(NORTH PORT, Fla.) — A police search is underway in a “vast” Florida preserve after the family of Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of 22-year-old Gabby Petito, who went missing while the couple was on a cross-country trip, said his whereabouts are now unknown, too.

“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.”

Laundrie has not been seen since Tuesday, according to police and the family’s lawyer.

North Port Police said Saturday morning that they are now currently searching for “the vast Carlton Reserve,” a 24,565-acre preserve north of his home in North Port, for Laundrie.

“His family says they believe he entered the area earlier this week,” police said. “More details when available.”

The development was the latest in a case that has grabbed national attention as the couple had been traveling across the country since June in her 2012 Ford Transit van and documenting the trip on social media. Laundrie returned home to North Port, Florida, 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.

In response to the news Friday 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.”

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 this week.

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.

Laundrie has been named a person of interest in the case, but he has so far refused to speak to police.

“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 Wednesday. “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,” Officer Josh Taylor, a spokesman for the North Port Police, said in an interview with “Good Morning America” Saturday.

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.”

Earlier in the day, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office in Moab, Utah, said 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. The couple admitted to arguing and that Petito had slapped Laundrie, according to the report. Both 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 and Matt Foster contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — A hostess in New York City was assaulted after asking patrons from Texas to show proof of their vaccination status when they entered a restaurant, authorities said.

New York City mandates that those 12 and older seeking to dine indoors show proof of having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, though enforcement of the policy has largely fallen on front-line hospitality workers.

The incident took place at Carmine’s Italian Restaurant in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan on Thursday evening, according to the New York Police Department. Three women from Texas — a 44-year-old and her 21-year-old daughter, as well as another 49-year-old — tried to enter the restaurant when they were asked for proof of vaccination, according to the police department.

The women then assaulted the 24-year-old hostess and broke her necklace during the attack, police said. The victim refused medical attention.

Authorities have not released the names of the accused, each of whom was taken into custody and given a desk appearance ticket, the NYPD said. The investigation remains ongoing.

“Our goal is to serve our customers great food, offer excellent service and hospitality while keeping our employees and customers safe as we comply with the government-mandated COVID-19 protocols,” a Carmine’s Italian Restaurant spokesperson said. “It’s a shocking and tragic situation when one of our valued employees is assaulted for doing their job — as required by city policies — and trying to make a living.”

“Our focus right now is caring for our employee and the rest of our restaurant family,” the statement added. “We are a family-style restaurant, and this is the absolute last experience any of our employees should ever endure and any customers witness.”

The New York City Hospitality Alliance, a nonprofit trade group representing workers in the industry, called on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to increase awareness of the vaccine requirements for indoor dining, especially to visitors who may be unaware of it, and heighten penalties for noncompliance.

“Assaulting a restaurant worker for doing their job is abhorrent and must be punished,” Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, said in a statement. “We’re calling on the City and State of New York to immediately increase penalties for assaulting restaurant workers in New York City in conjunction with enforcement of Covid-19 protocols.”

Like mask mandates throughout 2020, vaccine mandates have emerged as a hot-button issue in the U.S. even as a global pandemic rages. Despite the urging of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and assurances from health authorities that vaccines are safe and effective, many Americans are still refusing the jab — decisions that likely have contributed to a recent resurgence of virus cases propelled by the highly contagious delta variant.

As of Friday, some 74.2% of the U.S. population 12 years of age and older had received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 63.5% were fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Just last week, the U.S. reached the a milestone: COVID-19 has killed 1 in every 500 Americans.

ABC News’ Darren Reynolds contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department has announced charges against an Ohio man accused of making threats against a local reproductive health services clinic.

Newly unsealed charging documents allege Carlos Manuel Rodriquez Brime, 25, of making two separate threats via telephone to the Your Choice Healthcare facility in Columbus on April 11.

“My girlfriend is a patient there and I’m going to bring the heat. If she kills my baby, I’m going to kill her,” Brime allegedly said in the first call.

A little over two hours later, Brime called again and made a bomb threat, saying, “My organization will be bringing a bomb to your facility. I suggest you close your doors.”

Brime was charged with one count of violating the FACE Act, which makes it a crime to threaten anyone receiving or providing reproductive health services.

In recent weeks, the Justice Department has vowed aggressive enforcement of the FACE Act in Texas against anyone who levies threats against those seeking abortions or reproductive health clinic workers, after the state’s restrictive law banning most abortions took effect earlier this month.

Brime is also charged with two other counts making threatening statements and making a bomb threat. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the DOJ.

He was arrested Thursday and ordered to remain detained pending further legal proceedings. He has not yet entered a plea in his case and his arraignment is scheduled for next Thursday.

A public defender listed as representing Brime did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

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