NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – The foundation to help missing children that was set up in Gabby Petito’s name will hold its first fundraiser on Long Island next weekend, her family announced. Meanwhile, authorities are continuing to search for fugitive fiancée Brian Laundrie as new details emerge about his actions before Petito disappeared in late August.
Here's the latest:
8:30 a.m., OCT. 6: GABBY PETITO FOUNDATION TO HOLD 1ST FUNDRAISER ON LONG ISLAND
The Gabby Petito Foundation’s first official fundraiser will be held in Suffolk County next weekend, her family said.
The foundation, which was set up by Petito’s parents to provide resources and guidance to other families of missing children, will hold the fundraiser in Patchogue on Sunday, Oct. 17.
The event, “A Benefit for the Gabby Petito Foundation,” will take place at 89 North Music Venue from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The fundraiser will feature live music, food, a cash bar, 50/50 raffle and silent auction. Admission is a $20 donation.
The Gabby Petito Foundation will be a registered 501(c)(3) organization, according to the foundation’s website.
Its mission is to “address the needs of organizations who support locating missing persons and to provide aid to organizations who assist victims of domestic violence situations, through education, awareness, and prevention strategies.”
3:25 p.m., OCT. 5: PETITO FAMILY WARNS OF SCAMMERS SOLICITING DONATIONS TO FAKE FOUNDATIONS, FUNDRAISERS
Gabby Petito’s family is warning of online scammers soliciting donations in their daughter's name.
Joe Petito had initially set up a Gabby Petito Foundation to provide resources and guidance to other families with missing children — but the family has had issues with the foundation’s official Twitter account due to fraudulent copycats, according to Petito’s mother, Nichole Schmidt.
“So our Gabby Petito Foundation [Twitter] page has been restricted, this is most likely due to all the fake pages that have been made already,” Schmidt tweeted Sunday. “Please be aware of that and we will get this resolved. Thank you all!”
Bronx News12 reported Tuesday that fake accounts impersonating Petito family members were used to message people on social media asking for donations.
“People are at the hardest time of their lives right now, and on top of everything else that they’re dealing with, they have to deal with people scamming,” Jennifer McNamara, a family friend, told the station. “It’s horrifying.”
2 p.m., OCT. 5: BRIAN LAUNDRIE FLEW BACK TO FLORIDA AFTER FIGHT WITH GABBY IN UTAH, FAMILY LAWYER CONFIRMS
Brian Laundrie flew home to Florida on Aug. 17, five days after he and fiancée Gabby Petito got into a fight in Utah that led to a police response captured on bodycam videos.
Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino told Newsday that the 23-year-old flew on a commercial flight from Salt Lake City to Tampa on Aug. 17. He then returned to Salt Lake City on Aug. 23 “to rejoin Gabby.”
“To my knowledge, Brian and Gabby paid for the flights as they were sharing expenses,” Bertolino told Newsday via text. “Brian flew home to obtain some items and empty and close the storage unit to save money as they contemplated extending the road trip.”
Laundrie—who is the only person of interest in Gabby’s death and also wanted on a federal bank card fraud charge—returned to Florida in the couple’s Ford Transit van on Sept. 1. The van was seized on Sept. 11, the same day that Petito was reported missing in New York. Days later, on Sept. 14, Laundrie disappeared and remains unaccounted for. Petito's remains were found in Wyoming on Sept. 19.
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