Human remains found in Florida park during Brian Laundrie search were 'bones': police

• The human remains discovered at a Florida wildlife preserve amid the search for Brian Laundrie consisted of "bones."
• North Port Police spokesman Josh Taylor told Insider "bones" were found Wednesday in the Carlton Reserve.

The human remains discovered at a Florida wildlife preserve where authorites have been searching for Brian Laundrie - the sole person of interest in the killing of his fiancée Gabby Petito - consisted of "bones," a local police official told Insider on Thursday.

North Port Police spokesman Josh Taylor said that "bones" were found Wednesday in the 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve, which connects to the 160-acre Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port.

The remains have not yet been identified.

Laundrie's parents have told investigators that their 23-year-old son went for a hike at the reserve on September 13 and never returned to their North Port home.

They reported Laundrie missing on September 17 - more than two weeks after investigators say he returned home from a cross-country road trip without 22-year-old Petito and with the van the couple had been traveling in.

The FBI told reporters Wednesday that "what appears to be human remains" were discovered, along with a backpack and notebook belonging to Laundrie, in the heavily wooded and alligator-infested area where authorities have been looking for Laundrie for more than a month.

"These items were found in an area that up until recently had been underwater," Michael McPherson, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Tampa field office, said during a press conference at the entrance of the environmental park.

Taylor told Insider that the remains were found roughly two to three miles into the Carlton Reserve.

District 12 Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Russell Vega, told Insider Thursday that his team was "currently working on the remains, including identification."

Laundrie's parents, Chris and Roberta, were "just waiting" for forensic experts to identify the remains, family attorney Steven Bertolino told Insider earlier Thursday.

They are "not convinced" yet that the remains belong to their son, but they believe there's a "strong" chance the remains are his, Bertolino said.

The human remains were found at a location Laundrie's parents had "advised" authorities to search for him, Bertolino previously said.

The parents were at the reserve when the remains and some of Laundrie's possessions were located, according to Bertolino.

Laundrie, who the feds have issued an arrest warrant for on a bank-card fraud-related charge, has been the subject of an FBI-led manhunt.

Days after Laundrie disappeared, Petito's body was discovered at a remote campsite in Wyoming on September 19.

A coroner later determined her manner of death was homicide and the cause was manual strangulation.