A hiker has spoken out about an alleged encounter he had with a man he believes to be missing 23-year-old Brian Laundrie.
Dennis Davis, an engineer from Florida, says he is sure he spoke with Laundrie on the morning of October 2.
Laundrie is currently a "person of interest" in the case involving the death of his girlfriend, 22-year-old travel blogger Gabby Petito.
The couple had been traveling across the country together in their converted van over the summer - but Laundrie returned to the Florida home the couple shared with his parents on September 1 without her.
Just days after Petito was reported missing by her family, Laundrie went missing and has yet to be found despite widespread searches for him by authorities. Petito was confirmed dead by the FBI on September 21 after her remains were discovered inside a Wyoming national park.
Now, speaking to the New York Post, Davis believes he encountered Laundrie on a deserted road near the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina yesterday.
The 53-year-old told the publication: "There is no doubt in my mind I spoke to Brian Laundrie — none whatsoever".
Davis is currently hiking the marked trail and claims that a man he says matches Laundrie's description waved him down on Waterville Road - which is located close to the border of Tennessee and North Carolina.
The engineer says the man was acting "skittish" and was wearing a black bandana. According to Davis, the man was also driving a pickup truck.
Davis claims that the man asked for directions to California and revealed that he had been in a fight with his girlfriend.
Speaking to The Post, Davis says: "He said, ‘Man, I’m lost.’ I said, ‘What are you trying to find?’
"And he said, ‘Me and my girlfriend got in a fight but she called me, told me she loves me, and I have to get to California to see her.’
"I said, ‘Well, I-40 is right there and you could take it west to California’ and he said, ‘I’m just going to take this road into California’. He was worried and not making sense."
The Post reports that Laundrie is familiar with The Appalachians, as the 23-year-old had reportedly once lived there "for months" by himself.
Despite Davis suggesting the Interstate 40 route, the man allegedly said he wanted to stick to the back roads.
The hiker said that he did not initially recognize the man, but after looking up photos of Laundrie on his cell phone, he believes it to be the missing 23-year-old.
Davis says he has made three calls to the FBI and as well as 911 calls in both North Carolina and Tennessee - but is yet to receive a return call from any law enforcement.
He told The Post: "Law enforcement is probably getting millions of leads on this guy, but I am not some goofball out there doing drugs in the middle of the night, I am a highly educated professional."
The father also told The Post that he had been sent an audio file of Laundrie's voice by Dog the Bounty Hunter’s daughter. After listening to the file, he says the voice "was the same" as the man he allegedly spoke to.
"I know that was the guy. There is no doubt about it," he adds.
