'Missing White Woman Syndrome': Indigenous people point out disparities in Gabby Petito case

[Ptah]

News of Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito, who went missing and was found dead while on a cross-country road trip with her fiancé, has swept the nation.

The New York Times, ABC, NBC, CNN and Fox News, among other outlets, produced timelines of her case. National news outlets, including MSNBC, USA Today and the Washington Post, analyzed different parts of her case, including police reports, body cam footage, the search for her fiancé and details of where her remains were found. Other outlets scoured smaller details, analyzing Petito's "van life" videos, her Instagram and her Spotify playlist.

With national media attention came public outrage. People nationwide became fascinated with Petito's case, and TikTok users turned to social media trying to solve it.

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The disproportionately high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous people is a nationwide crisis, and experts say Montana is an epicenter. Indigenous people in Montana are four times more likely to go missing than non-Native people, according to a state Department of Justice report. As of Sept. 15, Indigenous people accounted for 31% of the state's active missing persons population, though they comprise about 6.7% of Montana's population.

https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2021/09/23/gabby-petito-indigenous-people-point-out-disparities-missing-white-woman-syndrome-mmiw/5827651001/