Gabby Petito's family is now working to help other missing people

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Nearly three years ago, Gabby Petito captured the nation's attention. The missing young woman, who was later found dead, was the subject of several weeks of media coverage.

Media obsession and public interest have exposed a sad truth: the disappearance of young women of different ethnicities does not always receive the same media coverage.

Today, Gabbty Petito's family wants to work to change that.

Cieha Taylor went missing in February 2020. Her car was found, still running, with her belongings near a train track in Plant City. She was never found, and yet her mother says her case never received the same attention as Petito's.

“Why are three women in the same area disappearing but one girl is disappearing and the whole nation knows it,” said Canitha Taylor.

Gabby Petito's father says he is well aware of the problem.

“We noticed it and we saw it, especially when we had our foundation and the way things are shared,” Joe Petito said.

He says that when Gabby went missing, everyone helped him and now he wants to do the same for others.

“There's no demographic, no race, no country that hasn't helped us and so we're going to try to do the same and give that back to them,” Joe Petito said.

Gabby's family is now turning to others to help spread the word about all the missing people.

“We certainly see that if you're a child you're always going to be split, if you're a white woman that's the next step. Unfortunately, men are the ones who are the least divided,” said Tara Petito, Gabby’s mother-in-law.

The Petitos say they are now sharing more information about missing people on their website and asking others to help.

“We have certainly seen an increase in awareness of missing persons. I really think since Gabby went missing, we have a lot more advocacy and people helping us share,” said Gabby’s mother, Nicole Schmidt.

They say it's not something just one person can do, but it's something we can all contribute to.

“It's as simple as sharing a missing persons flyer that you see pop up on your Facebook feed, it takes a second, just make sure that person hasn't been found yet because you want to share the people who actually missing,” Schmidt said.