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Where is Giovanni Pelletier? 18-y/o leaves Florida by car with 3 individuals, disappears after sending ‘Help Me’ text
As the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office searches for missing Giovanni Pelletier, his cousin indicated she suspects foul play in his disappearance.
The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office is searching for an 18-year-old who disappeared while vacationing with his family in Englewood on August 1. Giovanni Pelletier went missing after leaving around 1:30 am to visit more family in Brevard County, according to gulfcoastnewsnow.com.
Where is Giovanni Pelletier?
Pelletier was traveling with his cousins, going north on I-75, before he began acting erratically and got out of the vehicle, those in the car with him claimed, per the outlet. The people who last saw him said he began going towards State Road 70 in Manatee County.
While the people Pelletier was last seen with have been described by news outlets as his cousins, his family claimed he left Nims, Florida, with three men he had only spoken to over the phone, and they claimed to be “relatives of his father.”
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The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) is now working with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office to locate Pelletier.
The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post, “The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office is currently conducting a missing person investigation for a male named Giovonni Pelletier (04/02/2007). Giovanni was vacationing with his family in Englewood before leaving around 1:30am Friday, August 1, to visit more family in Brevard County. He was traveling North on I75 with his cousins, who advised Giovanni suddenly began to act erratically before exiting the vehicle and walking away near SR70 (Manatee County). We are working this investigation collaboratively with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. If anyone has information on where Giovanni Pelletier may be, please contact our non-emergency number (941) 639-2101.”
Giovanni Pelletier’s cousin suspects foul play
Morgan Hull, who claimed Pelletier is her cousin, shared on Facebook that while searching for the missing man, his grandmother had a stroke. “While searching for my missing cousin Giovanni on the side of the highway, my aunt — his grandmother — had a stroke and was rushed to the hospital. She’s now admitted and being monitored. Please keep our family in your prayers during this nightmare, and continue to help us bring Giovanni home. We need all the strength, love, and support we can get right now,” Hull wrote.
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Hull said on Facebook that before Pelletier’s disappearance, he was “picked up by a few boys from his dad’s side of the family — people he had never met in person, only talked to over the phone.” She added, “They were trying to connect and drove from Mims, Florida to Englewood, Florida. On the way back to Mims, they claim there was an argument and they left him on the side of the road. His phone and backpack were found a half mile up the road — police said a truck driver found them on the highway in Bradenton, Florida, in his work truck.”
Hull said that at 1:51, Pelletier sent a text to his mom that read, “Help me mom.” That was the last time he was heard from.
Hull also called for people to turn up and join a search party for her missing cousin. “Our family is hurting and desperate. We need help, love, and prayers more than ever. Please share this and show up if you can,” she wrote.
In one post, Hull indicated that the whole truth about the circumstances leading up to Pelletier's disappearance is not being revealed. “You don’t leave someone on the side of the road and think nobody’s gonna say anything. Giovanni Pelletier is missing and we know y’all aren’t telling the full truth. His phone was found thrown down the highway — and now nobody’s seen or heard from him since. We will NOT stay quiet. If you did something to him, we’re coming for you. This family don’t play about ours. You will be found. You will be exposed. And justice will be served,” she wrote.
More chilling details emerged in a Facebook post shared by Project Cold Case: Serving Okaloosa & Surrounding Counties. The page said that the three men who were last seen with Pelletier were found, and they claimed that during an argument, they dropped him off just ten minutes from his home.
“In the hours that followed, whispers began to surface—rumors from within the families of the men involved. They claimed that all four had smoked something that night. That Giovanni became violent. That he pulled a knife. That the others disarmed him, forced him out of the car, and later discarded his cellphone and backpack along the road. Yet, that same family member would state that they all pray for his safety,” the post reads.
“The same family member of the men would later suggest that Giovanni had simply run away. But from what?” it adds. “Why would a young man run from the very people who had stood by him his entire life—a family who loved him unconditionally, supported him through every chapter, and took pride in the kind, respectful person he had become? The same family member then changed the story again, claiming that Giovanni wasn’t dropped on the side of the highway at all, but instead at a Circle K convenience store. She insisted there were witnesses who saw him there.”
It further says, “But if that were true—if he’d truly been dropped off at a Circle K, and the others had taken his cellphone—why wouldn’t Giovanni have gone inside and used the store’s phone to call his mother? She was only minutes away, likely still awake, likely waiting to hear the sound of his footsteps at the door, especially after the 1:51am text message, "Help Me Mom".”
