WOOPSIE

Brian Laundrie ‘Look-Alike’ Ambushed by U.S. Marshals on Hiking Trip: Report

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

Severin Beckwith and girlfriend Anna Brettmann were enjoying a brief stay at a hotel after hiking the Appalachian Trail for days when their journey took an abrupt turn. The New Yorker reports that while the couple was snoozing at North Carolina’s Lodge at Fontana Village Resort, U.S. Marshals burst into their room and accused Beckwith at gunpoint of killing YouTuber Gabby Petito. “Next thing I see is a bunch of guys with riot shields with ‘U.S. Marshals’ written on them,” Beckwith said. “Handguns pointed at my face.” But there was one problem: He’s not Brian Laundrie, the actual suspect in Petito’s death. He only looks (sort of) like him.

The feds were actually responding to a tip from a hotel employee who shared a photo of Beckwith with authorities. Officers handcuffed Beckwith while he was still in his underwear. After observing his lack of tattoos and taking his fingerprint, they finally let the man go—but not before asking him to shave his beard, which Beckwith now regrets doing, joking that he has “much less of a chin than Laundrie does.” After the mix-up was resolved, the Lodge offered the couple a free night’s stay.