One of Tyler Robinson's last meals as a free man may have been a steak dinner - medium rare

Staff at a mom-and-pop restaurant in Panguitch, Utah, about three hours south of the crime scene in Orem, said a customer who looked like Robinson had eaten alone at the counter on the night of the murder.

It was a very busy day, he noted, and there was a wait for regular tables at the time.

"He had a steak - had a sirloin, medium rare," he said. "Vegetables. Baked potato."

The restaurant owner told Fox News Digital he is a huge fan of Kirk's work and called the situation "a crappy deal all the way around." He also has ties to some of Robinson's relatives.

"It's kind of hit a local chord because we're pretty tight-knit," he said. "His grandmother grew up here in town."

The next day, after Robinson's arrest, his picture circulated widely.

The FBI called him back and asked for any information on the lone diner. Investigators interviewed the owner and two servers.

The card reader system at the restaurant doesn't store the names from the cards if the user supplies a PIN, the owner said, and a camera over the cash register didn't record the area where the lone diner was seated.

However, he was able to provide the FBI with the last four digits of the card used to pay for that steak and potato meal.

"That was the last I've heard of it," he said. "I don't know if the FBI found if it was conclusive if it was him or not."

The FBI, which is typically tight-lipped regarding active cases, has not confirmed whether the number matches Robinson's bank card.

"The FBI followed through and did what they were supposed to, and that's that," the owner told Fox News Digital.

The 31-year-old father of two was answering a question from the audience at a Turning Point USA event when panic erupted.

However, text messages he shared with his lover and roommate, Lance Twiggs, show he discussed attempting to retrieve the rifle before he gave up and left.

The stop in Panguitch, if investigators have confirmed his debit card number matches, would show he took a meandering route and used back roads, rather than taking the interstate all the way back.

As for the restaurant, they're hoping things quiet down.

"The staff that was involved, they were just trying to be good citizens, and they don't really want to be hounded about it," the owner said. "There wasn't much conversation. There wasn't anything more than they serve people. That's their job, you know, and we've just, we've had a lot of weird calls and stuff over it."