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HUGE PRESSURE

FBI is ‘spread too thin’ for Brian Laundrie search & fugitive may only be caught when he slips up, ex-agent says

THE FBI is 'spread too thin' for the extensive manhunt for fugitive Brian Laundrie and he may only be caught when he slips up, an ex-agent exclusively told The Sun.

Cops have confirmed the agency is leading the search for the , who remains the only after his fiance

Brian returned home to his parent's home in Florida after Gabby disappeared
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Brian returned home to his parent's home in Florida after Gabby disappearedCredit: Social Media - Refer to Source
The FBI are now leading the manhunt to find the missing traveler who is the only person of interest in Gabby's death
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The FBI are now leading the manhunt to find the missing traveler who is the only person of interest in Gabby's deathCredit: Getty Images - Getty

But , now a lawyer in South Florida, says the FBI is already under a lot of pressure, after cops confirmed has been scaled and is now based on intelligence.

Kaplan told us: "The FBI is not tasked or mandated to investigate homicides. Homicides obviously are part of criminal enterprises, whether it's organized crime or, God forbid there's a bank robbery and someone gets shot and killed, but routinely a single homicide is not within the jurisdiction of the FBI.

"But now realizing the scope and breadth of this investigation, the FBI came in. They are certainly equipped to track down and conduct leads and go out and serve subpoenas and interviews etc.

"[But] once the FBI is thrust into the limelight, and this is one of my criticisms of the FBI, the agency is spread too thin with not enough resources to really be able to be as effective as they could be in kind of sticking to their mission statement. 

"And basically the FBI's mission statement, to be quite frank, is the national security of the United States here within the United States.

"And so with that, I think unfortunately with mass shootings, active shootings and serial killings and all of those things, the FBI has been pushed into the forefront to be the go-to agency to try to solve all these problems. 

"They've been asked to do many, many more things in the last couple of years that they used to not be asked to do."

Kaplan says the drawback is that it "strains a lot of the resources", and agents could be focused on bigger investigations, although he does hope  get justice.

"The general public is now beating on doors and demanding that this case be solved. And so the FBI has that pressure, that's the real life political spin on this, right?" he went on.

"And I think it's unacceptable that the neighbors are parked outside 's house [Brian's sister] and demanding that she come out and answer their questions.

"We live here in the United States and we do not have that legal obligation to cooperate or to talk to anybody. We can keep our mouths shut. And if I was their lawyer, that's exactly what I would be advising them to do."

Kaplan feels the more time passes the harder it's going to be for cops to find him if he's still alive, and he would have to "slip up" to be caught.

"I think eventually what happens to cases like this, it falls back on just good old police work with knocking on doors," he said.

"And then at some point, just getting a break in the case where someone comes into contact with Brian Laundrie, and then there's a lead that he's been identified or located in a particular area. 

"Do I think that they can sustain 24 hours, seven days a week searching for this guy? Absolutely not. That's ridiculous.

"I don't want to sound callous or heartless, but it's a homicide of one person as tragic as it is.

"It has already been significantly scaled back where it's probably assigned to two case agents and a squad. And as the lead comes in, depending on the credibility of the lead, it's then dealt with that way.

Read our  for the very latest news and updates...

Here's the difficulty with respect to The FBI, could look like the normal average American guy, right? So it's going to be a needle in a haystack.

"And of course, the fact that when he went missing, his hair was short or almost bald. 

"Now, he could easily grow his hair and his appearance can drastically change where it may be very difficult to identify him. 

"It may come down to facial recognition if he enters into an airport or to someplace that is utilizing that type of technology. But again, it's going to take a tip.

"He's going to have to provide food, shelter and clothing for himself. And he's going to have to get money or resources and that's where maybe where there'll be a break in the case. People slip up and they make mistakes."

Search and rescue expert Mike Hadsell has estimated that the search for Laundrie in has cost about $1.2million so far.

The former LA County Sheriff's deputy added that could be responsible for the large bill if authorities find they lied about where their son was headed the last time they saw him.

"I can accurately estimate they are spending $200,000 a day on this search," Hadsell told the . "And if this thing turns out to be bogus and they can prove that the family misled law enforcement on this, the parents will get a bill."

 'To see them blow more than a million bucks out here on this guy, is just like what the heck?" said Hadsell.

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"A lot of other people who end up missing need that money and need that help. And they just don't get it. And that is chafing me on this whole thing," Hadsell said.

Many have commented in recent days that the resources used in the search for and Laundrie don't match those used for other people who vanished near Grand Tetons such as Daniel Robinson and Lauren Cho.

Former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan feels the agency is spread too thin to find Laundrie
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Former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan feels the agency is spread too thin to find LaundrieCredit: WPTV
Gabby's remains were found close to where her van was spotted in a tourist's video footage
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Gabby's remains were found close to where her van was spotted in a tourist's video footageCredit: KSL 5
The couple had gone on a road trip together and Brian refused to cooperate with police after Gabby vanished
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The couple had gone on a road trip together and Brian refused to cooperate with police after Gabby vanishedCredit: Social Media - Refer to source
Gabby Petito's mom enraged after hearing 911 call about Brian Laundrie hitting vlogger as Moab cops bashed over body cam
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