BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — It has been one week since 18-year-old Giovanni Pelletier disappeared while on his way to Brevard County, Florida.
According to Charlotte County investigators, Pelletier was traveling with his cousins after being picked up in Englewood.
The relatives told authorities that the teen began acting erratically and got out of their vehicle near State Road 70 in Manatee County.
Family members say Giovanni sent multiple text messages asking for help shortly after leaving the vehicle.
No one has heard from him since. “Nothing. There’s been zero. There’s been a hundred thousand tips, if you could say—but nothing leads to him. Nothing at all,” said his cousin, Morgan Hull.
Earlier this week, one of those tips prompted a search in Mims, Florida. However, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey says there is no evidence to suggest Pelletier was ever in Brevard County.
“Some of his items—a backpack, a school bag, and a telephone—were found on the interstate in Manatee County, I believe,” Ivey said.
The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, which is leading the investigation, asked Brevard deputies to assist in contacting the cousins who were last with Giovanni.
Sheriff Ivey says their accounts were consistent, and they allowed investigators to search their vehicle. “We had our crime scene team go through it and reported back to Charlotte County that there was no evidence of any type of wrongdoing,” Ivey explained.
Pelletier’s family is now offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to his location or for the arrest and conviction of those responsible for his disappearance. “We just want to find him. Bottom line—it doesn’t matter how. We just want him home,” Hull said. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.
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