Tag Archives: oceania

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Brian Laundrie lookalike woken up at gunpoint by US Marshals

A man who bears a striking resemblance to Gabby Petito's missing fiancé says US Marshals pulled guns on him and his partner while they were asleep in North Carolina.

Originally from New York, Severin Beckwith and his partner Anna Brettman had been hiking along the Appalachian Trail since September when they stopped for a rest at the Lodge at Fontana Village Resort, a couple of kilometres off the track.

They were asleep in their room when armed officers stormed in, the New Yorker reports.

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Brian Laundrie lookalike Severin Beckwith

Mr Beckwith says the marshals aimed their guns at him and placed him in handcuffs, believing he was missing man Brian Laundrie.

"Next thing I see is a bunch of guys with riot shields with 'US Marshals' written on themand handguns pointed at my face," Mr Beckwith told The New Yorker.

Dressed just in his underwear, Mr Beckwith was guided down the hallway while his shocked partner was helped out of bed by officers.

According to The New Yorker, Mr Beckwith – who is pale with a slim build, shaved head and beard stubble, had a hunch why the US Marshals were so interested in him.

While hiking days earlier, someone else had pointed out how much Mr Beckwith looks like Brian Laundrie.

It has also been reported that Mr Laundrie is known to hike the Appalachian Track himself, with a heavy law enforcement presence in the area since he was reported missing last month.

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Gabrielle Petito and Brian Laundrie were on a van trip together before she disappeared.

But Mr Beckwith said it was more than a passing resemblance that had the US Marshals so interested in him, noting they were particularly interested in the side of his head.

"I have a notch in the upper part of my inner ear just like his, which I guess was good enough motive to come in," Mr Beckwith said.

He and Ms Brettman had also booked their hotel room using a credit card linked to a New York identification – and Ms Petito was originally from New York as well.

But luckily, Mr Beckwith didn't have any hand tattoos like Mr Laundrie and he had his own identification which was clearly authentic as well.

The marshals also fingerprinted Mr Beckwith and suggested he shave his beard, which he says he did immediately, before he was released.

Brian Laundrie lookalike Severin Beckwith

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Colombia is putting its 'cocaine hippos' on birth control

Colombia may have finally found a solution to one of the lesser-known legacies of notorious drug trafficker Pablo Escobar: invasive hippos.

A handful of hippos brought to Colombia in the 1980s for Escobar's private zoo has grown to a population of 80, prompting biologists to express concern over their environmental impact and threat to human safety.

In January, a study published in Biological Conservation called for the growing herd – now ranging wild in the Antioquia department – to be culled.

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Escobar's hippos bred to become supposedly the biggest wild hippo herd outside Africa.

The regional government has instead tried neutering the enormous beasts, but traditional surgical sterilisation is too dangerous and demanding to scale up. Only 11 of the hippos have so far been sterilised this way, according to local authorities.

On Friday, however, the regional environmental agency Cornare announced its efforts to control the hippo population had led to 24 more hippos being treated with a new method: darts laden with the contraceptive drug GonaCon.

Compared to surgery, GonaCon is "a much cheaper option," according to a Cornare statement.

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Some hippos remain at Escobar's Hacienda Napoles, which is now a theme park.

"However it is still complex since experts suggest giving three doses, based on studies and comparisons made in other large animals such as horses."

The same drug has been tested on other wild animal populations, including wild horses in the United States, kangaroos in Australia and wild cattle in Hong Kong, it said.

Scientists must now track the efficacy of the drug by measuring hormone levels in hippo feces.

"It is the first time that we are implementing this procedure. We are going to follow up and monitor it to find out how successful it can be," said David Echeverri López, coordinator of the Cornare Forest and Biodiversity Group.

Escobar's hippopotamus collection began with only one male and three females. Upon his death, other species of exotic animals were relocated, but the hippos were left because they were too difficult to capture and transport, according to the Biological Conservation study.

They soon began to multiply, spreading around the Magdalena river basin from their original home some 160 kilometres east of the city of Medellin.

Research has shown negative effects of hippo waste on oxygen levels in bodies of water, which can affect fish and ultimately humans.

Hippos also pose a threat to agriculture and to the security of people in affected areas, according to the Biological Conservation study. In May 2020, a hippo attack left a 45-year-old man seriously injured.