Paul Halls was working on his ute with friends west of Leeton on Sunday when he saw a man pull up and head on foot for a murky canal nearby, carrying something that looked like a laptop, before returning empty-handed.
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"I thought it was a bit odd," Mr Halls said of the scene that unfolded on Griffith Road, a few kilometres out of town.
When Mr Halls later heard police appealing for information about the disappearance of school teacher Stephanie Scott, he realised the possible significance of what he had seen and called the police.
Police divers recovered a laptop on Friday morning, close to where Mr Halls reported seeing the man wearing a baseball cap running along the embankment.
"My first reaction was 'Oh geez, I should given them a ring a couple days ago', but you can't tell until you hear about them asking for information."
What Mr Halls saw could prove crucial for police, who will allege Mr Stanford allegedly killed Ms Scott sometime between 11am and 7.20pm on Easter Sunday.
Mr Halls' friend, Brendon Lyons, also saw a man run up to the irrigation canal and run back to his ute on Sunday, before speeding off in the direction of Leeton.
The discovery came as dozens of police taped off Leeton High School on Myrtle Street and scoured the grounds and classrooms for clues as to how Ms Scott was killed.
Cleaner Vincent Stanford, 24, has been charged wi her murder. Police allege he killed the bride-to-be and dumped her body.
Police released photographs of his ute on Friday and have made desperate pleas for people to report any sightings of the ute since Easter Sunday. They will allege they found blood in the car.
A desperate search for Ms Scott's body was still underway on Thursday afternoon as her family and fiance Aaron Leeson Wolley struggle to come to terms with her death.
Police have seized the victim's red Mazda which was found abandoned on a rural property on Wednesday - not far from where they found the laptop.
The 24-year-old cleaner was charged with one count of murder on Thursday after police allegedly found blood in his car, photographic evidence of what is believed to be a burnt body and keys belonging to Ms Scott.
His alleged victim was a popular drama and English teacher at the school where he worked as a cleaner.
Ms Scott was not supposed to be working on Sunday but was at the school preparing lessons for her students for while she would be away on her planned honeymoon to Tahiti.
She was due to marry Mr Leeson-Wooley, her partner of five years, this Saturday.
