TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Every day is a new opportunity to learn how to cope with loss. That’s exactly what the family of Gabby Petito is trying to do.
On Sunday, the Petito and Schmidt family learned that their daughter was found dead at the site of the Spread Creek campsite in Wyoming, just over a week after reporting her missing.
Now the family and close family friends hope to continue to share her love of life and adventure. One way they are doing so is by creating and sharing bracelets in her honor.
“It represents Gabby. Remember to celebrate and enjoy life and not be sad,” Petito’s mother Nichole Schmidt said.
When WFLA Now’s JB Biunno asked Schmidt what she’d like the world to know about the bracelets and their significance to the memory of her daughter, she replied, “Live every day like it’s your last.”
While the bracelets are currently being shared with those closest to the family, Schmidt says “We’d love the whole world to wear them!”
Schmidt says they only have a limited supply of the bracelets after their local arts and crafts store sold out of turquoise beads. There’s no plan to sell any at this time, she added.
“This was an effort that came together quickly to symbolize how Gabby lived, not how she died,” said Biunno, who has been speaking with Schmidt over the course of the week.
“I’ve heard of folks making their own versions of these bracelets at home to honor Gabby, but there’s no word yet on whether the family and close friends are making more at this time.”