While Vanessa Ferguson ate a cheeseburger and coleslaw at a Denny's at a truck stop on I-10 just west of Las Cruces, New Mexico, a man sat down beside her at the counter. Yvonne, a waitress, called him "Bron" and asked how he was, to which he replied "I'll do". When asked what he wanted to order, he pointed to Ferguson's plate and said he'll have what she was having. The two began chatting and he introduced himself as Bronislav Nedic.