Man claims he spoke to Brian Laundrie along the Appalachian Trail, reports show

APPALACHIAN TRAIL, North Carolina – A man walking along the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina claims he spoke with fugitive Brian Laundrie on Saturday morning, according to a New York Post report.

Dennis Davis, 53, an engineer from Florida, told the Post that a man waved him down onto Waterville Road, which runs alongside the hiking trail.

He said a man stopped at his car and asked for directions to California using only back roads.

“I rolled down my window and started talking to the gentleman. I could tell right away that something was wrong with him, ”Davis told Fox News in an interview.

Davis said he told the man to take Interstate 40, which would take him to California. However, the man refused and said he wanted to take the side roads.

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He also told Fox News that he initially suspected the man may have been drugged, but then believed he had been “mentally shot”. He also said the man was talking about an argument he had with his girlfriend.

“He said ‘Dude, I’m lost.’ I said ‘What are you trying to find?’ and he said, “My girlfriend and I had a fight but she called me, told me she loved me, and I have to go to California to see her,” Davis recalls.

He said he didn’t recognize the man as Brian Laundrie until he stopped and looked at photos on his phone.

Davis repeatedly called the FBI, as well as Tennessee and North Carolina police to report the sighting and the man’s truck, which is believed to be a white Ford F-150, according to reports.

According to the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina, they received the call from Davis around 2:40 a.m. and several deputies were dispatched to the area. MPs said they encountered a few similar cars but after checking the plates they were likely hikers.

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“Law enforcement probably gets millions of leads on this guy, but I’m no dope doing drugs in the middle of the night.” I’m a highly skilled professional, ”Davis told The Post.

Davis said Sunday morning that he had yet to receive a callback from the police or the FBI.

Brian Laundrie’s girlfriend Gabby Petito was found dead in Grand Teton National Park on September 11. The Teton County Coroner said his death was a homicide.

Brian Laundrie is wanted by the FBI on fraud charges relating to an unauthorized transaction carried out at the same time with Gabby Petito, according to the Associated Press.

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There remains one person of interest in Petito’s death.

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