A missing North Carolina teen’s body has been discovered in Florida, where he vanished more than a week ago after leaving a disturbing final message for his mother, according to family and officials.
Giovanni Pelletier, 18, was found dead in a retention pond near the southbound off-ramp to Interstate 75 and State Road 70 on Friday, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. His backpack and cellphone were discovered nearby the previous day.
Bridgette Pelletier, Pelletier’s mother, confirmed the discovery of her son’s body on Facebook.
“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 on Twitter. “I’m living every parent’s worst nightmare, trying to muster the strength to bid him farewell. We ask that you respect our privacy while we try to navigate this for his four younger siblings.”
Pelletier’s cause of death was not immediately determined.
Pelletier, who lived in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, 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, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.
WRAL News reported that the teen left in a vehicle with cousins from his estranged biological father’s side of the family.
However, 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 from his father’s side.
According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, the cousins reported that Pelletier “suddenly began to act erratically before exiting the vehicle and walking away near SR70” in Manatee County.
Pelletier family members in North Carolina immediately began searching for the missing 18-year-old. FOX13 reported that nearly two dozen others joined the search effort on Monday, using ATVs and drones.
Desiree Pelletier, the teen’s aunt, told WRAL News on Thursday, before his body was discovered, that the family was concerned about the cousins’ involvement 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 explained to the news crew. “How are we supposed to be okay and not go for the possibility of something happened to him?”
No further details about the investigation were immediately available.
