In Florida, a body has been found close to the location where Giovanni Pelletier, a missing teen, was last seen.
As reported by WWSB and WRAL, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) spokesperson Randy Warren said Friday, Aug. 8, the decomposing body of what appears to be a male was discovered in a retention pond off of I-75 and State Road 70.
According to Warren, authorities are currently unable to verify the identity of the body. According to WWSB, he also mentioned that police were keeping Giovanni’s family “informed of developments” in the case.
On Saturday, August 9, PEOPLE contacted the MCSO for comment, but they did not hear back right away.
According to what his mother previously told PEOPLE, the North Carolina teen vanished in Florida on Friday, August 1, just after visiting the state with his mother, Bridgette Pelletier, her fiancé, Jeremy Brown, and Giovanni’s four siblings.
In order to arrange for some of his paternal relatives to pick him up in Englewood, Fla., and drive him to his grandfather’s home in Brevard County, which is more than three hours away, Giovanni joined a text chat with them before they left Raleigh, N.C.
Despite her misgivings about Giovanni traveling alone, Bridgette stated that she wished to encourage her son’s wish to get back in touch with his family.
Giovanni texted his mother, who was asleep and had been preparing for an impending pharmacy board exam, within 30 minutes of being picked up. This was the text: “Mom help.”
Giovanni’s disappearance had been strange from the beginning, according to his mother.
Bridgette stated that Giovanni’s paternal grandfather left her a voicemail claiming that the young men had fought and that the cousins had abandoned Giovanni on the side of the road in Bradenton, Manatee County. (The grandfather declined to comment for PEOPLE, and the cousins could not be reached.)
Bridgette told PEOPLE that after speaking with more family members, one of Giovanni’s cousins who had picked him up on Aug. 1 stated that the group had smoked marijuana together, and Giovanni began to panic and curse him.
The cousin also claimed that there was a confrontation on the side of the road, during which Giovanni allegedly pulled out a knife. Bridgette said the cousin claimed they wrestled the knife from Giovanni, who then fled.
Giovanni’s mother described the behavior as unusual for her son, and she suspected he was feeling threatened and outnumbered.
Bridgette described her son, the eldest of her five children, as a natural protector who always looked out for others, including his younger brother with autism.
