Brian Laundrie ‘spotted’ in Mexico restaurant, claim sleuths as FBI hunts Gabby Petito’s fiancé
ONLINE sleuths have shared an image that they claim shows Gabby Petito's fiancé Brian Laundrie at a restaurant in Mexico as FBI detectives continue the search for him.
was reported missing last week after he allegedly told his parents that he was going for a hike in a nature reserve.
A picture that has circulated on Twitter appears to show a man, who is wearing a white t-shirt and black shorts, sitting at a table at a restaurant in Mexico.
It’s not known when the alleged picture was taken.
Users have speculated that the individual could be Laundrie as he currently remains at large. His whereabouts remain unknown.
His parents reported him missing last Friday and they told police that he was going for a hike in the “swamp-infested” Carlton nature reserve in Sarasota.
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But, a search and rescue expert said that Laundrie may have lied to his family about his whereabouts.
Chris Boyer, the executive director of the National Association for Search and Rescue, told : “There’s a chance Laundrie may have lied to his family about where he was going.
“People that are trying not to get caught for something sometimes use people, right? So he may have told his parents that's where he's going.
“They may be telling the authorities that in all honesty, but he lied to them."
There is no evidence that Laundrie lied to his parents.
The expert claimed that Laundrie may not even be in Florida and “could be anywhere”.
Boyer said that cops may be looking at his digital footprint as they try to find the 23-year-old.
FBI detectives, police, and K9s were first deployed to the Sarasota nature reserve last weekend but they are yet to find him.
North Port Police department Josh Taylor said the reserve is “an unforgiving location” at times.
He said: “It is currently waist-deep in water in many areas.
"This is dangerous work for the search crews as they are wading through gator and snake-infested swamps and flooded hiking and biking trails."
Laundrie returned to Florida alone on September 1 - weeks after starting a cross-country road trip with his fiancée Gabby.
'UNFORGIVING NATURE RESERVE'
Gabby was reported missing on September 11 and Laundrie was declared a "person of interest" by cops investigating the case days later. He has not been named as a suspect.
On Sunday, authorities discovered a body at a Wyoming campsite, which was later confirmed to be Gabby's.
A number of alleged sightings regarding Laundrie have circulated online in recent days. Most alleged sightings have led to dead ends.
There have also been reports that he might be on the Appalachian Trail.
Another search in Okaloosa County turned out to be a dead end.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office investigated reports of a man matching Laundrie's description appearing on a , but on September 23, they confirmed it was
A series of have been reported in a number of states including elsewhere in Florida and Alabama.
Police across Alabama received more than a dozen tip-offs alone on Monday but none of the calls yielded any concrete leads.
A potential sighting of Laundrie was reported around two blocks from his parents' home in North Port, Florida last Friday.
A passerby snapped a cellphone image of the bald male, who was wearing flip-flops, a grey t-shirt, sunglasses, and listening to music.
North Port Police said that the , unlike Laundrie - although they admitted that it looked like him.
A series of alleged sightings regarding Laundrie have circulated on social media in recent weeks.
A at a hotel in Canada.
In a on Wednesday, user @cwlynn said she was staying overnight at a hotel in Toronto on September 20 when she went downstairs to pick up a food delivery.
She said she spotted a man who she claimed closely resembled Laundrie.
The flight attendant described the man as appearing "flustered" as he walked out of the hotel.
The image shows a balding while male with prominent facial hair and a facemask strapped around his chin. The individual pictured also appears to be similar in build to Laundrie.
ALLEGED SIGHTINGS
Gabby was last seen checking out of a Salt Lake City hotel in Utah on August 24 and reportedly last contacted her family a day later, telling them that she and Brian had reached Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Norma Jean Jalovic alleged that Laundrie "freaked out and tried to jump out of her car" as she claimed she gave him a lift near the Jackson Lake Dam, Wyoming on August 29.
Jalovec was in the national park as she attended mass at a church – around 1.2miles from the dam.
She said she spotted was walking backward and holding his thumb out.
Laundrie reportedly asked her to drop him off at the Spread Creek camping ground but as they approached the entrance, he reportedly freaked out and tried to "get out the moving car", according to Jalovec.
She told : “I picked him up. Something just said, ‘Hey ask him where he’s going.”
Jalovec told the outlet that everything was legitimate” and she has already spoken to FBI detectives.
The alleged encounter happened just minutes after and her boyfriend for a ride in their car.
She claimed that they were approached by the 23-year-old at the Grand Teton National Park.
Baker alleged that Laundrie offered $200 for the ride for approximately 10 miles, something which she saw as “kind of weird”.
The Sun reached out to law enforcement and Baker to obtain further details but didn’t receive a response.
North Port Police spokesperson Josh Taylor told the Independent at the time that cops had talked with Baker.
Jalovec's alleged encounter came just days after was reportedly last seen at the Tex-Mex restaurant Merry Piglets in Jackson.
A photographer from New Orleans told Fox News that she had seen Laundrie having an argument with a waitress in a Wyoming restaurant on August 27.
Nina Celie Angelo said she had been visiting the state with her boyfriend on August 27 when they stopped for lunch at Merry Piglets, in Jackson, between 1 and 2pm.
Angelo claims she watched on in shock as an agitated Laundrie began arguing with a waitress. Petito was with him at the time, she said.
While she said she couldn't hear what words were being exchanged between Laundrie and the woman, she believed the spat was either over the bill or about money.
A manager at the restaurant also told NBC News that he had seen Laundrie and Petito on the same day.
The boss claimed that the couple did not arrive in their white Ford van but on foot.
It comes as a was issued for Laundrie, according to an indictment filed by the Denver Field Office of the FBI.
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He is accused of swiping a Capital One debit card and running up a $1,000 balance from August 31 until September 1.
The purchases appear to violate a federal statute (use of unauthorized access devices).
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