New York City-based influencer Chase Filandro has died at age 20, according to the young man’s family.
Filandro’s death was announced on Sunday in an Instagram post from his sister, Franki Ford.
“My brother, Chase Filandro, was a shining light who had an incredible zest for life,” Ford captioned a photo of Filandro beaming below Mount Rushmore. “Chase was an avid traveler and was moved by the beauty of National Parks. He always welcomed strangers with a smile and made friends along the trails he traveled on.”
The internet personality, whose Instagram boasted over 35,000 followers at the time of his death, died on July 31, according to People. A cause of death has not yet been shared.
A GoFundMe has been set up “to honor his life and remember his legacy forever” with a memorial near one of Filandro’s favorite parks, Ford said.
“Once finalized, we’ll share the details so you can visit and enjoy what Chase loved doing most, knowing he is right alongside you,” she added.
The GoFundMe did not publicly reveal how much money had been raised in Filandro’s memory, though Ford wrote that the goal was reached “in only 13 hours.”
“Chase clearly had such an impact on many,” she wrote in the fundraiser’s update.
Filandro’s family now intends to use any overflow funds to “support the building of an additional memorial in New York that is closer to home.”
Filandro, who acted in a 2022 short and had a credit in an upcoming independent film, was remembered as “truly the brightest light” by Take 2 Actors Studio.
“His presence was a gift, and his absence leaves a hole in our hearts that can never be filled,” wrote the Long Island acting school.
Filandro also sang for a Long Island-based indie rock band, Just Add Water.
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