North CarolinaIn an effort to counter what she describes as harmful internet rumors, the distraught mother of 18-year-old Giovanni Pelletier claims that her family, not the police, made the tragic discovery of his body after he vanished earlier this month.
According to the Hindustan Times, Bridgette Pelletier disclosed in a tearful Facebook post that OUR FAMILY ALONE, not the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office or any other organization, conducted a frantic search and located her son.
Family Counters Online Rumors
On Saturday, August 9, a decaying body was found close to the location where Giovanni was last seen, leading to the discovery. Later, his relatives verified that it was him.Bridgette wrote the following in her post:
I’m struggling to find the strength to say goodbye to him the way he deserves, and I’m living every parent’s worst fear. While we work to resolve this for his four younger siblings, we kindly ask that you maintain our privacy.
She also wrote, “Please stop spreading false information about who found my son.”
My baby was not found by the police. My baby was not discovered by the investigators. The dogs didn’t. THE HELICOPTERS FAILED. I found my baby. And I’ll never be the same again.
On Facebook, her cousin Morgan Hull echoed the statement, claiming that it was the family’s broken hearts and outstretched hands—not the investigators—that brought Giovanni home.
Discovery in Retention Pond
At the southbound off-ramp of Interstate 75 and SR 70, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Department verified that a family member looking for Giovanni had discovered what seemed to be a body in a retention pond. Investigators think the body was submerged before coming to the surface.
According to The News & Observer, an initial autopsy revealed no evidence of trauma or foul play. A complete autopsy has not yet been completed.
The Disappearance
On August 1, Giovanni vanished while on vacation in Englewood, Florida. His family maintains that he departed Nims, Florida, with three men he had never met in person who claimed to be related to his father, despite the fact that officials first stated he was going with his cousins.
The males then reported to authorities that Giovanni started acting strangely and got out of their car, according to his family. This account is contested by the family. Giovanni’s final message to his mother before he vanished was a terrifying text that said, “Help me, mom.”
Ongoing Investigation
Investigators are still looking into what happened before Giovanni died. Despite their sorrow, his family is determined to find the truth and has promised to keep his story in the public glare.
Morgan Hull asked people to be compassionate:
We are in excruciating agony after losing a lovely, kind individual. Some of us worry about lies, gossip, and irrelevant things while we’re trying to go through the toughest time of our lives. Show some compassion. Show some deference.
The Saluda Standard-Sentinel will keep up with the case’s developments as detectives try to piece together exactly what transpired in Giovanni Pelletier’s last hours.
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