Giovanni Pelletier’s Family Calls For FBI Investigation After Body Found In FL Pond

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — The family of 18-year-old Giovanni Pelletier, whose body was found in a retention pond off Interstate 75 while he was vacationing in Florida, is calling for FBI involvement in the case.

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.

The teen’s family has been critical of law enforcement’s search for Giovanni.

“(He) went missing in Florida after being picked up by relatives he had never met. Hours later, a trucker found his phone and backpack on the highway in Manatee County. Despite Giovanni’s desperate ‘help me’ text to his mother and other family members, law enforcement failed to treat the case with urgency,” a Change.org petition started by his family calling for the FBI to investigate the case reads. “For eight days, his family searched without adequate support, until August 8, when a family friend — not police — discovered his body in a nearby retention pond. Giovanni’s family, friends, and community are shattered and deserve the truth.”

According to the petition, “This case spans multiple counties, involves suspected gang affiliations and may include interstate elements — all reasons why the FBI should be involved. Without proper investigation, key evidence may be lost forever, and those responsible may never be held accountable. Allowing misinformation and investigative gaps to stand sets a dangerous precedent for every missing person case in Florida and beyond.”

The family friend searching the area of I-75 at State Road 70 found the partially submerged body at the edge of the retention pond on Aug. 8 around 3:15 p.m., the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said in a news relase.

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

See Also:

• ‘Mom Help’: NC Teen Vacationing In FL Sent Brief Text Before Going Missing More Than 1 Week Ago
• Missing Teen Never Showed Up For First Day Of School: Manatee County Sheriff
• Missing NC Teen Who Was Vacationing In FL Found Dead

During an autopsy Sunday, the District 12 Medical Examiner Office wasn’t able to make a positive identification because of the advanced state of decomposition, the sheriff’s office said. Forensic testing is needed to make a positive ID.

There were no signs of foul play or trauma found during the autopsy, the Medical Examiner’s Office said. The cause of death is unknown.

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.”

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,” the family’s petition reads. “His life mattered. His story matters. The public must act now to demand truth, accountability, and justice.”

A GoFundMe fundraiser has also raised nearly $30,000 for the family as of Tuesday afternoon.

“Any funds raised now will provide crucial support to cover funeral, medical and legal costs as we struggle to honor his memory through this unimaginable heartbreak,” the family said in a statement.

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