Latest news with #ManateeCountySheriff
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
‘Every parent's worst nightmare': Tragic end to search for missing North Carolina teen who sent chilling final text to mom
The body of a North Carolina teen who disappeared after sending his mom a chilling final message begging for 'help' has been found in Florida. Giovanni Pelletier, 18, was discovered in a retention pond near I-75 in Florida on Friday, near where he had traveled to visit his estranged father's family, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office said, according to Gulf Coast News. Detectives 'preliminarily determined' the body to belong to Pelletier, pending further testing. An autopsy was scheduled for Sunday, and the death investigation was ongoing, the sheriff's office said. The boy's mother, Bridgette Pelletier, said on Facebook that she was living 'every parent's worst nightmare,' and noted her son was found by her family, not authorities. '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. 'I am living every parent's worst nightmare, trying to find the strength to give him the goodbye he deserves.' Giovanni Pelletier was unable to meet with his father, who is currently incarcerated, his aunt Desiree Pelletier previously told ABC News, but he had plans to meet three cousins for the first time. However, things took a turn after the cousins picked Giovanni up for a three-hour drive to their home in Mims, Florida, on August 1. About 25 minutes into their drive, he texted his mother, 'Help me.' He also sent similarly frightening messages to his grandfather and another aunt. According to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, the cousins told investigators Giovanni 'began to act erratically before exiting the vehicle' on I-75 near State Road 70. The teen's backpack and cellphone were found on the side of the road by a truck driver that same day. In an update Saturday to a GoFundMe, which the family started to cover hiring a private investigator to help in the search, Bridgette Pelletier noted the funds would now go toward 'funeral, medical and legal costs' as they 'struggle to honor [Giovanni's] memory through this unimaginable heartbreak.' Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
‘Every parent's worst nightmare': Tragic end to search for missing North Carolina teen who sent chilling final text to mom
The body of a North Carolina teen who disappeared after sending his mom a chilling final message begging for 'help' has been found in Florida. Giovanni Pelletier, 18, was discovered in a retention pond near I-75 in Florida on Friday, near where he had traveled to visit his estranged father's family, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office said, according to Gulf Coast News. Detectives 'preliminarily determined' the body to belong to Pelletier, pending further testing. An autopsy was scheduled for Sunday, and the death investigation was ongoing, the sheriff's office said. The boy's mother, Bridgette Pelletier, said on Facebook that she was living 'every parent's worst nightmare,' and noted her son was found by her family, not authorities. '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. 'I am living every parent's worst nightmare, trying to find the strength to give him the goodbye he deserves.' Giovanni Pelletier was unable to meet with his father, who is currently incarcerated, his aunt Desiree Pelletier previously told ABC News, but he had plans to meet three cousins for the first time. However, things took a turn after the cousins picked Giovanni up for a three-hour drive to their home in Mims, Florida, on August 1. About 25 minutes into their drive, he texted his mother, 'Help me.' He also sent similarly frightening messages to his grandfather and another aunt. According to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, the cousins told investigators Giovanni 'began to act erratically before exiting the vehicle' on I-75 near State Road 70. The teen's backpack and cellphone were found on the side of the road by a truck driver that same day. In an update Saturday to a GoFundMe, which the family started to cover hiring a private investigator to help in the search, Bridgette Pelletier noted the funds would now go toward 'funeral, medical and legal costs' as they 'struggle to honor [Giovanni's] memory through this unimaginable heartbreak.'
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
‘Every parent's worst nightmare': Tragic end to search for missing North Carolina teen who sent chilling final text to mom
The body of a North Carolina teen who disappeared after sending his mom a chilling final message begging for 'help' has been found in Florida. Giovanni Pelletier, 18, was discovered in a retention pond near I-75 in Florida on Friday, near where he had traveled to visit his estranged father's family, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office said, according to Gulf Coast News. Detectives 'preliminarily determined' the body to belong to Pelletier, pending further testing. An autopsy was scheduled for Sunday, and the death investigation was ongoing, the sheriff's office said. The boy's mother, Bridgette Pelletier, said on Facebook that she was living 'every parent's worst nightmare,' and noted her son was found by her family, not authorities. '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. 'I am living every parent's worst nightmare, trying to find the strength to give him the goodbye he deserves.' Giovanni Pelletier was unable to meet with his father, who is currently incarcerated, his aunt Desiree Pelletier previously told ABC News, but he had plans to meet three cousins for the first time. However, things took a turn after the cousins picked Giovanni up for a three-hour drive to their home in Mims, Florida, on August 1. About 25 minutes into their drive, he texted his mother, 'Help me.' He also sent similarly frightening messages to his grandfather and another aunt. According to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, the cousins told investigators Giovanni 'began to act erratically before exiting the vehicle' on I-75 near State Road 70. The teen's backpack and cellphone were found on the side of the road by a truck driver that same day. In an update Saturday to a GoFundMe, which the family started to cover hiring a private investigator to help in the search, Bridgette Pelletier noted the funds would now go toward 'funeral, medical and legal costs' as they 'struggle to honor [Giovanni's] memory through this unimaginable heartbreak.'
Fox News
2 days ago
- Fox News
North Carolina teen's body discovered in Florida one week after he vanished with chilling final message
The body of a missing North Carolina teen has been found in Florida, where he disappeared more than a week ago after sending a disturbing final message to his mother, according to family and officials. Giovanni Pelletier, 18, was found dead in a retention pond near the southbound off-ramp of Interstate 75 and State Road 70 on Friday, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office told FOX13 Tampa on Saturday. His backpack and cellphone were found nearby the previous day. Pelletier's mother, Bridgette Pelletier, confirmed the body of her son was found in a Facebook post. "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. "I am living every parent's worst nightmare, trying to find the strength to give him the goodbye he deserves. We ask that you please respect our privacy at this time as we try to navigate this for his 4 younger siblings." Pelletier's cause of death was not immediately known. Pelletier, who lived in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, with his family, 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, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said. The teen had left in a vehicle with cousins from his estranged biological father's side of the family, WRAL News reported. But 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 on his father's side. The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said the cousins said Pelletier "suddenly began to act erratically before exiting the vehicle and walking away near SR70" in Manatee County. Pelletier family members from North Carolina immediately began searching for the missing 18-year-old. Nearly two dozen others joined the search effort on Monday, using ATVs and drones, FOX13 reported. Pelletier's aunt, Desiree Pelletier, told WRAL News on Thursday, before the teen's body was found, that the family was concerned about the involvement of the cousins 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 told the station. "How are we supposed to be okay and not go for the possibility of something happened to him?" The white Chevy Malibu that Pelletier had traveled in with his cousins has been seized by the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, according to FOX13. No further details about the investigation were immediately available.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Decomposing Body Found Near Area Where Missing Teen Giovanni Pelletier Was Last Seen
The 18-year-old was last seen when he was picked up in Englewood, Fla., by three cousins on Aug. 1NEED TO KNOW Authorities have discovered a body near the area where missing teen Giovanni Pelletier was last seen in Florida The 18-year-old has been missing since Aug. 1 Giovanni's mother said her son expressed interest in reconnecting with paternal relatives and arranged to be picked up by some of them before he disappearedA body has been discovered near the area where missing teen Giovanni Pelletier was last seen in Florida. The decomposing body of what appears to be a male was found in a retention pond off of I-75 and State Road 70 on Friday, Aug. 8, according to spokesperson Randy Warren of the Manatee County Sheriff's Office (MCSO), per WWSB and WRAL. Warren said authorities cannot confirm the identity of the body at this time. He added that police were keeping Giovanni's family 'informed of developments' in the case, per WWSB. PEOPLE reached out to the MCSO for comment on Saturday, Aug. 9, but did not receive an immediate response. The North Carolina teen went missing in Florida on Friday, Aug. 1, shortly after traveling there with his mom, Bridgette Pelletier, her fiancé, Jeremy Brown, and Giovanni's four siblings, his mom previously told PEOPLE. Before they left Raleigh, N.C., Giovanni joined a text chat with some of his paternal relatives, arranging for some of them to pick him up in Englewood, Fla., to take him to his grandfather's house in Brevard County, more than three hours away. Although Bridgette had her reservations about Giovanni going alone, she said she wanted to support her son's desire to reconnect with his family. Within 30 minutes of being picked up, Giovanni texted his mother, who had been studying for an upcoming pharmacy board exam and was asleep. The text read: "Mom help." The circumstances surrounding Giovanni's disappearance had been strange from the start, according to his mom. Bridgette said that Giovanni's paternal grandfather left her a voicemail alleging that there had been an altercation between the young men and that the cousins had left Giovanni on the side of the road in Bradenton in Manatee County. (The grandfather declined to comment to PEOPLE, while the cousins could not be reached.) Bridgette told PEOPLE that after getting in touch with some more family members, one of the cousins who had picked Giovanni up on Aug. 1 said the group had smoked marijuana together and that Giovanni began to panic and cursed at him. The cousin also allegedly said that a confrontation occurred on the side of the road, at which point, he claimed, Giovanni pulled out a knife. Bridgette said the cousin claimed they wrestled the knife from Giovanni, who then ran off. Giovanni's mom described the behavior as unlike her son and said she believed he likely felt threatened and outnumbered. Bridgette described her son, the eldest of her five kids, as a protector by nature because he always looked out for others, including one of his younger brothers who has autism. Read the original article on People
