Joseph Petito, father of Gabby Petito, wants to fight against what has been described as “missing white woman syndrome” with a new TV series.
His 22-year-old daughter Gabby disappeared during a cross-country trip with her fiancé Brian Laundrie in the summer of 2021. The Petito family reported her missing in September after Laundrie returned to Florida without her. Her remains were eventually discovered later that month in Wyoming with her death ruled as a homicide. Laundrie, who died by suicide, was discovered the following month along with a notebook claiming responsibility for Gabby’s death.
Gabby’s disappearance sparked massive international interest on social media, with online sleuths piecing together evidence from her travel vlogs and social media content. The shocking case also brought attention to the term “missing white woman syndrome,” which refers to the disproportionate attention given to missing white individuals compared to people of color.
In a new interview with CNN, Joseph admitted that he was “taken back” by the term, but after looking into the issue, he recognized its validity which inspired him to develop a TV series titled Faces of the Missing.
“I didn't like hearing it. I guess the way it was worded just didn't sit well with me,” Petito told the news network around the 2 minute mark in the video linked above. “That being said, I looked into it and it's a real thing. But when it comes to missing people, a lot of stories don't get shared and the ones that do always tend to look the same. So we're trying to fix that with Faces of the Missing.”
The project, which is a collaboration between Backlot Productions, Boundless Films, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, was inspired by the support the Petito family received for Gabby’s case.
“We think this is gonna be a great platform to not only show a lot of missing people the way it's shown on the missing person list, but also hopefully inspire others to do the same,” he said of the series.
Black people make up 31% of missing person reports but only 13% of the US population, per 2022 FBI data shared by CNN. On the other hand, white people make up 54% of missing person reports and 75% of the U.S. population.
Further into the interview, Petito also argued that one issue the series seeks to address is the tendency for police to classify individuals as “runaways” without evidence, a practice that disproportionately affects people of color.
“Unless you spoke to that individual, you're only guessing and that's not something you should do with an investigation when you're looking for somebody,” he explained. “Because a lot of the time, it's my understanding, the classification happens when the pigment of someone's skin is darker than mine, and that's just not okay.”
While the series has yet to secure a broadcasting platform, Petito and his family hope it will inspire broader awareness and encourage others to amplify underrepresented stories.
“Gabby always tried to make people feel happy and better. I think she would be proud that this is gonna be part of her legacy,” said Joseph.
He continued, “The family would love to do this 52 weeks a year, every week, and just help as many people as possible. But we know that's probably not gonna be the case. That being said, we want to share so many [stories], and then hopefully we'll inspire others to do the same. The more other stories can get shared, you're gonna see a huge impact and that's gonna be lovely to see, man. These families deserve it. Everybody deserves the same attention.”