Missing Teen Giovanni Pelletier’s Body Positively Identified In FL

BRADENTON, FL — A body found Aug. 8 in a retention pond off Interstate 75 has been positively identified as missing 18-year-old Giovanni Pelletier, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

The North Carolina teen disappeared after leaving Englewood, where he was staying with his mother and her fiance, in the early morning hours of Aug. 1 to visit his paternal family in Brevard County, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office said.

A family friend searching the area of I-75 at State Road 70 found the partially submerged body at the edge of the retention pond around 3:15 p.m., MCSO said in a previous news release.

Based on evidence at the scene, detectives preliminarily determined the decomposed body was Pelletier.

Identification was confirmed through dental records and additional forensic testing was needed due to the condition of his body, the sheriff’s office said.

The cause of death remains undetermined pending toxicology results, which are expected to take several weeks, investigators said.

Detectives are actively pursuing multiple leads to learn more about the circumstances surrounding Pelletier’s death. There are still no signs of foul play, according to MCSO.

Giovanni’s cousins, who picked him up from where he was staying around 1:30 a.m., told investigators that he “began to act erratically” while they were traveling north on I-75 before getting out of the vehicle and walking away near State Road 70 in Manatee County, the sheriff’s office said.

His mother, Bridgette Pelletier, was asleep when her son left with his cousins. She told People that when she woke up after 6 a.m., she saw that she had missed calls and texts from her son, including one that simply read, “Mom help.”

See Also:

• Giovanni Pelletier’s Family Calls For FBI Investigation After Body Found In FL Pond
• ‘Mom Help’: NC Teen Vacationing In FL Sent Brief Text Before Going Missing More Than 1 Week Ago
• Missing NC Teen Who Was Vacationing In FL Found Dead

One of the cousins he left with also tried calling her, and she learned later that her son called her sister and father for help, as well. Giovanni’s paternal grandfather also left her a voicemail saying that there had been an altercation between the teen and his cousins, who left him on the side of the road in Bradenton, she told People.

When she spoke to the cousin who tried calling her overnight, he told her that the group smoked marijuana after they picked up Giovanni, who panicked, cursed at them and pulled out a knife while they were on the side of the road, People reported. He allegedly ran off after they got the knife away from him.

His mother said that this doesn't sound like how her son would act.

Now, his family is pushing for answers in Giovanni’s disappearance and death.

“The clock is ticking. Evidence degrades, memories fade, and the trail grows colder with each passing day. We demand an immediate, thorough, and transparent investigation — with FBI involvement — to ensure justice for Giovanni and safety for our communities,” a Change.org petition from the family reads. “His life mattered. His story matters. The public must act now to demand truth, accountability, and justice.”