Gabby Petito’s family sharing more about how they are coping and moving forward

The Dr. Phil interview with the family of Gabby Petito continued on Wednesday with the family sharing more details of what they did after learning that Gabby’s remains were found in the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

“The hardest thing was once they found her not being able to take her home right away,” said Jim Schmidt, Gabby’s stepdad.

A painful par for the course. Part of what is now an ongoing homicide investigation.
But Gabby’s stepdad told Dr. Phil that he couldn’t sit and do nothing. So he hiked to the scene and started to collect rocks.”It was exactly where they found her. So, I laid the cross directly over where her torso was. I was told the direction in which her head was laying that’s where I placed two flowers in the ground right where her head was.”

Through tears, Gabby’s mom Nichole Schmidt said, “I gave him a lot of credit for doing that. I don’t know if I could do that.”

Gabby’s stepdad shared a photo of the cross with the family. The photo serves as a reminder that Gabby’s body is “gone,” but gives the family hope that her soul still lives. Schmidt said, “as I was placing the rocks, a chipmunk sat at the edge of the cross, just sat there, didn’t move while I sat there and placed the rocks. I kind of went back and thought maybe that was Gabby with me.”

Gabby’s family told Dr. Phil they see Gabby through ‘signs’ all the time. In license plates that spell out “Gabz,” in butterflies and in a rainbow.

Jim Schmidt said teams had to temporarily call off the search for Gabby because of weather on September 18. Then he said everyone saw a rainbow and believed it was a sign they’d find Gabby the next day. Gabby was found the next day on the 19th, Schmidt said, in the area right under where this rainbow stopped.

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