Gabby Petito fiance Brian Laundrie 'is not missing, he is hiding,' attorney for her family says

(CNN) Local and federal authorities in Florida are now looking for the fiancé of missing 22-year-old Gabby Petito after his family told police they haven't seen him since Tuesday.

The FBI is involved in the search for 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, police in North Port said in a statement late Friday, expressing frustration that Laundrie's family did not speak with investigators for nearly a week about Petito's disappearance.

"We understand the community's frustration, we are frustrated too," the statement said. "For six days, the North Port Police Department and the FBI have been pleading with the family to contact investigators regarding Brian's fiancée Gabby Petito. Friday is the first time they have spoken with investigators in detail."

Brian Laundrie is not wanted for a crime, Friday's statement said, adding that law enforcement are now working "multiple missing person investigations."

Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino said Friday that Laundrie's whereabouts "are currently unknown."

Richard Stafford, the attorney for the Petito family, said in a brief statement sent to CNN, "All of Gabby's family want the world to know that Brian is not missing, he is hiding. Gabby is missing."

Search for Laundrie focuses on nature reserve

On Saturday morning, investigators were searching for Laundrie at a nature reserve in Venice, Florida, according to a tweet by North Port police , which said Laundrie's family believed he was in the area earlier this week.

Prior to her disappearance, Petito had been traveling with Laundrie on a road trip through several western states. Law enforcement began investigating Petito's disappearance on September 11, when Petito's family reported her missing after they were unable to contact her for several days.Prior to her disappearance, Petito had been traveling with Laundrie on a road trip through several western states.

Laundrie returned to North Port without Petito September 1, according to police. Officials later found the van the couple had been traveling in at the home Petito shared with Laundrie and his parents in North Port.

Before it was reported that Laundrie's whereabouts were unknown, family attorney Bertolino confirmed to CNN a statement he provided earlier Friday to NBC still stands. The statement says Laundrie will not speak on the matter because "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."

North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison told CNN's Don Lemon earlier in the week that Laundrie had invoked his Fifth Amendment right, which generally means a person cannot be forced to make statements they feel might be negative or used against them.

North Port police spokesperson Josh Taylor told CNN's Chris Cuomo Friday night that Laundrie's disappearance is "another twist in this story."

"We've been trying all week to talk to his family, to talk to Brian," Taylor said. "And now they've called us here on Friday, we've gone to the home, and they're saying now they have not seen their son. So we are working through those details as we speak."

Police previously visited the home but the family refused to talk and instead gave authorities the information for their attorney, Taylor said this week.

Petito stepfather: 'I don't know what to believe'

Petito's stepfather said Friday he's happy Laundrie's parents called police, but said, "I don't know what to believe."

Jim Schmidt told CNN's Cuomo he was "caught off guard" by the news shared moments earlier that Laundrie's family spoke with authorities, saying he hadn't even had a moment to digest it.

"All that matters is finding her and bringing her home," Schmidt said.

"We're still trying to get the word out there and try to find that one person that might have some details that we need," Schmidt said. "Just trying to get out there and find that person and hopefully they can help us with anything that will bring her home."

When asked if there was anything from the last few times he contacted Gabby that would be helpful now, Schmidt said, "I'm not sure. We've been analyzing everything as much as we can, and your mind races in a million different directions when you're trying to put something like this together and it's -- we're still trying to get a full grasp on the entire situation."

Schmidt asked for the media to "just keep getting the word out," adding, "Some different photos, not just the ones that have been out there, maybe that sparks something in the public that somebody didn't recognize before and just keep getting that word out there and keep this fresh in the media so it keeps going until we find her."

The FBI has released a new Missing Person poster , asking for help in the search for Petito.

Campsite reviews appear to show the couple this summer

Before their disappearance, Petito and Laundrie appeared to have left reviews on an online camp community app called The Dyrt.

An account linked to the couple lists campgrounds in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Washington, Wyoming, and Utah, as well as left reviews of campsites where Petito was last seen.

Camping spots to the Grand Teton National Park were saved on the profile.

According to a timeline of events provided Friday by Petito family attorney Stafford, Gabby FaceTimed with her mother on August 24, saying she was leaving Utah and headed to the Tetons.

This photo of Petito and Laundrie was posted on the online camp community app.

A photo of the couple was posted on The Dyrt two months ago and tags their social media accounts.

Their most recent review is about Arches National Park in Utah in July, in the same county where Moab police had an interaction with Petito and Laundrie two weeks later.

At the time, officers with the Moab City Police Department responded to reports of disorderly conduct involving Petito and Laundrie, which ended with a report describing them as having "engaged in some sort of altercation."

The officers who responded to the incident suggested that Laundrie and Petito should separate for the night, according to the report, and no charges were filed.

One of the officers who responded to the scene wrote in the police report that Laundrie said the pair had been traveling together for "the last four or five months."