Giovanni Pelletier’s body officially identified by medical examiner

BRADENTON, Fla. - A body found in a retention pond during a search for a missing teenager has been identified by the medical examiner as 18-year-old Giovanni Pelletier.

Pelletier’s family and detectives said that the body belonged to the North Carolina teen who disappeared a week earlier, but the medical examiner was not able to make a positive identification and said additional forensic testing was required due to the condition of his body.

The cause of death remains undetermined pending toxicology results, which are expected to take several weeks.

Detectives said they are pursuing multiple leads to learn more about the circumstances surrounding Pelletier’s death, but added that there are no signs of foul play.

Courtesy: Pelletier family.

The backstory:

Pelletier was on vacation in Englewood with family from North Carolina when he left around 1:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 1, to go visit relatives on Florida’s east coast.

He got into a vehicle with a cousin from his biological father’s side of the family, along with two of the cousin's friends, but according to relatives, Giovanni had never met the men in person. He had only spoken to one cousin on the phone before.

After reconnecting with his biological father’s side of the family, Pelletier made plans for his cousins to pick him up to see additional family in Brevard County.

Roughly 25 minutes into the trip, Pelletier sent a chilling message to his mother: "Help me." He also messaged other family members with similar pleas. That was the last time anyone heard from him.

His cousins told Brevard County deputies Pelletier began acting erratically before exiting the vehicle and walking away near State Road 70 in Manatee County.

His backpack and phone were the only items found. 

Dig deeper:

Pelletier was headed to Brevard County with his cousin to visit other relatives. 

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne  Ivey said the family willingly turned over the vehicle to be processed.

"They said take it, do whatever you need to do. The crime scene went through it and there was no evidence of wrongdoing," said Ivey. 

On Friday, August 8, a family friend found a partially submerged body in a retention pond near the intersection of I-75 and state road 70 in Manatee County.

That body was positively identified as Pelletier on August 14. 

What's next:

Though the death investigation is still ongoing, Pelletier's family is calling for federal investigators to take over after they claim local law enforcement has "failed to treat the case with urgency". 

In a Change.org petition shared via social media by Pelletier's mother, Bridgette, the teen's family asks for others to join them in demanding "FBI involvement and a full, transparent investigation".