[imagesource: Facebook / Find Gabby]

The more time that goes by since Brian Laundrie was reported missing, the less likely it appears that law enforcement will track him down.

Aside from a reported possible sighting earlier this month, the trail appears to have gone cold.

US Marshals thought they might have cracked the case when they raided a hotel room in North Carolina, after receiving a tip-off from a member of the public.

Officers burst into a room at the Lodge at Fontana Village Resort, only to find a very shell-shocked Severin Beckwith.

That’s Beckwith on the right in the image below, with Laundrie on the left.

Insider reports:

…Beckwith, of Ithaca, New York, has been hiking the Appalachian Trail with his girlfriend since late September, when the couple decided to take a break from the woods at stay at the Lodge…

The couple settled into their hotel room for a midday nap when they were awoken by knocking before the door was burst open…

“Next thing I see is a bunch of guys with riot shields with ‘US Marshals’ written on them,” Beckwith said. “Handguns pointed at my face.”

He added that he still was in his underwear when he was handcuffed and taken into the hallway.

The tip-off stemmed from Beckwith using the phone of an employee at the Fontana Lake marina in order to call for a shuttle.

That employee took a photo of Beckwith, which was sent to the US Marshals, who determined that there was an “uncanny resemblance”.

There were also further similarities between Beckwith and Laundrie:

He said one marshal touched the side of his head and noted that he had “a notch in the upper part of my inner ear just like his.”

Beckwith added that he and his girlfriend – both from New York, like Petito – booked their hotel with a credit card linked to their New York addresses, “which, I guess, was good enough motive to come in,” he said.

Luckily for Beckwith, he didn’t have Laundrie’s characteristic knuckle tattoos and was also carrying identification that cleared up the confusion.

The US Marshals encouraged him to shave off his beard, which he did, and soon regretted “because I have much less of a chin than Laundrie does”.

It’s not the first time he’s been mistaken for Laundrie during his time on the Appalachian Trail, reports The Independent:

Maria Guzman, who met Mr Beckwith [below left, with Laundrie on the right] and his partner while hiking, said that he does look like Mr Laundrie, but “so do thousands of people”.

Apparently, his appearance became such a talking point during his hike that a fellow hiker wanted to give him “The Fugitive” as a trail name. Mr Beckwith apparently felt that was a little too obvious, and settled on “Not Brian” instead.

Yup, shrewd move.

Meanwhile, Christopher Laundrie, Brian’s father, is due to appear in court on December 1 for a pre-trial hearing for a lawsuit accusing him of stealing a protester’s $40 sign.

The family clearly has bigger problems to deal with, but it’s not ideal.

[sources:insider&independent]