The body of a missing North Carolina teen has been found in Florida, where he disappeared more than a week ago after sending a disturbing final message to his mother, according to family and officials.
Giovanni Pelletier, 18, was found dead in a retention pond near the southbound off-ramp of Interstate 75 and State Road 70 on Friday, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office told FOX13 Tampa on Saturday. His backpack and cellphone were found nearby the previous day.
Pelletier’s mother, Bridgette Pelletier, confirmed the body of her son was found in a Facebook post.
“My son was recently found after a desperate search by OUR FAMILY ALONE, and we are still facing an active investigation into his death,” she wrote. “I am living every parent’s worst nightmare, trying to find the strength to give him the goodbye he deserves. We ask that you please respect our privacy at this time as we try to navigate this for his 4 younger siblings.”
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Pelletier’s cause of death was not immediately known.
Pelletier, who lived in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, with his family, was last seen on Aug. 1 while on vacation with his family in Englewood, Florida, when he left around 1:30 a.m. to visit relatives in Brevard County, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office said.
The teen had left in a vehicle with cousins from his estranged biological father’s side of the family, WRAL News reported. But shortly into the trip, Pelletier sent a chilling text message to his mother: “Mom, help.” He reportedly sent similar messages to his grandfather and an aunt on his father’s side.
The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office said the cousins said Pelletier “suddenly began to act erratically before exiting the vehicle and walking away near SR70” in Manatee County.
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Pelletier family members from North Carolina immediately began searching for the missing 18-year-old. Nearly two dozen others joined the search effort on Monday, using ATVs and drones, FOX13 reported.
Pelletier’s aunt, Desiree Pelletier, told WRAL News on Thursday, before the teen’s body was found, that the family was concerned about the involvement of the cousins after she claimed they changed their story.
“How on earth are we supposed to be okay with these three boys saying this is what happened and then they change it?” she told the station. “How are we supposed to be okay and not go for the possibility of something happened to him?”