This article was originally published on Crafting Your Home. A human contributor also wrote and edited the post.
The post Cindy Crawford’s Son Presley Gerber Dies at 27 After Years of Speaking Out About Addiction as Officials Defer Cause of Death first appeared on Crafting Your Home
Presley Gerber, the model son of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, has died at 27, and Los Angeles County Medical Examiner records list his date of death as Sunday, September 20, 2026, at a rehabilitation facility.
Santa Monica police responded to a report of a possible overdose around 9:35 a.m., and detectives are investigating the death as a suspected overdose.
The medical examiner has not said what caused it. The office told People that the cause and manner of death are deferred, which means more testing is needed before any ruling is made.
The story reached the public in stages over about a day. First came a medical examiner listing that named a place but no cause. Then a family statement arrived, followed by police confirmation of an investigation and word that the cause was deferred.
Gerber also spent years talking publicly about mental health, depression and substance use, so unusually detailed accounts from him exist alongside an official record that is still thin.
This article keeps the two apart, separating what he said about himself from what officials have confirmed about how he died.
What Police and the Medical Examiner Have Confirmed So Far
Yahoo News reported that officers arrived at a rehabilitation facility and found Gerber dead around 9:35 a.m. In its statement, the police department said there was “no indication of foul play,” and Yahoo News attributed the statement to Santa Monica Police Lt. Lewis Gilmour.
The word “suspected” reflects the direction of the police investigation, not a medical ruling. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, which will determine the official cause and manner of death, performed an autopsy on Monday.
The medical examiner’s office told People that “the cause and manner of death have been deferred,” meaning the office asked for further studies before deciding.
People also reported that a call was made to Santa Monica police at 9:35 a.m. on September 20 for a cardiac arrest, while another dispatch indicated first responders were headed to an overdose at the address.
Those dispatch descriptions capture what was reported in the moment and are not findings. The medical examiner’s office will determine what happened, and toxicology testing in such cases can take weeks. The facility’s name had not been made public in the reports available at the time of writing.
A spokesperson for Crawford told ABC News, “The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time.” The statement came from Crawford, Rande Gerber, and Presley’s sister, Kaia Gerber. In the reports available at the time of writing, the family had not offered further comment on the circumstances.
A Son Who Made His Recovery Public
Presley was born on July 2, 1999. He began modeling in his teens, was signed by IMG Models at 15, and made his runway debut in a Moschino show in Los Angeles before walking for Dolce & Gabbana in Milan and appearing in a Calvin Klein campaign.
Photographer Collier Schorr, who shot both Presley and Kaia, wrote on Instagram that her last shoot with him was a Hugo Boss campaign. She said she could feel him struggling under the scrutiny and added, “He wanted to find his place.”
In January 2019, he was arrested for a DUI, and he was later sentenced to three years of probation, a DUI program, and two days of community service.
In the years after, he spoke publicly about his struggles. He started a program called “Mental Health Mondays” on his Instagram account, which he said was meant to start honest conversations about things most people hide.
In a 2023 podcast, he said he wanted to help others facing similar issues, and he described mental health as ongoing work, calling it “a 24/7 job.” In 2020, he explained a face tattoo reading “misunderstood” by saying it reflected how he felt his entire life.
He also documented the most recent chapter. In December 2025, he posted an Instagram video, later deleted, in which he discussed taking medications including Xanax, Valium, and buprenorphine while describing panic attacks.
He said, “I’ve had a lot of loss in many different forms recently.” Crawford commented on the video, “Presley, we love you and you are not alone.”
On March 26, he said he was undergoing an ibogaine flood dose, which People, citing Stanford Medicine, described as a psychedelic that is not currently legal in the U.S. but has been used in Canada and Mexico to treat addiction.
He wrote, “Praying it’s the last time I have to come back.” In June, People reported that he appeared with his parents at a Malibu event and took part in a panel discussion about mental health. None of the coverage available so far connects any of this to his death, and the cause is still to be determined.
How Family, Friends and Colleagues Responded
Kaia Gerber addressed her brother’s struggles in an August interview with Vogue. “When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone,” she said.
Vogue described his path as a decade-long fight with drug addiction. Kaia said their parents had spent most of her life being very private, and that her brother had pushed the family to be open.
She also said that trying to keep a lid on such struggles can leave a person feeling ashamed. Those remarks now read as some of the fullest on-the-record family commentary on his health.
Friends and colleagues offered tributes on social media. Paris Hilton posted on Instagram Stories that she was completely heartbroken and described him as sweet, sensitive, kind, and genuine.
Jason Kennedy wrote that the news made him feel sick to his stomach, remembered Gerber’s generous heart, and said he was heartbroken for Gerber’s parents and family. Brooklyn Peltz Beckham also posted that he was heartbroken, called Gerber kind, and said he would be missed.
The next verified milestone will be the medical examiner’s determination of cause and manner of death, and the family has asked for privacy in the meantime.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, the SAMHSA helpline is 1-800-662-HELP. Anyone facing mental health challenges or emotional distress can call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org, 24/7.
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