oscar, or Sylvia Mendez who and her and her mom helped end segregation in California, which set a precedent to end segregation in the entire country,” Cortes said. “I felt like their stories were so important. … So I wanted to put them out there and hopefully connect with someone who had never heard about them before.”

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Police say search of preserve ‘exhausted’ for Gabby Petito’s boyfriend: Live updates

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(NEW YORK) — A massive search is continuing in southern Florida for Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old woman who went missing on a cross-country trip and who authorities say is “consistent with the description” of a body discovered on Sunday in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming.

The search for the 23-year-old Laundrie is centered around North Port, Florida, where investigators said Laundrie returned to his home on Sept. 1 without Petito but driving her 2012 Ford Transit.

Laundrie has been named by police as a “person of interest” in Petito’s disappearance. Laundrie has refused to speak to the police and has not been seen since Tuesday, Sept. 14, according to law enforcement officials.

The search for Laundrie is the latest twist in the case that has grabbed national attention as he and Petito had been traveling across the country since June, documenting the trip on social media.

Petito’s parents, who live in Long Island, New York, reported her missing on Sept. 11 after not hearing from her for two weeks.

Sep 20, 10:33 am
Search of vast Florida swamp preserve ‘exhausted’: Police

The North Port, Florida, Police Department said on Monday that a search for Laundrie in the vast Carlton Reserve near North Port has been “exhausted.”

Josh Taylor, a spokesperson for the North Port Police Department, told ABC News that the two-day search of the nearly 25,000-acre swampland preserve turned up no sign of Laundrie.

Taylor said search dogs did not pick up the sent of Laundrie while searching the preserve, which authorities described as alligator infested.

“At this time, we currently believe we have exhausted all avenues in searching of the grounds there,” Taylor said in a statement. “Law enforcement agencies continue to search for Brian Laundrie.”

 

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COVID-19 updates: More than 10,000 new deaths reported in US in one week

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(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.

More than 672,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.6 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 63.6% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Sep 19, 2:40 pm
The FDA booster decision shows the process worked: Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci defended the White House’s plan to provide COVID-19 vaccine booster shots before the Food and Drug Administration voted to only provide those shots to Americans 65 and older and immunocompromised.

Fauci told ABC This Week co-anchor Martha Raddatz that he was not disappointed by the panel’s decision and he thinks the process worked.

“The goal of this particular decision was to prevent people from getting serious disease who are at risk, such as the elderly and those that have underlying conditions,” he said.

When pressed whether the president’s premature announcement would confuse Americans, Fauci said that people need to understand that such decisions depend on science and approvals by the appropriate health agencies.

“The plan was that we have to be ready to do this as soon as the decision is made and when you have a plan, you put a date on it and you say we want to be able to get ready to roll out on the week of September the 20th,” he said. “So giving that date, I don’t think was confusing.”

Sep 17, 11:22 pm
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s children test positive, he tests negative

Two of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s four children have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a spokesperson.

“Yesterday, two of the Governor’s children tested positive for COVID-19,” Erin Mellon, spokesperson in the governor’s office, said in a statement. “The Governor, the First Partner and their two other children have since tested negative. The family is following all COVID protocols.”

“The Newsoms continue to support masking for unvaccinated individuals indoors to stop the spread and advocate for vaccinations as the most effective way to end this pandemic,” she added.

The governor’s office did not specify which of his children tested positive but he has two sons, Hunter and Dutch, and two daughters, Montana and Brooklynn. Children under 12 are not yet eligible for the vaccine. All of his children are under 12, though Montana turns 12 on Saturday.

The week has been an eventful one for the governor. On Tuesday, Newsom survived a recall attempt with 64% of voters choosing “no.” Removing him from office would’ve taken more than 50% voting in favor of the recall. Radio host Larry Elder was the leading candidate to replace Newsom had the effort succeeded.

Sep 17, 5:32 pm
White House to hold virtual COVID-19 summit next week  

The White House is planning to hold a virtual COVID-19 summit with world leaders next week, officials announced Friday.

President Joe Biden will convene the summit Wednesday amid the U.N. General Assembly, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

The meeting will focus on “expanding and enhancing our shared efforts to defeat COVID-19,” according to Psaki, including equitable vaccine access and making therapeutics and tests more available.

More information will be available in the coming days, she said.

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At least 43 people shot, six fatally, in violent Chicago weekend

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(CHICAGO) — At least six people have been killed and 37 wounded, including a 3-year-old boy, in shootings that erupted across Chicago over the weekend, according to police.

As of noon Sunday, Chicago police had responded to at least 35 separate shooting incidents across the city since 6:30 p.m. Friday, according to police incident reports reviewed by ABC News.

Like other major cities across the country grappling with a rising number of shootings this year, Chicago has deployed a series of strategies to tackle the problem, including a crackdown on illegal guns pouring into the city by targeting firearm straw buyers. Police have also stepped up enforcement in areas that have seen spikes in shootings.

So far, nothing seems to have curbed gun violence.

In one incident early Sunday, five people ranging in age from 18 to 47 were wounded when two gunmen drove up in a silver sedan, got out and opened fire on a group of people gathered on the street. The gunmen then got back in the car and fled, police said.

The mass shooting unfolded just after 3 a.m. in the Austin neighborhood of northwest Chicago, and all of the victims were in serious condition at hospitals, police said. No arrests were made in the incident.

Also on Sunday morning, a tow truck driver was shot and killed as he was providing roadside service to a customer in the Englewood neighborhood on the city’s South Side, police said. The 27-year-old tow truck driver, whose name was not released, was working when someone approached on foot and shot him multiple times.

The victim was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. No arrests have been made in the homicide.

On Saturday, five other men were fatally shot over the span of about four hours Saturday.

Two men, ages 29 and 34, were fatally shot in one incident around 12:14 a.m. Saturday as they were walking on a street in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side of the city, police said. Police are searching for a red vehicle they believe the fatal shots came from.

Less than an hour later, a 31-year-old man was found shot and unresponsive on a street in the West Pullman neighborhood on the South Side, police said. He was taken to Christ Medical Center and pronounced dead, police said. No arrests have been made.

A 21-year-old man was fatally shot around 2:39 a.m. Saturday. Police said the victim, whose name was not released, was arguing with a woman on a street in the East Garfield Park section on the West Side when a gunman walked up and shot him multiple times, including once in the chest, police said. The victim was taken to Mt. Sinai Medical Center and pronounced dead.

A little over an hour later, a 33-year-old man died from gunshot wounds he suffered in the River North section of Chicago’s North Side when someone in a blue SUV drove by and opened fire, hitting the victim in the chest, police said. The man was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

At about 10:45 p.m. Saturday, someone fired shots into a home in the Calumet Heights neighborhood on the South Side, hitting a 3-year-old boy in the back, police said. The child was taken to Trinity Hospital and later transferred to Comer’s Children Hospital, where he was listed in good condition, according to police.

Meanwhile, a 15-year-old girl was among two people shot and wounded as they were standing on a street in the West Englewood neighborhood on the South Side at about 11:18 p.m. Saturday, police said. A gunman, who police are working to identify, opened fire from a distance hitting the girl in the buttocks and a 20-year-old woman in the leg.

More than 250 minors have been shot in Chicago so far this year, according to ABC station WLS in Chicago.

The shooting of children over the weekend came just two weeks after eight children were shot, including a 4-year-old who was killed over the Labor Day holiday weekend.

A total of at least 2,490 people have been shot in Chicago this year, a 9% increase from the same period as last year, according to police department crime statistics. The city has recorded 558 homicides, most of them the result of shootings, this year — a 3% increase from 2020.

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Body ‘consistent with description’ of Gabby Petito found in Bridger-Teton National Forest

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(TETON COUNTY, Wyo.) — A body “consistent with the description of” Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old woman who went missing while on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, was discovered in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming.

The FBI Denver, the National Park Service and law enforcement made the announcement during a news conference Sunday evening in Grand Teton National Park. Charles Jones, the FBI’s supervisory senior resident agent, said that a full forensic identification hasn’t yet been completed, but investigators did notify Petito’s parents.

A cause of death was also undetermined. Jones declined to comment further on the investigation.

“We continue to seek information from anyone who utilized the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area between the dates of August 27 and August 30. Anyone that may have had contact with Gabby, or her boyfriend or who may have seen their vehicle in that area, please share any new information with the FBI,” Jones said.

An attorney for the Petito family released a statement Sunday evening asking for privacy to grieve and also thanking the agencies that assisted in the search.

“Your tireless work and determination helped bring Gabby home to her parents,” the statement said. “The family and I will be forever grateful.”

North Port Police tweeted that it will be working with the FBI in its investigation.

“Our focus from the start, along with the FBI, and national partners, has been to bring her home,” the department tweeted.

The Teton County coroner confirmed to ABC News on Sunday afternoon that the agency dispatched resources to a body found in the national forest. No further details were disclosed.

The development came as a search for Brian Laundrie, Petito’s boyfriend, resumed in Florida.

Petito’s parents reported her missing on Sept. 11 after not speaking with her for two weeks.

Laundrie had been named by police as a “person of interest” in Petito’s disappearance. The 23-year-old Laundrie, who returned home more than two weeks ago without Petito and has refused to speak to police, has not been seen since Tuesday, according to law enforcement officials.

The Laundrie family attorney said in a statement Sunday evening, “The news about Gabby Petito is heartbreaking. The Laundrie family prays for Gabby and her family.”

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What we know about the Surfside condo collapse

ABC News

(MIAMI) — When a condo building suddenly collapsed in the Miami Beach area earlier this summer, killing 98, it shocked the nation.

Rescuers worked for days at the Champlain Towers South in Surfside to try to find survivors in the rubble. But hope faded after all surviving victims were rescued and the mission shifted to recovery.

In the wake of the collapse, profound grief and questions about how a massive concrete structure could just fall to the ground lingered.

As federal investigators piece together evidence, a trail of documents indicated the 12-story, 136-unit oceanfront condo building had substantial concrete structural damage to its pool deck area and was overdue for repairs.

While federal authorities have not yet concluded the investigation to determine the cause of the fall, a number of experts and engineers believe prolonged structural damage, delayed repairs and environmental issues over four decades could have contributed to the building’s deterioration.

Here is what we know:

‘Independent spirit’

The Champlain Condominium Towers North and South were built in 1981 in Surfside, Fla. a neighborhood that sits just north of Miami.

“Surfside always had an independent spirit. The Surf Club was really the center of Surfside and it was built in 1930. The owners and the members of that club. wanted to have their own neighborhood and didn’t want to be part of Miami Beach,” Daniel Ciraldo, executive director of the Miami Design Preservation League, told ABC News.

During the 70’s and 80’s, Miami city leaders were looking to transition into a higher-end market, according to the New York Times at the time.

But at that time, a quarter of South Beach Miami was made up of mostly retired residents, many of whom protested the idea of rebuilding the city as many feared displacement.

“In 1973, a building moratorium was imposed partially due to a decaying Miami and concerns about the sewage system,” Ciraldo said. To rectify this, the condominium developers fronted at least half of a $400,000 bill to fix the sewage issue and resume construction, according to a Miami Herald report from 1979.

The Champlain Towers were the first condominiums built once the moratorium was lifted.

Early signs of damage

Signs of structural damage to the Champlain Towers South’s pool deck and garage ceiling were reported as early as 1996. Western Water Co., a local contractor, noted in a report the pool deck of the Champlain condo building and the ceiling of the underground parking garage beneath needed “concrete structural repair.”

The work was later completed and certified to the city in November 1997, according to documents obtained by ABC News.

“The most common problems are weather intrusions. The way you combat that is with good quality solid weatherproofing and paint; and those repairs need to be identified when they happen and repaired in order to maintain the strength and integrity of the building,” Peter Dyga, the president and CEO of Associated Builders & Contractors, Florida East Coast Chapter (a national construction industry trade association), told ABC News.

40-year recertification underway

After a Miami-area building collapse in 1974, county lawmakers enacted a mandatory inspection for commercial and residential buildings 40 years after they’re constructed. The Champlain towers were in the process of recertification when part of the building came crashing down.

Morabito Consultants, a structural engineering firm, was hired by the condo association in 2018 to conduct the inspection and reported, among other things, concrete structural damage to concrete structural slabs on the pool deck due to failed waterproofing. They estimated repairs would cost more than $9 million, but those repairs were never completed.

Frank Morabito, a consultant and engineer from Morabito Consultants, declined to comment to ABC News.

‘Very good shape’

Despite the structural engineering report and the detailed construction plan from Morabito, Rosendo “Ross” Prieto, the former Surfside building inspector, told residents at Champlain Tower South at a board meeting in November 2018 that their building was “in very good shape,” according to records released by the city of Surfside.

“When things happen related to building construction, builders are generally the scapegoats and it may be the quality of the building,” Dyga told ABC News. “On the other end of the problem is with a building. One that is most common that we see is failing to maintain. One of the most important things about building maintenance is weatherproofing,” Dyga added.

In April, two months prior to the collapse, Champlain condo owners received an itemized bill from the board, a two-page letter obtained by ABC News shows.

The estimated repair costs was nearly $15 million, $6 million more than what Morabito assessed three years before. The owners were expected to begin making payments beginning July 1.

Following the collapse, Prieto, who was no longer Surfside’s building inspector, was placed on a “leave of absence,” according to a statement from the city of Doral, where he had been listed as interim building inspector but has since been removed.

He has not responded to ABC News’ repeated requests for comment.

‘The future’

In the wake of the collapse, Miami-Dade County inspected more than 500 buildings that were approaching the 40-year recertification deadline to identify any obvious structural concerns.

Buildings in Surfside that are more than 30 years and more than three stories high were notified to begin recertification. Surfside operates as its own city and has its own building department.

“The future is what is the capacity of a small town when we’re talking about really large development projects?,” Ciraldo said. “And the corollary of what is the ability of a volunteer condo association to be the permanent stewards of these properties,” he continued.

In late July, a Florida judge ordered the families who suffered losses from the collapse to be compensated $150 million — $50 million in insurance and nearly $100 million in proceeds upon the property sale.

At the conclusion of the federal agency National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) investigation, which could take several years according to NIST experts, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle has pledged to bring the matter to a grand jury, which will gather evidence and hear testimony and could recommend criminal charges or needed reforms.

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More evacuations ordered in California as wildfires threaten giant sequoia trees

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(SAN FRANCISCO) — Wildfires swirling around California’s giant sequoia trees are prompting more evacuations as they spread toward communities surrounding the forests.

Residents in Ponderosa and Quaking Aspen in Tulare County have been ordered to evacuate immediately now that the Windy Fire had fanned to more than 18,000 acres surrounding the Sequoia National Forest and was 0% contained on Sunday morning.

Other communities in Tulare County, such as Johnsondale and Camp Whitsett, had been ordered to evacuate several days earlier due to the Windy Fire, while the KNP Complex Fire, which is also threatening the historic sequoia forests, prompted evacuations in the Three Rivers community.

The KNP Complex Fire had grown to nearly 22,000 acres by Sunday morning and was also 0% contained.

Fire crews were seen earlier this week wrapping cabins and other structures in Sequoia National Forest in foil to protect them as the wildfires continue to spread. The historic trees are thousands of years old and grew to be hundreds of feet tall.

The sequoia trees are increasingly being threatened by drought, climate change and extreme fire.

Last year, the Castle Fire wiped out 10% of the world’s native sequoias, according to the National Park Service.

Firefighters faced high temperatures and dry conditions as they battled the blaze over the weekend, and the dangerous fire conditions are expected to continue in the region.

Parts of Sequoia National Forest and Sequoia National Park are closed to the public due to the fires.

ABC News’ Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.

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2 homes ‘heavily damaged’ after military aircraft crashes in Texas, fire officials say

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(LAKE WORTH, TX.) — Two homes have been heavily damaged after a military training aircraft crashed in Lake Worth, Texas, according to the Fort Worth Fire Department.

Two to three patients are being treated at this time, fire officials said.

Additional details were not immediately available.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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Police resume search for Brian Laundrie, boyfriend of missing 22-year-old Gabby Petito

Courtesy of Nicole Schmidt and Joseph Petito

(NORTH PORT, Fla.) — A search for Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of 22-year-old Gabby Petito, resumed on Sunday in a 24,565-acre preserve in Florida as authorities more than 2,300 miles away combed Grand Teton National Park for clues on the whereabouts of the woman who went missing during the couple’s cross-country road trip.

North Port, Florida, police said a team of officers picked up the search for Laundrie in the Carlton Reserve north of Laundrie’s home in North Port. The search began on Saturday but was suspended overnight due to darkness.

“A team of more than 50 looking for anything of note after his (Laundrie’s) parents say this is where he went,” North Port police said in a post on Twitter Sunday morning.

Laundrie has been named by police as a “person of interest” in Petito’s disappearance. The 23-year-old Laundrie, who returned home more than two weeks ago without Petito and has refused to speak to the police, has not been seen since Tuesday, according to law enforcement officials.

“Be advised that the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie are currently unknown,” an attorney for the family said Friday. “The FBI is currently at the Laundrie residence removing property to assist in locating Brian. As of now the FBI is now looking for both Gabby and Brian.”

North Port police officers accompanied by FBI agents, drones, K-9 and bloodhounds are involved in the search for Laundrie, police said during a briefing Saturday afternoon. Authorities took clothing from the family home Friday to help canine units, North Port Police spokesperson Josh Taylor said.

A tip from the family drove law enforcement to the Carlton Reserve, Taylor said. Laundrie’s family told police on Friday that they last saw him on Tuesday with a backpack and he told them he was going to the massive preserve, which he would frequent for hikes, according to Taylor.

“Our goal is to get answers. We love to be able to find Gabby. And right now we need to find Brian, too. Not only is he missing, but he potentially holds some key information in helping us find Gabby,” Taylor told ABC News on Saturday night. “We have to locate him. We’re hopeful to bring him in because I think he does have some information that will really lead us to Gabby. And that is the primary objective, to find this little girl.”

In response to the news that Laundrie’s whereabouts were unknown, a lawyer for the Petito family said in a statement: “All of Gabby’s family want the world to know that Brian is not missing, he is hiding. Gabby is missing.”

The search for Laundrie is the latest twist in the case that has grabbed national attention as the couple had been traveling across the country since June in Petito’s 2012 Ford Transit and documenting the trip on social media. Laundrie returned home in Petito’s van to North Port, on Sept. 1 without his girlfriend, according to police.

Petito’s parents reported her missing on Sept. 11 after not speaking with her for two weeks.

As the search for Petito continues, FBI Denver said in an update Saturday evening that authorities are “conducting ground surveys” at the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. The FBI asked for anyone who saw the couple’s white van, with Florida license plate QFTG03, to contact the FBI.

The FBI specifically said it would like to talk to anyone who was at the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area from Aug. 27 to 30 and may have seen the couple or their van. The agency said it would not comment on the specifics of the information in its investigation.

North Port police were also forced to clear up a rumor about finding a body in the Carlton Reserve that spread on social media Saturday, saying it was “completely fake.”

Petito was last seen on Aug. 24 leaving a hotel room in Utah. The next day, she spoke to her mother, Nichole Schmidt, telling her that their next stops would be at Grand Teton and Yellowstone, Schmidt told ABC News.

Schmidt received two text messages from her daughter’s phone in the days after speaking to her, but it was unclear whether they were actually sent by Petito.

“Many people are wondering why Mr. Laundrie would not make a statement or speak with law enforcement in the face of Ms. Petito’s absence,” the attorney representing the Laundrie family, Steven P. Bertolino, said in a statement last week. “In my experience, intimate partners are often the first person law enforcement focuses their attention on in cases like this, and the warning that ‘any statement will be used against you’ is true, regardless of whether my client had anything to do with Ms. Petito’s disappearance. As such, on the advice of counsel, Mr. Laundrie is not speaking on this matter.”

The North Port Police Department said Friday afternoon it had entered the family’s home, where Brian was believed to be staying, to speak with the family “at their request.”

The police later tweeted Friday, “The conversation at the Laundrie home is complete. Once we have the details, a statement will be made. We ask for calm! Please let us work through this and information will be forthcoming.”

It was after that tweet that the family lawyer released the statement saying the location of Brian Laundrie was unknown.

“We’ve been trying to reach the family all week. This is the first time we’ve had communication with them, and now they’re telling us that he’s been gone for essentially the last four days,” Taylor said in an interview with “Good Morning America” Saturday.

Laundrie’s family told police about where he went after becoming “concerned about his whereabouts” and wanted to file a missing person’s report, Taylor told reporters Saturday.

Laundrie’s car was at the Carlton Reserve but then found again at the family’s home, police said. When pressed by reporters as to how the car would have gotten back without a sign of Laundrie, Taylor said, “We are going by [the family’s] word.”

People had gathered outside the Laundrie home throughout the day Friday, some with bullhorns, chanting “Where is Gabby?” and calling on Brian Laundrie or the family to talk to authorities. Those people were moved from the lawn to the sidewalk as they chanted toward the house.

Brian’s sister, Cassandra Laundrie, spoke to ABC News on Thursday night, saying she had spoken to police about Petito’s disappearance but was mostly learning details from the news.

“Obviously, me and my family want Gabby to be found safe,” she said. “She is like a sister and my children love her, and all I want is for her to come home safe and sound and this be just a big misunderstanding.”

The Grand County Sheriff’s Office in Moab, Utah, said last week that Petito and Laundrie did not appear to be connected to the murders of two women at a campground in mid-August. The sheriff’s office said on Thursday it had been in contact with Florida authorities about investigating a possible connection to the double murder.

The two women were last seen leaving a bar on Aug. 13, one day after authorities were called about a disagreement between Petito and Laundrie while they were traveling in Moab.

The couple’s white van had been pulled over after a witness called police about an altercation between the two at the Arches National Park. Moab police released body camera footage of the couple admitting they had been arguing and that Petito had slapped Laundrie, according to a police report. The couple told police that Laundrie had not hit Petito.

There was “insufficient evidence existed to justify criminal charges,” Moab Police Department Chief Bret Edge said in a statement Tuesday.

ABC News’ Alondra Valle, Julia Jacobo, Joshua Hoyos and Matt Foster contributed to this report.

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