The Case of gabby Petito

By Lily Date, 2023

Published 9/27/21

On September 11, 2021, Gabby Petito was reported missing after going on a trip with her fiance. Since then, people have been pouring over the news and trying to find out what happened to her. But Petito is not the only person who has gone missing this year. In 2021, there are still “more than 17,000 missing person cases and 13,000 unidentified body cases [that] remain open in the United State.”

Petito’s disappearance is an example of missing white woman syndrome. Missing white woman syndrome is an expression used by social scientists to describe the way that media disproportionately covers missing-person cases of young, white, upper-class women. Gabby Petito’s case perfectly exemplifies this.

While the disappearance of Gabby Petito is definitely horrifying and newsworthy, it is important to remember and search for others who also went missing, but aren’t as reported on. Daniel Robinson, a 24-year-old geologist, has been missing since June 23 after he drove off into the desert. Brittany Palmer, age 23, disappeared on August 22nd after visiting a family friend. Her phone was later found, and her mother was contacted. Websites like Our Black Girls and NamUs are great ways to inform yourself about missing persons and work to help them. Petitions also spread awareness about cases that aren’t always reported on.