A Florida sheriff's office said Tuesday that it conducted an "extensive search" after a person's trail camera captured a potential sighting of Gabby Petito's fiancé Brian Laundrie — but investigators did not find any evidence that it was the missing man.
Facebook user Sam Bass posted on the social media site on Monday that his trail camera picked up an image of a man with a backpack who bears resemblance to Laundrie in Baker, Florida, about 500 miles away from Laundrie's North Port, Florida home.
"I'm not saying this is the guy but whoever was on my trail camera this morning in Baker, Fl strongly fits the description of Brian Laundrie, authorities have been contacted but people in the North West Florida area be on the look out," Bass posted.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook Tuesday that "investigators did their due diligence in response to this report" and were wrapping up an "extensive search that took place in this area to include nearby farmlands."
"No one — and nothing — of note was located," the sheriff's office said, explaining that Laundrie "has no known ties to our area."
A spokeswoman for the sheriff's office told Insider that investigators "did not find any evidence that the individual pictured was Brian Laundrie, but did conduct an extensive search once they were made aware of the post."
However, some commenters criticized the police and accused them of not doing enough to follow up on the tip.
"I feel like they are giving up too soon on this lead. Let's maybe locate this person first to actually rule it out??" said Nina Jablonski, a Pennsylvania woman.
"You guys are the pros and we are sitting on our couches, but it really seems like a bit more due diligence could be helpful or describe in more detail the diligence done," wrote Shane Taylor.
Laundrie, a person of interest in Petito's disappearance, was reported missing by his family after they say he went for a hike with a backpack at a nature reserve in Sarasota County a week ago and never returned home.
Meanwhile, a body believed to be Petito's was found at a remote campsite in Wyoming Sunday.
