Dog the Bounty Hunter gives Brian Laundrie evidence to police for DNA testing

The former reality tv star previously said he rarely collaborates with law enforcement

Duane Chapman, better known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, has reportedly turned evidence he has collected in his search for Brian Laundrie to the FBI.

Mr Chapman said he hopes the evidence he collected from a Florida park will be tested for Mr Laundrie's DNA.

According to The New York Post, Mr Chapman is currently searching for Mr Laundrie near the Appalachian Trail.

Mr Chapman handing over evidence is a step outside his usual methods; during a Newsmax interview last week, the bounty hunter said he rarely worked alongside law enforcement during his hunts.

“I guess we kind of do the same thing but I really don’t pay too much attention, like they don’t pay too much attention to me,” Mr Chapman said. “After 45 years, I don’t call the police, they’re usually called on me – so I don’t know what they’re doing.”

However, Mr Chapman has been more open to collaboration in the hunt for Mr Laundrie, even allowing a plainclothes police officer to join his search team, which reportedly includes former navy SEALs and marines.

The former reality TV star joined the search just over a week ago, and has since offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to Mr Laundrie's arrest.

While skeptics offered a collective eye-roll when Mr Chapman announced he would join the search, a tip from Mr Chapman that the Laundries had taken a camping trip to the Fort DeSoto campgrounds in Pinellas County, Florida, proved fruitful.

Reporters followed up on the tip and managed to confirm through the Pinellas County Parks Department and the Laundrie family attorney, Steven Bertolino, that the Laundries had been camping at Fort DeSoto between 6 September and 8 September.

It was later confirmed that both Mr Laundrie and his sister, Cassise, stayed at the campground, despite the latter's claim that she had not spoken with her brother since his return to Florida.

Mr Chapman said hunting a fugitive was a "marathon, not a sprint”.

“We are continuing to search for Brian Laundrie. The longer he is on the run, the more dangerous this becomes,” he said.

The famed bounty hunter is focusing his search on the Appalachian Trial after a hiker claimeds on Sunday that he "definitely" interacted with Mr Laundrie while hiking.

In the meantime, Mr Chapman said he has been "getting calls like crazy" on his 833-TELLDOG hotline, but noted that only 20 per cent seemed credible.

Mr Chapman's involvement in the Laundrie case is not completely altruistic - Variety reported that the former reality TV star is shopping around another show in an attempt to return to the airwaves sometime in the next year.