Mother Searches for Answers After Son Texted "Help" and Mysteriously Died While Reconnecting with Relatives

Giovanni Pelletier

The identity of a missing North Carolina teen, Giovanni Pelletier, was confirmed after his remains were discovered in a retention pond near a highway in Manatee County, Florida.

On Thursday, a medical examiner identified his remains from dental records. Florida authorities have not determined the cause of death yet, but an autopsy and toxicology report are scheduled.

Giovanni's mother, Bridgette Pelletier, told ABC 11 that he wanted to get to know his biological dad's side of the family. He was with three cousins at the time of his disappearance on August 1st. The teen had reportedly been speaking with his family in a group chat before his visit to Florida.  

Bridgette said she got an early morning text from her son asking for help. She explained, "So when I received a text message, the second that I opened my eyes, it felt like somebody was standing on my chest. It felt like I couldn't really breathe," she said. The teenager's mother shared that she immediately started searching for Gio after being unable to contact him after his text. She said, "I jumped out of bed—I didn't even have clothes on." "I ran out the door and that day I searched for him for hours."

Bridgette also said law enforcement was not of great assistance with the search efforts; her friend found the 18-year-old's body in the pond near Interstate I-75—his phone and backpack were also located in the vicinity.

The retention pond Gio's body was discovered in

Bridgette said his cousins told her that they left the teen on the side of the road after they smoked marijuana because he was acting irrationally. Those cousins reportedly spoke with investigators, but Bridgette hasn't heard from them since that day.

ABC11 also reached out to the cousins who were in the car with Gio, but did not get a response. Bridgette doesn't believe she's being given all of the information. She stated, "I'll say I don't believe ever, I don't believe that there was necessarily even an ill intention initially with coming to pick him up. But I think something happened, and I think the way that it was handled afterwards was not what we know to be family," she said.

Giovanni and Bridgette

Pelletier is not satisfied with the stories surrounding the teen's disappearance. She stated, "I got a story from one of the cousins, which I won't repeat, but that story was very drastically different than the story that was given to the police."... "I can only say that I know that they know more, they have more answers than they're giving." She continued, "No one has reached out to me." "Nobody has asked me if he was ok." "Nobody has said that they were sorry to me!"..."Nobody has helped us search."

The Pelletier family questions why Giovanni's relatives failed to contact her once he got out of the car. The family intends to get a second autopsy and hire a private investigator for answers about his death.

This story will be updated.

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