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Gabby Petito family turns social media accounts into platform to find missing people

'We have converted our original #findgabby page on FB into a missing persons page. We are expanding it to Twitter and Instagram too,' the family said

Gabby Petito's family has transformed the social media accounts dedicated to finding their daughter into a platform to raise awareness about other missing people. The body of the 22-year-old blogger was discovered in Wyoming on September 19 days after she went missing, and the coroner determined that she died of strangulation.

The remains of Petito's lone suspect, her fiance Brian Laundrie, were discovered in a Florida reserve in October, bringing an end to a month-long hunt for the 23-year-old. The District 12 Medical Examiner declared his death a suicide by gunshot to the head. Petito vanished when the two were driving across the country to visit​ national parks, and Laundrie took her van to his parent’s home in Florida before disappearing himself amid nation-wide interest..

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Petito's stepfather, Jim Schmidt, tweeted the family's decision on Wednesday.

“We have converted our original #findgabby page on FB into a missing persons page. We are expanding it to Twitter and Instagram too. A work in progress, but we are committed to help find the missing.” After two days of being unable to contact Petito, her family reported her missing on September 11.

Laundrie had returned to his family's house in North Port on September 1 alone, two months after the pair had left on a four-month road trip. “Once you report your missing loved one to the police, we want to help spread the word to locate them,” the new Twitter page says.

Due to a request from the US Attorney's Office and the Teton County Prosecutor's Office, the Petito family has yet to issue a comment on Laundrie's suicide, according to an attorney for the family. "The family was told not to say anything and to give the FBI time to finish their investigation. The family has been instructed to wait for the United States Attorney's Office to decide if any more people will be prosecuted."

Gabby was last seen in Salt Lake City, Utah, on August 24, checking out of a motel with Laundrie. While Gabby's mother, Nichole Schmidt, stated that she received text messages from her daughter on August 27 and 30. "It was only a text message. I didn't say anything to her. I can't say much, but she's not in the van anymore. I don't want to say anything else, but I want anybody looking for her to start looking for her now, rather than looking for that vehicle." 

Schmidt then reported her daughter missing on September 11 at roughly 6:55 pm, resulting in a much reported hunt for the missing lady. On the launch of the new Twitter page, many Twitter users were seen praising the initiative. One person tweeted, “Gabby is changing the world we are a team on this”, another one added, “Excellent idea. Gabby Petito is changing the world and so are all of you”.