Authorities have discovered a body near the area where missing teen Giovanni Pelletier was last seen in Florida
The 18-year-old has been missing since Aug. 1
Giovanni’s mother said her son expressed interest in reconnecting with paternal relatives and arranged to be picked up by some of them before he disappeared
A body has been discovered near the area where missing teen Giovanni Pelletier was last seen in Florida.
The decomposing body of what appears to be a male was found in a retention pond off of I-75 and State Road 70 on Friday, Aug. 8, according to spokesperson Randy Warren of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), per WWSB and WRAL.
Warren said authorities cannot confirm the identity of the body at this time. He added that police were keeping Giovanni’s family “informed of developments” in the case, per WWSB.
PEOPLE reached out to the MCSO for comment on Saturday, Aug. 9, but did not receive an immediate response.
The North Carolina teen went missing in Florida on Friday, Aug. 1, shortly after traveling there with his mom, Bridgette Pelletier, her fiancé, Jeremy Brown, and Giovanni’s four siblings, his mom previously told PEOPLE.
Before they left Raleigh, N.C., Giovanni joined a text chat with some of his paternal relatives, arranging for some of them to pick him up in Englewood, Fla., to take him to his grandfather’s house in Brevard County, more than three hours away.
Although Bridgette had her reservations about Giovanni going alone, she said she wanted to support her son’s desire to reconnect with his family.
Within 30 minutes of being picked up, Giovanni texted his mother, who had been studying for an upcoming pharmacy board exam and was asleep. The text read: “Mom help.”
The circumstances surrounding Giovanni’s disappearance had been strange from the start, according to his mom.
Bridgette said that Giovanni’s paternal grandfather left her a voicemail alleging that there had been an altercation between the young men and that the cousins had left Giovanni on the side of the road in Bradenton in Manatee County. (The grandfather declined to comment to PEOPLE, while the cousins could not be reached.)
Bridgette told PEOPLE that after getting in touch with some more family members, one of the cousins who had picked Giovanni up on Aug. 1 said the group had smoked marijuana together and that Giovanni began to panic and cursed at him.
The cousin also allegedly said that a confrontation occurred on the side of the road, at which point, he claimed, Giovanni pulled out a knife. Bridgette said the cousin claimed they wrestled the knife from Giovanni, who then ran off.
Giovanni’s mom described the behavior as unlike her son and said she believed he likely felt threatened and outnumbered.
Bridgette described her son, the eldest of her five kids, as a protector by nature because he always looked out for others, including one of his younger brothers who has autism.