A man has claimed to have had a "strange encounter" with Gabby Petito's fiancé Brian Laundrie while on a road trip through Montana.
Hunter Mannies, 44, from Louisiana, has told the New York Post that he saw a man who looked the spit of now missing person Brian drinking alone in a bar, on August 26th, the day before Gabby was reported missing.
He added that he seemed "mad at the world", and was confrontational as he sat in Bullwinkle's Saloon in West Yellowstone.
Mannies said he saw the man wearing a hoodie and drinking alone.
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"He was just mad at the world it seemed like," he told the publication, adding that at first he didn't pay attention to him, but was later confronted by him after he overheard a conversation he and his partner were having with another couple - a doctor and her other half.
"The convo got into hunting and guns and politics," Mannies said. "The guy just looked mad and then at some lull in the conversation, he said, 'Stupid southerners and f*cking Republicans.'"
Mannies said he laughed off the encounter, but added it was clear the man in question wasn't okay.
"I kind of laughed and said, 'Well, where are you from? and he said, 'New York," Mannies continued. "And I said, 'Okay, New York' and he said, "I have a name, it's Brian."
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Whle the conversation stopped there, Mannies said he continued to get strange vibes from the man for the rest of the evening, and felt "watched".
Referencing the bodycam footage which was later released of Laundrie, following Gabby's disappearance, Mannies said: "Just the way he carried himself and I heard his voice... it was him,"
Former deputy in Southern Parish, LA, contacted the FBI about his concerns, and spoke to them for 45 minutes in total.
While it isn't confirmed that the man Mannies spoke to is Laundrie, if it was the encounter would be hugely significant, as it took place a day before Gabby was last seen alive, at a restaurant in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
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An influencer has claimed she witnessed Brian Laundrie 'fighting' with staff at the Mexican joint, before Gabby disappeared.
Nina Celie Angelo recalled an incident from the end of August, in which she and her boyfriend, Matthew England, were eating in a restaurant when they noticed a couple arguing with staff.
On Instagram, Nina - who says she has contacted authorities over the incident - explained what happened.
In the clip, she says: "Excuse my French, but I am freaking the f**k out.
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"Matt and I just realised - I don’t know cause I’m a dumb a** and I did not put two and two together - that we saw a blowout of a situation between Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie in Wyoming when we were there.
"How I did not put two and two together that this happened? I don’t know.
"We were sitting right next to them".
This restaurant is 120 miles from the bar where Mannies was the night he believes he saw him.
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Gabby was reported missing after Laundrie's return home from their road trip alone, having not spoken to her family since late August.
She had been living in the camper-van while travelling across the States with Laundrie.
Gabby and Laundrie begun their nationwide road trip in a white Ford Transit van back in July, sharing videos that became popular online.
Laundrie returned home without her at the beginning of September, and her parents contacted the police 10 days later.
Police subsequenrlt confirmed that a body found in a Wyoming National Park was the missing YouTuber.
Now, the FBI has ruled that Gabby's death was a 'homicide' - adding the official cause would be announced pending final autopsy results.
Laundrie has since also gone missing, and is being treated as a person of interest.
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