As the manhunt for Brian Laundrie continues, the people who say they have encountered or spotted him may be critical in figuring out where he’s located, the Sun reports.
Petito and Laundrie had embarked on a summer road trip together across the country in a camper van, but Laundrie returned home September 1 alone.
After Petito’s family reported her missing on September 11, Laundrie refused to talk about her with police. His parents later reported him missing on September 17, claiming that he told them he went hiking in a large nature preserve near their home and had not been seen for several days.
Investigators found Petito’s body September 19 in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming. She died from strangulation and had been deceased for several weeks before being located, according to an autopsy.
The Sun identified seven witnesses who have helped authorities sketch together a timeline of events of the couple’s travels and Laundrie’s b
Sunny Mason
On August 25 or 26, Petito and Laundrie stopped by the Victor Emporium, which is about 30 miles from Grand Teton National Park, according to store employee Sunny Mason. Mason has said that Laundrie was acting “strange” and “odd,” pointing out that he and Petito were engaged.
“It felt like he felt slighted for her not talking about her engagement, or her not being excited [about it],” Mason is quoted as saying in The Sun.
Nina Celie Angelo
Nina Celie Angelo has said she believes she saw Laundrie arguing with a restaurant employee while eating at Merry Piglets in Jackson, Wyoming.
The incident occurred on August 27. Angelo has said that Laundrie’s body language appeared “aggressive” and that Petito later apologized for his behavior, according to Fox News.
“It’s crazy because it wasn’t just like we passed them on the street. It was a full-blown incident,” Angelo told Fox News, adding that she felt “chills” remembering the scene.
Miranda Baker
Miranda Baker has said that she and her boyfriend picked up a hitchhiker who she believes was Laundrie on August 29 around 5:30 p.m.
According to Baker’s account, Laundrie told her that he had been camping alone and that Petito was working on social media content in the camper van they were using.
But upon learning that Baker was going to Jackson Hole, Laundrie asked to get out of the vehicle.
“He got out, and you know, he was thankful and he was kind of in a hurry,” Baker told ABC News. “He said he was going to go across the street into the parking lot and find someone else to give him a ride, but, when we looked back 10 or 15 seconds after he got out of the vehicle he was just gone.”
Norma Jean Jalovec
Later that same day, Norma Jean Jalovec believes she also gave Laundrie a ride, likely around 6:30 or 6:40 p.m.
Jalovec has said that she was near the Jackson Lake Dam for a church service when she saw a man looking for a lift. The man, whom Jalovec suspects was Laundrie, asked her to go to Spread Creek campgrounds, which is where Petito’s body was later found.
As she drove toward the entrance of the campground, Laundrie is said to have gotten startled and attempted to “get out of the moving car,” Jalovec told Fox News.
“I picked him up. Something just said, ‘Hey ask him where he’s going,’” Jalovec told the news outlet.
William and Charlene Guthrie
After Laundrie returned to his parents’ home in North Port, Florida, on September 1 with Petito’s van, William and Charlene Guthrie, who live across the street, have said that they saw the Laundrie family pack a camper and leave a week later.
“We didn’t know it was Gabby’s, we just assumed it was [Brian’s] van,” Charlene Guthrie told Fox News. “We just thought they had come back from wherever. We didn’t know they were on a trip. We assumed they went back to their house or wherever they got a house . . . We didn’t know much about them at all.”
A Second Neighbor
Another person who lives near the Laundrie family residence has said that she saw a man who looked like Brian Laundrie running from his home on September 17, the day his parents reported him missing.
This other neighbor, known only as Jen, has said that the man ran into a nearby woods and that another neighbor may have captured the incident on a security camera.
Asked if Laundrie was in North Port on the day he was reported missing, Jen responded: “Yes, definitely. He was here,” according to The Sun.
Anyone with information on Laundrie’s whereabouts should contact the FBI at: tips.fbi.gov, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or 303-629-7171. Upload photos and videos to: fbi.gov/petito.
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Featured Image: Gabby Petito, Brian Laundrie, Instagram
