Has Brian Laundrie been captured by police in Cancun, Mexico? Fact Check

ByCraig Haley

Rumours on social media claim that US fugitive Brian Laundrie has been captured by authorities while hiding in Cancun, Mexico.

FALSE

Laundrie is wanted by US law enforcement in connection to the murder of his girlfriend Gabby Petito during a cross-country camping trip. At the time of writing, he is a fugitive whose whereabouts is unknown.

However in October 2021 rumours began to spread via social media that he had been captured in Cancun, Mexico. The story appears to have been started by the website Conservative Beaver, who penned an article with the headline “Mexican Police confirm Brian Laundrie found in Cancun, Mexico”. In the article the site claims Laundrie was found in a Cancun hotel using a fake name. The story reads in part –

Brian Laundrie has been found in Cancun, according to Mexican Police. Laundrie was found staying at a hotel under a fake name. He has was arrested without incident, and has been taken into custody while he awaits an extradition hearing. US Marshals announced Laundrie’s arrest late Sunday.
Laundrie disappeared after taking a hike into the Carlton Reserve near North Port, Florida, two days after his girlfriend, Gabby Petito, was reported missing. According to the Independent, Laundrie “returned from a cross country road trip without her, and her family became suspicious after the woman failed to check in for several days.”

However the accuracy of the article seems more than dubious, considering the only sources offered by Conservative Beaver to back-up their story is the claim that both the US Marshal Service and “Mexican Police” had announced that Laundrie had been captured “on Sunday”. However the US Marshal Service has made no such announcement, nor released any statements at all confirming that Laundrie had been found. Additionally, we could find no statement from any law enforcement entity in Mexico.

In fact we could find no statement from an law enforcement entity from either the US or Mexico about Brian Laundrie being found.


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Finally, the website Conservative Beaver itself is a site that often prints conspiratorial or outright fake news on its site. Describing itself as a site offering “news stories of interest to Proud Canadians”, it has previously publishing nonsense articles including one about Barack Obama being arrested for espionage. There is no visible disclaimer on the site suggesting the site publishes fake news articles.

Given the lack of verifiable sources, and considering the history of the actual source of this rumour, we’re going to rank the claim that Brian Laundrie has been found in Cancun, Mexico, as false.

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