U.S. Marshals recently rushed and pulled their guns on a man who looked like Brian Laundrie on the Appalachian Trail, according to The New Yorker.
Ithaca couple Severin Beckwith and Anna Brettmann had been taking a nap at the Lodge at Fontana Village Resort after eating lunch. Someone knocked at their door. It flew open and police rushed inside.
- “Next thing I see is a bunch of guys with riot shields with ‘U.S. Marshals’ written on them, handguns pointed at my face,” Beckwith told The New Yorker.
- Severin Beckwith was handcuffed. He told The New Yorker that agents said he had “notch in the upper part of my inner ear just like” Brian Laundrie.
- Beckwith and Brettmann — who have been hiking on the Appalachian Trail since September — used a credit card connected to New York. Gabby Petito was from Long Island, New York, according to the New York Post.
Laundrie is a person of interest in the disappearance and death of Gabby Petito. The two had been on a cross-country road trip together before only Laundrie returned home on Sept. 1. Ten days later, her family reported her missing.
- Petito was found dead on the outskirts of a Wyoming national park. A Wyoming coroner confirmed she died by strangulation.
On Monday, Sept. 13, Laundrie left his home. Days later, his family reported him missing, saying they hadn’t seen him in days.
- Authorities have been searching for Laundrie ever since. Much of the search has been focused on the 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve in Florida.
- Police have been on a manhunt for Laundrie ever since. His whereabouts remain unknown.
- But clearly, police have been making attempts to find him, looking for people who are pale, bald and bearded — like Beckwith.
Beckwith was later cleared since he did not have tattoos like Laundrie. He also showed his ID to prove he wasn’t Laundrie.
- The couple received free breakfast for their trouble.
- “It was a buffet. We took as much as we could,” Beckwith said.
Beckwith isn’t the only Laundrie lookalike who has made headlines. A TikTok user went viral because he looks like Laundrie. As I wrote for the Deseret News, the man said he was going on a trip and was worried people would mistake him for Laundrie.
- “I’m flying across the country tomorrow for my cousin’s wedding, and it’s a pretty long flight,” he said in a third video. “So if you have any tips for me on how not to get attacked or accused of being this guy, get at me.”
His TikTok videos showed he wore multiple masks to hide his face during the flight. But it’s just another sign that the search for Laundrie continues to impact people other than him and his family, even one month on.