MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — The mystery deepens around the final hours of 18-year-old Giovanni Pelletier — a North Carolina teen whose body was found in a Manatee County retention pond.
Giovanni had been vacationing with family in Englewood when, in the early morning hours of August 1st, he left with a cousin and two others — planning to visit relatives in Brevard County.
According to authorities, Giovanni had only recently reconnected with his biological father’s side of the family. He had never met the men he was traveling with in person — only speaking to one cousin by phone.
During the drive, the group reportedly smoked weed in the car. Giovanni began to act erratically, which one person in the car described as “tripping” and “raging.”
At 1:55 a.m., Giovanni sent his mother a series of urgent texts: “Help,” “help,” and finally… “me.”
Sheriff Rick Wells says the group pulled over so Giovanni could use the bathroom. That’s when things escalated.
“There’s no one in this area with Giovanni. There’s no one chasing him. He’s by himself,” said Sheriff Wells. ”What we don’t know is what happened when he hit that pond.”
Surveillance video, shown during Tuesday’s press conference, captured Giovanni running down an embankment — alone — toward the pond where his body was found days later by a family friend.
Wells told reporters, “The death is undetermined… We really don’t know what happened when he got into that pond.”
As Giovanni’s loved ones wait for answers, investigators continue piecing together what happened during that final, tragic ride.
This is the timeline of events according to MCSO
2:26 a.m. -The cousin called his grandfather to let him know that Pelletier got out of the car.
2:27 a.m. - He called Pelletier’s mother, but she didn’t answer.
6:50 a.m. - The cousin called Pelletier’s mother again and told her what had happened.
7:13 a.m. - Pelletier’s mother called 911 and asked the operator to have deputies do a wellness check near where Pelletier got out of the vehicle.
Trucker finds backpack and phone. Mom saw her son’s phone moving but didn’t realize that a truck driver had it. She called Tampa police, and an officer found the truck driver working and recovered the phone along with the backpack.
Shortly before 9:30 a.m., the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office opened a missing person’s case and contacted the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
On Friday, Aug. 8, a body was found in the pond by a family friend.
That body was positively identified as Pelletier on Aug. 14.
Today, sheriff waiting for toxicology reports and the ME to determine the case of death.
That could take a two months.
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