Following Gabby Petito’s death, the FBI filed a federal arrest order for her boyfriend for “use of illegal equipment.”
Between August 30 and September 1, according to the indictment, Brian Laundrie used a debit card and PIN number for accounts that did not belong to him.
Ms Petito’s body was discovered within a park where the pair had been on Sunday.
Mr. Laundrie has gone missing. He was last seen on September 14, according to his relatives.
Officials are scouring a Florida nature preserve for him.
Mr Laundrie, 23, had been traveling for many weeks before returning home to Florida alone with their white van on September 1st. On his return, he did not contact the Petito family or the police.
Ten days later, Ms Petito’s family reported her missing. The 22-year-body old’s was discovered in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park on Sunday. Her death was declared a murder by the coroner, but no details about how she died were provided.
Mr Laundrie allegedly collected over $1,000 (£730) through debit card transactions, according to the indictment released by the US District Court of Wyoming on Wednesday.
In a statement, FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider stated, “While this arrest warrant authorizes law enforcement to apprehend Mr Laundrie, the FBI and its partners throughout the country continue to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding Ms Petito’s killing.”
Mr Laundrie’s lawyer, Steve Bertolino, told Fox News that the arrest warrant was “connected to acts occurring after Gabby Petito’s death and not linked to her actual death.”
Over the weekend, Mr. Laundrie’s family reported him missing. They say he went on a hike and never came back. He is a “person of interest” in the disappearance, although he declined to talk with authorities before vanishing.
Mr Laundrie’s whereabouts had been traced to a 24,000-acre nature preserve near his house in North Port, Florida. The search is being conducted with the help of dogs, drones, and all-terrain vehicles, which authorities say is hindered by the tough, marshy terrain.
Investigators also investigated the Laundrie family’s house earlier this week. Several boxes were removed from the residence, and a silver Ford Mustang was towed away by agents.
It’s still unknown what happened to Ms Petito after she vanished. Police in the southern Utah town of Moab were alerted to a potential domestic violence incident involving the couple two weeks prior, on August 12.
Ms Petito was seen sobbing and talking about her mental health to cops on bodycam footage provided by police. She also stated that the relationship had become increasingly acrimonious.
The cops advised them to spend the night apart, but no charges were filed.
According to Rick Stafford, the family’s lawyer, Ms Petito last video-called her mother on August 24 to say she was leaving Utah and headed to the Teton mountain area in Wyoming.
