Local authorties have revealed crucial mistakes in the Brian Laundrie case that allowed the 23-year-old get away, which included mistaking him for his mother.

The North Port Police Department told WINKNews.com that investigators made several lapses while attempting to keep a close eye on Laundrie prior to his disappearance and an ensuing month-long search.

The department said it set up cameras around the Laundrie family home, which proved to be an unsuccessful strategy.

Officers watching the house saw the 23-year-old leave in his grey Ford Mustang and thought he returned days later, but it was actually his mother, Roberta, mistaken for him.

“They’re kind of built similarly,” said Josh Taylor, NPPD public information officer, via WINKNews.com.

That key mistake cost taxpayers money and authorities significant time in the search for Laundrie, the fiancé of Gabrielle 'Gabby' Petito and the lone person of interest in her death.

Taylor said the department had tracked Laundrie after Petito was reported missing by her family in New York on September 11 and observed him leave in his Mustang two days later.

“All I’m going to say is we know where Brian Laundrie is at,” said North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison on September 16, a full month prior to his remains being found, via WINKNews.com.

Laundrie was then reported missing by his family the following day.

“When the family reported him [missing] on Friday. That was certainly news to us that they had not seen him,” Taylor said. “We thought that we seen Brian initially come back into that home on that Wednesday. But we now know that that wasn’t true.”

The initial autopsy results for Laundrie were inconclusive, according to the Laundrie family's attorney, Steven Bertolino on Monday (October 25).

“No manner or cause of death was determined," Bertolino said in a statement to NBC News, adding that Laundrie's remains would be sent to an anthropologist "for further evaluation."

Last Thursday (October 21), the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed human remains found in Florida on Wednesday, October 20, matched the 23-year-old.

“The FBI is grateful for the tremendous investigative support from our partners: North Port Police Department, Sarasota Police Department, Jackson Police Department, Charlotte County Sheriffs Office, Lee County Sheriffs Office, Sarasota County Sheriffs Office, Teton County Sheriff's Office, Teton County Search and Rescue, the Florida Wildlife Commission, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Forest Service,” FBI Denver announced in a news release shared on its verified Twitter account.

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