TikToker claims she picked up Brian Laundrie hitchhiking alone 4 days after Gabby Petito last made contact with her family
Miranda Baker said that Brian Laundrie reportedly offered to pay her and her boyfriend $200 for the 10-mile ride, which "was kind of weird."
North Port Police Department
- A TikToker claimed she picked up Brian Laundrie, Gabby Petito's fiancé, hiking alone.
- Miranda Baker said she and her boyfriend picked up Laundrie in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, on August 29.
- Baker said he reportedly offered to pay them $200 for the 10-mile ride, which "was kind of weird."
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A TikToker claimed she and picked up Brian Laundrie, the fiancé of missing 22-year-old Gabby Petito, while he was hiking alone in Grand Teton National Park, four days after Petito's family last heard from her.
In a series of TikTok videos posted on Friday, Miranda Baker said she and her boyfriend picked up Laundrie in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on August 29 at around 5:30 pm.
"He approached us asking us for a ride because he needed to go to Jackson and we were going to Jackson that night. So I said 'hop in,' and he hopped in the back of my Jeep," Baker says in one of the videos. "He offered to pay us like, $200 to give him a ride for like 10 miles. So, that was kind of weird."
Once in the car with them, Laundrie reportedly told Baker that he had been camping for "multiple days without his fiancé," who was "working on their social media page back at their van."
But when Baker mentioned to him that the couple was driving to Jackson Hole (which is the same area as Jackson), Laundrie reportedly "freaked out" and asked the couple to pull over so he could get out out of the car, which they did.
Baker said they dropped him off near Jackson Dam.
"He said he was going to walk across the street to the parking lot, which was full of people, to continue hitchhiking," she added.
In another video, Baker said Laundrie allegedly told her that he and Gabby were camping on an unregulated campground, along Snake River.
"He said that he had hiked for days along Snake River but looking at his backpack, it wasn't full," she recalls in the video. "He said all he had was a tarp to sleep on. Which, you think if you're going camping for days on end, you'd want food and a tent, and he had none of that."
Baker later posted another video outlining the entire route they took and where they dropped of Laundrie. She also posted a screenshot of the text conversation she sent her mother after they had dropped him off.
The TikToker also said she spoke to the police before publishing her videos. Joshua Taylor, a North Port police spokesperson, confirmed to The Independent that authorities had spoken to Baker about the incident.
Petito disappeared during a cross-country road trip with Laundrie, who returned home alone and did not cooperate with authorities despite pleas from Petito's family to his parents.
According to his lawyer, Laundrie himself has since gone missing as well. Taylor told CNN that Laundrie's family told police he's been missing since Tuesday.