Gabby Petito's family is commemorating her legacy by wearing similar tattoos and calling attention to other missing people cases. Petito's death during a cross-country journey triggered a global uproar and a search for her missing fiance.
Petito's family expressed confidence in the FBI's ability to locate Petito's fiance, Brian Laundrie, at a press conference on Tuesday. Petito's mother and father said that their family members had tattoos that matched their daughter's: "Let it be" inscribed with a wave symbol.
Per USA Today, they got the tattoos done the night following Petito's burial, on Monday night. The Petito family established the Gabby Petito Foundation to aid in searching for other persons who have gone missing, emphasizing that they all deserve the same amount of attention as Petito.
Gabby Petito's family urges the same treatment to similar cases
In lieu of flowers, the foundation's website asked for money for her funeral. Joe Petito, Gabby's father, stressed how important social media was in the hunt for his daughter and thanked everyone for their "outpouring of support." This same level of heightened vigilance should be sustained for everyone, he added.
Petito's disappearance has prompted new demands for more attention to instances involving missing Indigenous women and other people of color, with some commentators referring to her situation as "missing white woman syndrome."
The search for Laundrie has sparked a media frenzy, with TV celebrities like Dog the Bounty Hunter Duane Chapman and longtime "America's Most Wanted" presenter John Walsh attempting to find him. Stafford said Petito's family appreciated everyone's assistance in locating Laundrie and urged anyone with information to contact the FBI or local authorities, as per Boston.com.
Petito's parents reported her missing on September 11 after she didn't answer her phone or react to texts for several days when she and Laundrie visited parks in the West.
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Petito family advised brian Laundrie to "turn yourself in"
Her death was deemed a homicide, meaning she was killed by someone else, but officials in Wyoming have not revealed how she died pending the findings of an autopsy. Jim Schmidt, Petito's stepfather, said Wyoming officials still held her remains.
Petito and Laundrie documented their travels in a white Ford Transit van that they had transformed into a camper on social media. They got into a violent confrontation near Moab, Utah, on August 12 that resulted in a police stop and the decision to separate the feuding pair for the night. There have been no charges filed, and no significant injuries have been recorded.
Gabby Petito's parents have openly advised Brian Laundrie, their deceased daughter's fiancé, to turn himself into police. During a news conference on Tuesday, Richard Stafford, the Petito family's attorney, stated that the Petitos do not expect Laundrie's relatives to assist authorities.
Petito's parents stated during the press conference that they plan to establish a foundation in her honor. The foundation would assist others in locating missing relatives.
Brian Laundrie's parents informed authorities that he stated he was hiking near the family's Sarasota County home in the 24,500-acre Carlton wildlife reserve. In their search for him, authorities have used drones, dogs, and dive teams.
Brian Laundrie, according to an expert outdoorsman, would not be able to live in the Florida swamplands of the wildlife reserve. The outdoorsman said that he would have to withstand freezing water, mosquitos, alligators, snakes, and wild boars, Newsweek via MSN reported.