LONG ISLAND, NY — Gabby Petito, the Long Islander who was reported missing, sparking a massive interstate search and drawing the eyes of the world, before later being found slain in a park in Wyoming, is being remembered on Thursday, the 5th anniversary of when she is believed to have been killed.
"Five years ago, we lost Gabby, the world lost Gabby," the Gabby Petito Foundation wrote on its Facebook page. "A daughter, a sister, a friend, but the light she brought into this world has never stopped shining. We remember her adventurous spirit, her creativity, her kindness, her beautiful smile, and the way she believed there was so much good in the world."
The foundation asked that followers honor her "by carrying that light forward."
It urged that followers check on loved ones and friends, learn the signs of abuse, speak up when something doesn't feel right, believe survivors, and help a family searching for someone they love.
It also urged choosing kindness, "even when no one is watching."
"One small act may feel insignificant, but it could change someone's life," the post continued. "Gabby's story began with her, but the change it inspires belongs to all of us. Let her light remind us that we each have the power to make this world safer, kinder, and more compassionate."
"Five years without you. Forever loving you. Forever saying your name. Forever turning our love for you into purpose," the post concluded.
The post included emojis of butterflies, a smiley face with an angel's halo, a peace dove carrying an olive branch, and a purple heart. It included the hashtags of "Gabby Petito," "the light remains," "together we can," "change the world," and "never forget."
Petito was involved in a highly-publicized traffic stop after a domestic violence incident in Utah with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, whom she was on a road trip with, before her death.
Her case has highlighted the issue of domestic violence, and her parents later took up the cause in the wake of her death, now traveling all over the country to draw attention to the issue.
Petito, 23, is believed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to have been strangled to death by Laundrie on Aug. 27.
When the Blue Point native did not respond to her mother, Nichole Schmidt, she filed a missing persons report with Suffolk County police on Sept. 10, setting off a massive search.
Laundrie, who by then had returned in her van to his parents' house in Florida, refused to cooperate with investigators and ended up going into a nearby swamp and killing himself.
In a notebook later found near his remains, Laundrie claims to have carried out a mercy killing, by strangling Petito because she was in so much pain after falling into a ravine.
Petito's remains were found near Grand Teton National Park on Sept. 19, 2021.
Attorneys for her family in the Utah lawsuit against the Moab City Police Department, accused of failing to prevent her slaying at the hands of Laundrie, expect that oral arguments will be scheduled soon.
Brian Stewart told Patch recently that he expects a date in the coming weeks.
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