Gabby Petito's father painfully admitted the family "can't stop crying" in a heartbreaking tribute marking the third anniversary of her death.
"3 years ago this evening you were taken from us," Joseph Petito penned in an emotional post on X Tuesday. "We can't stop crying when we think of you. There is no waking up from this nightmare. We push forward for you and all those you have inspired and nothing can make us stop."
Their loss has since inspired the Petitos to launch the Gabby Petito Foundation to help bring awareness to missing persons.
Gabby, 22, vanished during a cross-country trip with fiancé, Brian Laundrie, 23, in the summer of 2021. The couple were filming their adventures for YouTube.
3 years ago this evening you were taken from us. We can’t stop crying when we think of you. There is no waking up from this nightmare. We push forward for you and all those you have inspired and nothing can make us stop. I ask anyone who reads this, please share a #missingperson… pic.twitter.com/bpLEM0QaYR
— joseph petito (@josephpetito) August 27, 2024
Her mom reported her missing that September after not hearing from her daughter for nearly two weeks and her disappearance made national headlines.
It was later learned Laundrie murdered Gabby by strangling her to death. Her body was found Sept. 19, 2021, in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, three to four weeks after it's believed she was killed.
That same month, Laundrie also disappeared after briefly returning home to Florida without Gabby.
He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and his remains were found in October in a state reserve, according to investigators.
Although he was named a person of interest in Gabby's disappearance and subsequent murder, he was never officially identified as a suspect before his death.
The investigation revealed the couple had a tumultuous relationship, according to letters penned by Gabby before she was killed.
"Yes, I can be a child, sometimes. I know," an undated letter in connection with the case read, in part, "but it's cause you give me this energy and I just love you too much."
"Like, so much, it hurts. So you in pain is killing me," wrote Gabby.
In the letter, Gabby begged for Laundrie to "stop crying and stop calling me names because we're a team and I'm here with you."
She admitted she was "frustrated there's not more" she can do.
Earlier this year, Gabby's parents reached a settlement over an emotional distress lawsuit with Laundrie's parents for an undisclosed amount, after accusing them of withholding information of Gabby's death.
