Gabby Petito's family is revealing her presence is never too far, as she's always with them and constantly sending signs.
Her stepmother, Tara Petito, told People Magazine,
"She sends us butterflies and rainbows."
She'll send me signs, and I'll start texting them. As I'm texting them to Nichole, Nichole is getting the same signs."
"It'll be at the same time," Gabby's mother, Nichole Schmidt, adds.
Gabby Petito, 22, disappeared on a cross-country trip with her fiancé Brian Laundrie in summer 2021, and her body was eventually found near a Wyoming campground.
Laundrie, who later died by suicide, was discovered in a Florida nature preserve with a notebook "claiming responsibility" for Gabby's death.
Gabby's parents turned their grief into a positive to help others in need.
They found purpose and healing by using the publicity from their daughter's case to help prevent similar tragedies for other families, and along with their spouses, they created the Gabby Petito Foundation.
The nonprofit focuses on raising awareness about domestic violence while advocating for tougher laws that govern how police respond to reports of intimate partner abuse and missing persons.
"We have to prevent this from happening to other people," says Nichole.
"It keeps us strong. Gabby works through us. We can't not do it. We have to move forward and change the world together."
Gabby's father, Joe, a warehouse store chain manager who specializes in policy and legislation for the foundation, also added,
"When you help one person, you help change the course of their life in a positive way, and you want to do that again."
