A Florida engineer has claimed he encountered Gabrielle Petito’s missing boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, on Saturday while driving near the Appalachian Trail, close to the North Carolina-Tennessee border.
Dennis Davis, 53, told Fox News that he was making a three-point turn in Hartford, Tennessee, when a man in a white pickup truck flashed his lights and waved his hand. Davis said the man, who he now believes was Laundrie, appeared unkempt.
Davis claimed the man said he was heading to California but became lost.
According to Davis, the man said, “‘My girlfriend and I got into a fight, but she called me and told me that she loved me — and I’ve got to get to California to see her.'”
Davis reportedly recommended the man take Highway I-40, but the man refused his advice and said, “No, I’m gonna keep driving down this road. I think it goes to California.”
Davis told Fox that he suddenly realized the mystery man may be Laundrie, so pulled over on the side of the road and researched pictures of Laundrie — who is currently wanted on a federal warrant for unauthorized use of a bank card after Petito died by homicide.
Davis reportedly said he called the FBI twice, in addition to calling Tennessee 911 and North Carolina 911. Police in Haywood County, North Carolina, confirmed to Fox that Davis called 911 at around 2 a.m. on Saturday.
Laundrie’s whereabouts have been unknown since at least September 14. On September 17, Laundrie’s parents told police that Brian had gone on September 14 to the Carlton Reserve, a 24,000-acre preserve in Sarasota County. It remains unknown why Laundrie’s parents waited three days to report his disappearance to the police.
Laundrie has not been criminally charged in connection with his girlfriend’s death.
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[Featured image: Brian Laundrie, Gabrielle Petito/Instagram]
