Bizarre Viral Conspiracy Theory Claims Brian Laundrie Is Hiding Under Parents' Flower Bed

The hunt for clues to the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie took a turn for the bizarre after several internet sleuths put forward the theory he could be hiding beneath a flower bed in his parents' backyard.

Laundrie was last seen entering the Carlton Reserve in Florida on September 14. The 23-year-old remains a person of interest in the death of his girlfriend, Gabby Petito, whose body was found in a Wyoming national forest.

Now nearly three weeks on from his last known sighting, a conspiracy theory has emerged claiming he could still be hiding at his parents' home.

It all started when drone footage appearing to show Brian's parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, working on a flowerbed in their garden surfaced online.

The video was quickly seized upon by internet sleuths on TikTok who began pouring over the footage for clues.

A user posting under the handle kmiller480 was among the first to sow the seeds of suspicion, writing alongside a still from the clip: "Chris Laundrie agrees to assist in the search for his son, Brian. Meanwhile Roberta Laundrie is busy as ever in the garden. Has the FBI checked the garden?"

The video has been viewed more than 535,000 times and can be watched here.

Another TikToker posting as charlienovasite then took the theory one step further by sharing a series of zoomed in versions of the drone camera focusing on the actions of the person purported to be Roberta Laundrie.

"There is definitely someone there," they wrote. "You cannot change my mind."

The video, which can be watched here, has been viewed more than 1.1 million times, and was soon followed up by another clip that zoomed in even further on her actions.

In the video, she can be seen tending to an empty flower bed. Commenting on the clip TikTok user Julie Boolie70 wrote: "Looks like a hand reaches out to get something from her" while Mandi30 commented: "Is it me or does it look like she is talking to it?"

Dog the Bounty Hunter was also tagged in the video, which can be viewed here, with followers urging him it "couldn't hurt to check" if Laundrie was there.

Another TikTok sleuth then shared a specially annotated version video of the drone footage highlighting the woman thought to be Roberta Laundrie and her hand movements.

Writing alongside the clip, which has been watched 7.9 million times, _mamabear_xo_ claimed: "Brian is under the garden bed..watch him hand his mother something." That video can be viewed here.

Those claims were also echoed by Gothmas, who posted a video of the footage claiming that Laundrie could be hiding out in a "bunker" beneath the flowerbed.

The conspiracy theory soon spread to Twitter with owlisquiet1 sharing Gothmas' video, writing: "I'm not saying there is anybody under that flower bed, what I am saying is that there is definitely a hand reaching out for something."

"Just watch," she adds. "Stranger things have happened."

TracyB5468 also shared the footage noting "it looks like a hand comes up and she gives them something." She asks: "Is it possible that Brian is living underground on their property!?!?"

Danielpants, meanwhile shared a screenshot from the drone asking "Why are they gardening without tools over a flower-less pit?" while Natbirdd concluded: "Although I don't think Brian Laundrie and his parents are smart enough to make a bunker under a flower bed I could easily be convinced he's down there."

Despite a number of would-be detectives appearing eager to endorse the theory, many others were happy to dismiss it out of hand.

RoadKing1980 was among those to dismiss kmiller480's original video, writing: "Enough with the garden, nobody is under the garden. FBI dogs walked the whole property."

Clarissalatourret was similarly scathing of charlienovasite's claims commenting: "The FBI has been to their house a few times, I highly doubt he's there." Father Figure, meanwhile, criticized _mamabear_xo_ and the social media pursuit of Laundrie as a whole of "melting" people's brains.

On Twitter, Brittany 1985 asked "Don't you think if they had just built an underground bunker the neighbours would find that a bit odd?" while maria_leah385 called the claims "crazy, obsessive stuff."

Newsweek has contacted charlienovasite for comment.

Laundrie's own social media activity has been the subject of renewed scrutiny in recent days after Dog the Bounty Hunter branded one of his Instagram posts "demonic."

While the reality TV star is one of several on the trail of the 23-year-old, a former FBI agent has warned that Laundrie may have already left the state.