UPDATE (Sept. 23, 2021): A federal arrest warrant was issued for Brian Laundrie following a grand jury indictment in connection with the Gabby Petito case. Click here for the latest information.
SAD UPDATE (Sept. 21, 2021): The FBI announced Sunday night that a body had been found matching the description of Gabby Petito. On Tuesday, the coroner confirmed her identity and ruled her death a homicide. Click here for the latest updates.
Previous story below:
As Brian Laundrie and his parents continue to remain "in the background" of the search for Gabby Petito, one member of the Laundrie family is breaking her silence.
Cassie Laundrie, Brian Laundrie's sister, spoke with Good Morning America about the disappearance of her brother's fiancée.
“Me and my family want Gabby to be found safe. She’s like a sister and my children love her and all I want is for her to come home safe and sound and for this to be just a big misunderstanding," Cassie told GMA.
Gabby Petito, 22, and her fiancé Brian set out on a cross-country road trip in July, but investigators say Brian returned home to North Port on Sept. 1 without Gabby.
Now all eyes are on Brian Laundrie to tell investigators what he knows, but so far he has chosen to remain silent.
And on Sept. 15, he was named a person of interest in the case.
The counsel for the Laundrie family released a statement late Wednesday evening, saying in part:
"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. 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 made 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."
And Cassie Laundrie says she hasn't spoken with Brian, either.
“I wish I could talk to him," she told GMA.
Cassie added that she has cooperated with the investigation in every way that she could, but that she doesn't have any more information that could lead police to Gabby Petito.
She did tell GMA that she and her family had a good relationship with Brian.
“He’s a wonderful uncle. He’s always been there when I need him. He’s, I mean, he’s been there every time Gabby’s needed him," she said during the interview.
Along with police, Gabby Petito's family has begged the Laundrie family to speak with investigators.
"Whatever you can do to make sure my daughter comes home, I’m asking for that help," Gabby's father Joe Petito said during a news conference on Friday. "There is nothing else that matters to me now."
Later on Thursday afternoon, a lawyer for Gabby Petito's family read a letter directed to the parents of Brian Laundrie.
In the letter, Gabby's mother, father, stepmother, and stepfather acknowledged that Christopher and Roberta Laundrie are likely just doing what they can to protect their son, but pleaded with the family to "put yourselves in our shoes."
The FBI has arranged for a national hotline, which has already received hundreds of tips. They're especially interested in knowing where the van has been. The number is 1-800-225-5324.
"The answers will eventually come out. We will help find Gabby and we will help find anyone who may be involved in her disappearance," Chief Todd Garrison said.