Dog The Bounty Hunter Ends Search For Brian Laundrie

Dog the Bounty Hunter is giving up the hunt for Brian Laundrie, who disappeared shortly before the body of his fiance, Gabby Petito, was found in a Wyoming park.

The 68-year-old bounty hunter, whose real name is Duane Chapman, said he has left Florida and flown back to his home state of Colorado to nurse a sprained ankle. He and his team had been for the 23-year-old fugitive in the swampy Carlton Reserve.

His daughter, Lyssa Chapman, wrote on Twitter that the “bait is set.”

Late last week, police hunting for Laundrie reportedly found a recently used campsite at the Florida park where Laundrie told his parents he was going.

“A source close [to] his family told CNN’s Chris Cuomo last Wednesday that authorities said they ‘found fresh traces of a campsite’ at the sprawling, 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve in Sarasota,” the New York Post reported.

The new development followed a report Wednesday that says Laundrie flew home to Florida after his infamous fight with his girlfriend in Utah, then rejoined her just before she vanished.

The family lawyer, Steven Bertolino, revealed a twist in the case’s timeline to the Post last Tuesday, saying “Brian returned to his parents’ home in North Port on Aug. 17 and then flew back to Salt Lake City on Aug. 23 to rejoin Petito.”

“Brian flew home to obtain some items and empty and close the storage unit to save money as [he and Petito] contemplated extending the road trip,” Bertolino said in a text to the paper. “To my knowledge, Brian and Gabby paid for the flights, as they were sharing expenses.”

Petito, 22, was last seen at a Wyoming restaurant on August 27, while Laundrie, 23, returned home alone in her van on September 1. Petito’s body was found on September 19 at a campsite at the Teton-Bridger National Forest in Wyoming.