The Florida reserve where Brian Laundrie's remains were found is teeming with alligators and carnivorous wild pigs, a local said

• Brian Laundrie's remains were found in a spot in Florida's Carlton Reserve that had been submerged.
• One local man told the New York Post that there were alligators and wild pigs in the area.

The Florida reserve where Brian Laundrie's remains were discovered last week is home to a range of carnivores that would have been drawn to the remains, a local told the New York Post on Wednesday.

Authorities said they found the remains in a previously flooded area of the Carlton Reserve on Wednesday. They said the remains had been sent to a forensic anthropologist. Laundrie's cause of death is unclear.

John Widmann, who lives a mile from the reserve, told the New York Post, "I walk there all the time and there won't be much of the remains left.

"There's alligators, but the worst thing are the wild pigs," he added. "They're evil animals and will eat anything. Any flesh out in the open will not be wasted.

"There won't be much for the coroner to work on," he went on. "Nature doesn't waste anything."

Carmine Marceno, a county sheriff, also told the Post that rattlesnakes, moccasins, and alligators were in the area and that the conditions were "treacherous" for law-enforcement officials to analyze.

Authorities said the skeletal remains and other items belonging to Laundrie were discovered only after water in the area receded, The Independent reported.

Laundrie's remains were found after a five-week search in the vast nature reserve.

He had been missing since mid-September, when he went for a hike in the reserve, his parents said. They initially said he went missing on September 14 but later said he vanished on September 13.

The FBI had named Laundrie a person of interest in the killing of his fiancée, Gabby Petito, whose remains were found near a Wyoming campsite on September 19. Her death was ruled a homicide, and a coroner said the cause of death was strangulation.

The couple had embarked on a joint cross-country "van life" road trip in the summer. Petito's family reported her missing 10 days after Laundrie returned alone to their home in Florida on September 1.

Laundrie's refusal to help authorities in the search for Petito fueled widespread outrage and speculation about her death. There's also been speculation about how the search for Laundrie ended shortly after his parents got involved.

Mia Jankowicz contributed reporting.