Florida officials said on Sunday that more testing is required to formally identify a body discovered on Friday as a North Carolina man who vanished earlier this month.
Giovanni Pelletier, 18, vanished in Mims on August 1, after reportedly meeting with his cousins from his estranged father’s side. WRAL reported that two weeks later, a partially-submerged body was discovered in a retention pond in Manatee County, not far from where the teen’s phone last pinged.
The Medical Examiner’s Office in Sarasota said additional testing is required to confirm the body as Pelletier — but an autopsy did not find any evidence of foul play or trauma. However, Manatee County police said its preliminary investigation concluded the body was Pelletier.
Pelletier and his family were visiting his mother’s fiancée’s family in Englewood when he planned for his cousins to pick him up to see more relatives in Brevard County. The cousins allegedly claimed Pelletier began behaving “erratically” before unexplainedly leaving the car near State Road 70 in Manatee County.
However, Pelletier reportedly sent his mother a text reading, “Help me,” about 20 minutes into the car ride. He sent similar messages to other family members, according to WTVT.
Before the body was discovered, Pelletier’s backpack and cellphone were found near where he was last seen.
Detectives believe the body had been in the retention pond for days before it rose to the surface. The medical examiner said more intensive testing is warranted due to the advanced state of decomposition.
In addition to a positive identification, a cause and manner of death are pending toxicology results and more investigation.
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Author: Jacquelyn Gray
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