By
/ CBS LA
Cindy Crawford, Rande Gerber and their daughter, Kaia, have broken their silence for the first time since Presley Gerber's death last month.
"We are beyond heartbroken to lose our beloved son and brother. We feel so blessed to have had Presley in our lives for 27 years. He is a sweet, beautiful soul who loved and is loved, now and forever," a statement from the family shared on social media said. "We are so proud of how he showed up in the world, with kindness and vulnerability. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and support from so many who know and love our family and even strangers who feel our pain. Til we meet again our sweet boy. We love you forever, Mom, Dad and Kaia."
Presley Gerber died on Sept. 20 at a Santa Monica rehab facility at the age of 27. His cause of death remains deferred, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's website. But Santa Monica police have said his death was a suspected overdose. He was often open about his battles with addiction and mental health on his social media channels.
None of Presley Gerber's family members had publicly spoken about his death until Sunday. His parents, supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber, shared the same message on their Instagram accounts, while his younger sister, actor and model Kaia Gerber, shared her own.
"I love you the bluest, to the moon and back and back again, forever big brother," the caption said.
Her post also paid tribute to Presley Gerber, recounting experiences from their childhood and how she has struggled with a feeling of emptiness since his death.
"To say loving you was the easiest thing in the world would imply that it required any effort at all. I was born loving you. I will die loving you. There was never anything else," Kaia's message said. "I am learning how to love you when I canot see you. How to tell you something without picking up my phone to call you. How to be your sister in a world that I can't reach for you in."