Apparent human "skeletal remains" were recovered Wednesday in a Florida wildlife preserve where the search for Brian Laundrie has centered, police told ABC News on Thursday.

“We have confirmed skeletal remains," said Josh Taylor, spokesman for the North Port, Florida, Police Department.

Asked of media reports describing portions of the remains recovered, Taylor said, "We have not said anything about a skull.”

Dr. Russell Vega, the chief medical examiner for Florida’s 12th District, confirmed to ABC News that he is working on trying to identify the apparent human remains found Wednesday in a nature preserve along with Brian Laundrie's backpack and notebook.

Vega said it could take several days to identify the remains. He declined to confirm media reports that the remains discovered at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, Florida, were bones.

Early in the search for Laundrie, FBI agents collected samples of Laundrie's DNA from his parents home in North Port, according to the Laundrie family attorney.

Steven Bertolino, the family attorney for the Laundrie family, spoke with New York ABC station WABC Wednesday evening after law enforcement found human remains and items belonging to the fugitive at a Florida park.

The attorney said the area where investigators found Brian's belongings was shown to police two weeks ago when Laundrie's father, Chris, aided in the search.

"I can't say for certain that Chris showed this particular area to police at that point in time, but I can say that this is an area that we initially notified the FBI that Brian liked hiking," Bertolino said.

The attorney said the family is waiting for a proper identification before making any comments.

"As you can imagine, the parents are very distraught. ... At this moment in time they're grieving," he said.

Police have recovered apparent human remains that have not been identified in the search for Brian Laundrie, the FBI said Wednesday.

Authorities also found items belonging to Laundrie, like a backpack and notebook, officials said.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael McPherson said the area where the items were found had previously been underwater. McPherson said a team would be on site for several days processing the scene.

The Grand County, Utah, Sheriff's Office released on Monday a 911 recording from August in which a caller claimed he witnessed Brian Laundrie allegedly "slapping" Gabby Petito and chasing her up and down a sidewalk hitting her.

In the recording of the 911 call from Aug. 12, the caller, whose name was not released, claimed he saw an apparent domestic dispute unfold on Main Street in Moab between a young couple driving a white van with Florida license plates.

"We drove by, and the gentleman was slapping the girl," the caller told a 911 dispatcher. "And then we stopped. They ran up and down the sidewalk. He proceeded to hit her, hopped in the car and drove off."

Moab Police Department Chief Bret Edge said last week that his officers responded to the incident, located the van and pulled the couple over. Moab police released body camera footage of the traffic stop and wrote in a report that the couple, identified as Laundrie and Petito, admitted to arguing and that Petito had slapped Laundrie.

The couple also stated to police that Laundrie did not hit Petito, according to the report.

After speaking to Petito and Laundrie separately, the police allowed the couple to go on their way. Edge said "insufficient evidence existed to justify criminal charges."