Wave Of Support For Gabby Petito's Family In Long Island Hometown

BLUE POINT, NY — Jennifer McNamara and her family know a lot about loss and what it means to have the support of the community.

The McNamara family lost their patriarch John, a firefighter with the city of New York, to 9/11-related cancer 12 years ago. In their time of need, Gabrielle Petito's family was there for them. So when a member of the community — who donates time with the Fire Department of New York Firefighter John F. McNamara Foundation — suggested the organization show support for Petito's family by tying ribbons on trees along the streets of Blue Point, McNamara thought it was an amazing idea.

"We want the Petito and Schmidt families to know the amount of support that they have in this neighborhood, and how much they're loved, and how much they're supported," she said Wednesday.

Petito disappeared during a cross-country road trip. Following a massive search, she was identified Tuesday as the person who was found dead in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on Sunday, dashing the hopes of many that she would be found alive.

The tight-knit waterfront community of Blue Point was left reeling from the news.

To show their support, a group of volunteers has been donating their time going from street to street, hanging large turquoise ribbons — the closest to the color of Petito's teal eyes — to honor her memory and show solidarity with her family. The ribbon color was a suggestion by her mother, Nichole Schmidt, when the group received permission to move forward with the effort, McNamara said.

So far, the group has ordered 1,000 ribbons at their own expense, with plans for another 500 — to the point that the group has bought out the supplier.

The ribbons have been placed along Montauk Highway, Lupine Avenue and Blue Point Avenue, and there are still plans to place more along Atlantic Avenue and Middle Road.

"We are hopeful that we will be able to get them up in a few days," she said.

Tributes continued to pour in from near and far for Petito.

Makeshift memorials have sprung up in North Port, Florida, where she lived the past two years, as well as in Moab, Utah, where the last photograph posted to her Instagram account was taken. A cross has been fashioned with stones near the area in the field where her remains were found in Grand Teton National Park, Fox News reported.

Petito’s stepfather, James Schmidt, also left a stone cross and flowers at the site near where her body was found, The Independent reported.

Not surprisingly, some of the most heartfelt tributes have come in from the people living in her hometown of Blue Point.

Another community member organized "Light the Night For Gabby Petito," encouraging members of the community to light a candle for Petito at the end of their driveways on Friday at 7 p.m. The posts have been shared on Facebook, and some have encouraged other communities outside to participate in an island-wide event. Others have gone as far as to suggest the lighting on a larger scale.

"Let's do what we can to spread the word and make this not just island-wide but nationwide," reads the post, which has been shared out-of-state.

There will be a virtual candle lighting at 2 p.m. Saturday hosted by the Facebook group "What happened to Gabby Petito?"

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The business community was also shaken by the news of Petito's death.

Businesses quickly came together to organize the installation of a large billboard that re-creates a photo of Petito standing in front of multi-colored angel wings, News 12 reported. It's located at the chamber of commerce's park, where the flags have been lowered to half-staff.

The Bayport Blue Point Chamber of Commerce offered its "deepest and most sincere condolences to Gabby's family and friends."

"We would like to give your family the privacy it deserves during such a trying time, yet wanted to convey our heartfelt message," wrote the chamber's president, Carol A. Seitz-Cusack, who signed the post, "Respectfully with love."

The tributes have been respectful, somber and low-key, such as the candles in the driveway and the ribbon support drive led by the John McNamara Foundation.

McNamara said there also are many individual people who would like to hang the ribbons outside of their own homes in Blue Point, as well as family and friends outside of the area who would like to hang ribbons. The Patchogue Fire Department had also wanted to spread the effort into the neighboring village, she said.

“We wanted to just show support for someone, who we know, who we care about,” McNamara said, adding that Petito, was a “very valued and important member” of the Blue Point community.

McNamara recounted how Petito’s family was there for her when her husband died.

“I'm grateful that I can give back,” she said. “This is not the way I wanted to give back, but I'm glad that I'm able to do this kind of thing.”

McNamara said she believes public shows of support are important for the community.

“We do all stand together here in Bayport-Blue Point, as I'm sure you know,” she said, adding, “Unfortunately, we do tragedy very well. We rally around each other in an unbelievable way.”