Body Found Where Missing Teen Giovanni Pelletier Was Last Seen, Family Claims It's Him

On Friday, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office in Florida confirmed that a body was discovered in a retention pond off of Interstate 75 and State Route 70 -- which is near the area where 18-year-old Giovanni Pelletier was last seen on August 1, according to Raleigh ABC affiliate, WTVD.

On Saturday morning, the teen's family told the outlet that the body was Giovanni's. However, Manatee County Sheriff's Office spokesman Randy Warren said a decomposing body that appeared to be male had been found, but stated that deputies cannot yet confirm the identity of the deceased, per WWSB. He added that they were keeping the Pettetier family "informed of developments."

Giovanni's mother, Bridgette Pelletier, also issued a statement on what is believed to be her Facebook account on Saturday, in which she also confirmed her son's body had been discovered.

"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 nevigate this for his 4 younger siblings."

Brigette shared a similar statement on the GoFundMe that was started by her sister, Desiree, following Giovanni's disappearance, and also asked for donations in the wake of her son's death.

"Any funds raised now will provide crucial support to cover funeral, medical, and legal costs as we struggle to honor his memory through this unimaginable heartbreak," she said.

Giovanni Pelletier had been staying in Englewood, Florida, with his family, including Bridgette and his four siblings, visiting a relative who was receiving chemotherapy. While there, he hoped to meet up with family members from his father's side, after growing up in the state before he and his mother moved to North Carolina when he was four.

After making plans to do just that, three of his paternal cousins picked him up around 1:30 a.m. on August 1, with Bridgette's fiancé seeing him off, Bridgette told People. It was the last time anyone on her side of the family would see him again.

While Bridgette was asleep, Giovanni allegedly began to frantically reach out to her -- texting her "Mom help," calling her at 1:56 a.m., and attempting a FaceTime a minute after that. He also reportedly texted his sister and her dad asking for help. Bridgette, however, didn't see any of this until hours later, when she woke up, noticing she also missed a call from one of the cousins ... as well as a voicemail from Giovanni's paternal grandfather that something had happened between the four men on the drive.

The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said the cousins told authorities, "Giovanni suddenly began to act erratically before exiting the vehicle and walking away." Per Bridgette, the cousin who attempted to call her later told her that the group had smoked marijuana together, before Giovanni began panicking, caused a scene, and even pulled out a knife.

"When that happened, they said they wrestled the knife from him, and then my son took off running," Bridgette told People. "None of these kids that were with him have tried to call me and ask me if I found him, asked me if he's okay, asked me anything."

She also finds it suspicious that she was able to find his backpack and phone abandoned on the side of the road after tracking the GPS, saying her son "eats, sleeps, showers, breathes his phone." She added that "the thing that tells me that something is wrong is my son knows my number by heart," and he would "never run away and text me, 'help me,' because he knows that I would burn this world down to find him and that I wouldn't be scared of anything or anybody, and I'm not."

In a GoFundMe started by Brigette's sister, she wrote that Giovanni has been "missing under deeply troubling and suspicious circumstances," calling the text her sister received "chilling."

"Giovanni is smart, kind, and full of life. He didn't deserve this," she continued. "Our family is devastated, terrified, and doing everything in our power to bring him home -- but we're receiving very little help from officials, and we are being forced to search on our own."

It appears that the family did just that -- as WBTV reported that Giovanni's body was discovered by a private investigation group hired by the Pelletiers.

According to the outlet, the retention pond where the body was found had previously been searched by authorities. WBTV also reported, citing authorities, that a toxicology report will take six months to complete, but no initial physical evidence was foul play was found.

Despite Giovanni's family's claims, as of Saturday, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office and the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office have yet to confirm the identity of the body, according to WRAL.

The GoFundMe fundraiser for the Pelletier family has received over $21,000 in donations, exceeding its $15,000 goal.