- Dog the Bounty Hunter said his tip line for the Gabby Petito case has gotten plenty of good leads.
- However, he said he's not coordinating or sharing tips with police in the search for Brian Laundrie.
- Police have been searching for Laundrie, a person of interest in Petito's case, for two weeks.
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Dog the Bounty Hunter said he's getting plenty of useful tips in his search for Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the case surrounding Gabby Petito's homicide, but those tips aren't being shared with law enforcement.
The reality TV star, whose real name is Duane Chapman, joined the search last week when he was seen knocking on the door of Laundrie's parents' home in North Port, Florida, and urged people to contact him with tips.
"We're getting calls like crazy. I think the success of this bounty hunt is going to be the tip line," Chapman told Newsmax on Thursday. "Over 2,000 calls and about 20% of them are positive leads."
Many of the calls are words of encouragement or suggestions, Chapman said, but that a fifth of them are useful.
When asked by the Newsmax hosts if he's working with law enforcement, who have been searching for Laundrie for two weeks, Chapman said he's not.
He said he can't call them and ask for leads, and that "they don't call me and say, 'Hey, Dog, where's your leads?'"
Chapman said he usually doesn't coordinate with law enforcement.
"Now if someone's in a house and they start firing at us, then we call big brother, and they send out the SWAT and the dogs and get the guy," he said.
-Newsmax (@newsmax) September 30, 2021
Chapman also said he believes Laundrie is still alive, though he doesn't have evidence of that, and that he's "pardon the expression, right on his tail."
He's encouraging people to keep calling 1-833-TELL-DOG with tips. The FBI is asking the public to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI with tips concerning Laundrie or Petito.
Officials have been searching for Laundrie since his parents reported him missing on September 17, days before Petito's body was found near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Laundrie had been staying with his parents since September 1, when he returned alone from a long road trip he was on with Petito, his girlfriend. Petito's family reported her missing on September 11.
Laundrie's parents called the police when Chapman first showed up at their home, Insider's Natalie Musumeci reported.