Brian Laundrie possibly spotted along Florida deer trail at Baker, some 500 miles from his North Point home. Footage taken by Sam Bass in the early hours of Monday morning.
Florida authorities are actively investigating deer camera footage that captured a hiker resembling Gabby Petito’s missing boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, trekking through the wilderness.
Sam Bass said he spotted the man toting a backpack at 6:17 a.m. Monday in the town of Baker, Fla., about 500 miles away from Laundrie’s home in North Port.
‘I’m not saying this is the guy but whoever was on my trail camera this morning in Baker, Fl strongly fits the description of Brian Laundrie,’ Bass posted on Facebook. ‘Authorities have been contacted but people in the North West Florida area be on the look out.’
Laundrie, who is a person of interest in Petito’s disappearance, was reported missing by his parents on Friday, three days after the man left to go hiking only to never return.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, which has jurisdiction over Baker, confirmed that they were looking into the possible sighting.
Could it actually be him?
‘We are aware and are actively checking it out,’ sheriff’s spokeswoman Michele Nicholson told via the nypost, adding, ‘At this point, there is no confirmation.’
Social media sleuths, however, have pointed out that the man’s backpack was similar to one pictured in Laundrie’s Instagram Stories.
‘Looks like the guy from Sam Bass’ video in Baker, Florida has the same backpack as Brian Laundrie. Could it actually be him?’ wrote one Twitter user.
Laundrie’s parents told authorities he had left home with a backpack to go on a hike in the area, only to never return.
83 miles a day of coverage?
Of note, Baker is about 450-500 miles away from Laundrie’s home in North Port — which would be mark a significant journey on foot over the course of six days since leaving his family’s residence last Tuesday. That would average at 83 miles a day of coverage through thick wet foilage.
Search crews on Tuesday were hunting for him in Carlton Reserve in Sarasota County, where he allegedly abandoned his Ford Mustang – which authorities towed from Laundrie’s parents home after they came across the discarded vehicle near their home.
The hunt for Laundrie comes after authorities found a body believed to be Petito’s in Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming on Sunday.
Authorities have not revealed her cause of death, and an autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday as a nation holds its breath as they await news of how exactly Gabby Petito came to die...
