A Brian Laundrie lookalike was handcuffed and held at gunpoint by US Marshals who mistook him for the missing fugitive.
Severin Beckwith was staying at an Appalachian Trail lodge in North Carolina together with his friend Anna Brettmann when the U.S. Marshals forced their way into his room and pointed guns at his head.
As the young man revealed, he was handcuffed and questioned while still in nothing but underwear after the authorities stormed into his room during his travels.
“Next thing I see is a bunch of guys with riot shields with ‘U.S. Marshals’ written on them,” Beckwith said in an interview with The New Yorker. “Handguns pointed at my face.”
The incident took place at the Lodge at Fontana Village Resort where Beckwith and Brettmann, who are both from New York, rented a room using a credit card with a New York ID.
“I guess [this] was good enough motive to come in,” Beckwith added as he acknowledged the fact that Gabby Petito was from New York.
Meanwhile, Graham County Sheriff Jerry Crisp confirmed that the authorities received numerous calls about possible Brian Laundrie sightings over the last month. They took immediate action, however, after a tipster sent them a photo Beckwith in which the traveler “looked a lot like the suspect.”
“Somebody sent a photo of him to our investigators and he looked a lot like the possible suspect. Our team got in contact with the fugitive task force and they said ‘we’re on our way.’ They felt confident enough it was him,” the sheriff said.
After storming into his room and handcuffing him, the U.S. Marshals questioned, examined, and compared Beckwith’s face with the pictures of Brian Laundrie.
“He told us, ‘I’ve been stopped by law enforcement three or four times. OMG What can I do? I look just like him,’” Crisp added.
“I don’t know who it was but someone in the room – law enforcement – suggested he change his appearance or maybe shave his beard until the possible suspect was caught.”
Following the situation at the Appalachian Trail lodge, Beckwith was rewarded with a free stay, whereas the Marshals allegedly told him he now has a good story to tell.
After the incident, the encounter was also confirmed by the U.S. Marshals who in a statement noted that they provided assistance to the Graham County Sheriff’s Office after they received a tip suggesting that the fugitive was spotted in their jurisdiction.
“GCSO asked the USMS task force to support them in making contact with the subject. The USMS was not the lead investigative agency in this matter and was acting in support of the GCSO,” the service said.
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