A hiker has said he is "certain" he bumped into the fugitive boyfriend of influencer Gabby Petito yesterday morning.
Dennis Davis, 53, believes he saw Brian Laundrie near the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina, close to the Tennessee border.
Mr Davis, an engineer from Florida, said he is currently hiking the trail and yesterday a man in a vehicle pulled up next to him to ask for directions.
He said he has "no doubt" the man was Laundrie, who went missing three weeks ago after police named him a "person of interest" in Gabby's disappearance.
Laundrie, 23, returned home without Gabby on September 1 after the couple had been on a cross-country trip in their van.
The 22-year-old influencer was reported missing on September 11 and was found dead near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on September 19.
Laundrie went missing just before Gabby's body was found and has not been caught since.
The case has attracted numerous online sleuths, with some people - including Dog the Bounty Hunter - joining the search to find clues about Laundrie's whereabouts.
Mr Davis, a dad-of-four, said the man he saw - who was driving a coloured pickup and wearing a dark bandana - claimed he was "lost" and that he was travelling to California to go and see his girlfriend after they got into a fight.
He said: "He was worried and not making sense."
The hiker said he did not immediately recognise the man and only after the encounter he thought it might be Laundrie.
He told the New York Post : "There is no doubt in my mind I spoke to Brian Laundrie — none whatsoever.
"Dog the Bounty Hunter's daughter sent me an audio file of Brian's voice and the voice was the same I heard."
Mr Davis said he has contacted authorities about the interaction but has not heard from the FBI or police yet.
He added: "Obviously, as a father with a daughter, I want to do whatever I can to help the family find closure and get this guy off the streets."
Last week, a woman claimed she picked up Laundrie while he was hitchhiking last month and dropped him off at the site where the body of his partner Gabby was discovered.
Norma Jean Jalovec said she gave Laundrie, a ride in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, on August 29, two days after Ms Petito was last seen.
She said Laundrie had got into the front seat of her jeep at about 6.15pm after she saw him “walking backward and holding out his thumb” in an attempt to hitch a ride.
While she drove, Laundrie told her he had spent time hiking and seen elk and moose, and that he had a fiance, she said.
The search for him is now entering its third week, with his family lawyer saying they hope he is still alive.
