Gabby Petito's Family Is On A Mission To 'Help Find The Missing'
By MLC on December 20, 2022 at 8:00 AM EST
Gabby Petito’s family is on a mission to helping find any and all missing persons.
Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt have joined forces again in the wake of their daughter’s murder.
Gabby’s biological parents have helped get new legislation to President Biden’s desk.
Gabby's Parents Are Helping Pass Legislation To Find Missing People
The “Help Find the Missing Act,” which is backed by Petito and Schmidt, was approved by the Senate earlier this month and The House of Representatives last week.
Per reports, the legislation calls for information on missing people to be entered into the FBI's internal database called the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
The NCIC database would then transfer this information over to the Department of Justice’s database called NamUs, aka, the National Missing Person’s and Unidentified Persons System.
The information would be shared publicly so everyone can see who is missing provide potential help.
It's Up To President Biden To Pass The Legislation
Per New York State law, law enforcement is currently required to put the details to missing people into NamUs, but it’s only one of 13 states required to share this information.
New Jersey and Connecticut do not have any requirements pertaining to this.
Gabby’s father, Joseph, told investigative reporter Kristin Thorne, “Everyone deserves to be found and here's a way to have that happen.”
He continued, "There has to be something done on the way we handle missing people. This is just a step in the right direction."
"Everyone Deserves To Be Found"
Gabby’s parents and step-parents found out about the legislation in February and began working tirelessly to get it passed.
"We've been contacting senators and their teams to make sure everyone is onboard," Joseph said.
The legislation would also provide $2 million in funding to NamUs.
"It's not just the left that goes missing or the right that goes missing," he said "It's everyone."
In addition to passing legislation to help find missing persons, Gabby’s parents are making sure that the Laundrie family lawyer, Steven Bertolino, pays the price for allegedly helping the Laundries cover up Gabby’s death.
Gabby's Parents Sue The Laundrie Family Lawyer
On Tuesday, December 6th, the parents of Gabby added Bertolino to their civil lawsuit against Brian Laundrie’s parents.
Joe and Nichole allege that it was "insensitive, cold-hearted and outrageous" for Bertolino to express the Laundrie family's "hope" that authorities would find Gabby's remains in September 2021.
Earlier this year, Gabby’s parents filed the lawsuit against Chris and Roberta claiming they knew their son murdered Gabby and had knowledge of where her remains were.
In a statement released earlier this month, Joe and Nichole said, “When they did choose to speak, it was through statements issued by Steven Bertolino, including a statement on September 14, 2021 that it was the 'hope' of the Laundrie family ‘that the search for Miss Petito is successful and that Miss Petito is reunited with her family.’"
It continued, "It is believed that at the time the September 14, 2021, statement was issued, the Laundries and Steven Bertolino knew that Gabby Petito was deceased, and that under those circumstances, the statement was insensitive, cold-hearted and outrageous."
