The lawyer for the family of Brian Laundrie slammed celebrity sleuths John Walsh and Dog the Bounty Hunter as “dusty relics” and publicity hounds for speaking out nonstop about the Florida fugitive.
“Dusty relics like that Dog and John Walsh need a tragic situation like this so they can clear the cobwebs off their names and give their publicity-hungry egos some food,” attorney Steven Bertolino said in a text message to The Post on Thursday.
Both TV personalities have inserted themselves in the manhunt for Laundrie, 23, who is the sole person of interest in the disappearance and death of Long Island native Gabby Petito.
The lawyer’s dig comes one day after Walsh aired a TV special, “Gabby Petito: ID Special Report” on the Investigation Discovery channel.
Dog, whose real name is Duane Chapman, fired back at Bertolino in a statement.
“It’s ironic that Mr. Bertolino would criticize the people trying to find Brian Laundrie unless perhaps he doesn’t want him found,” he said.
A spokesperson for Walsh declined to comment to Fox News.
Chapman, 68, hosted the popular A&E reality TV show “Dog the Bounty Hunter” from 2004 until 2012. Walsh was the longtime host of “America’s Most Wanted” from 1988 until 2012, initially on Fox and later on Lifetime.
Petito, 22, was on a cross-country trip with Laundrie when she disappeared and was found dead at a Wyoming campground Sept. 19.
An autopsy revealed that she was strangled to death. Her death was declared a homicide.
Laundrie fled his parents’ home in Florida days earlier and remains on the run.