Found Deceased Giovanni Pelletier, 18, has been missing in Englewood, Florida August 01 2025

[Vern_S]

And sometimes dead vegetation makes them soggy and you sink down. But sometimes in Florida they are sandy bottoms. Regardless, that small retainer pond probably isn't more than 2 or 3 feet deep.

I sonar search retention ponds up and down Florida's Interstate. Most are 4-8ft with some over 10ft. If they are 3' or less then they will have thick vegetation.

This is the pond where Gio was found taken from Street View last Nov. which was very dry, no precipitation. I would estimate the depth in the center 2' to 3' at this time. The concrete overflow at the back is an indicator of how high it can get. Probably 6ft to 7ft in the center when full.

In this google earth photo from a couple years ago you can see the same pond at a much higher level. but still not at capacity.

In the last few days of July the Bradenton had 3" of rainfall. Gio went missing on the 1st. A few days later Bradenton had 4" of rainfall over 2 days. I would say that the pond was at least 6ft or more during this time and could easily hide a submerged body until it floated.

 

[Inthedetails]

I sonar search retention ponds up and down Florida's Interstate. Most are 4-8ft with some over 10ft. If they are 3' or less then they will have thick vegetation.

This is the pond where Gio was found taken from Street View last Nov. which was very dry, no precipitation. I would estimate the depth in the center 2' to 3' at this time. The concrete overflow at the back is an indicator of how high it can get. Probably 6ft to 7ft in the center when full.

View attachment 608302

In this google earth photo from a couple years ago you can see the same pond at a much higher level. but still not at capacity.

View attachment 608305

In the last few days of July the Bradenton had 3" of rainfall. Gio went missing on the 1st. A few days later Bradenton had 4" of rainfall over 2 days. I would say that the pond was at least 6ft or more during this time and could easily hide a submerged body until it floated.

I wonder if at night, he didn't even realize there was a body of water and walked right in, perhaps even thinking was a shallow puddle he could walk across? It must have been dark at the time.

jmopinion

 

[Vern_S]

I wonder if at night, he didn't even realize there was a body of water and walked right in, perhaps even thinking was a shallow puddle he could walk across? It must have been dark at the time.

jmopinion

Sure. He could have been high, disoriented, possibly on a hallucinogenic. There is no telling what drugs they were smoking or taking. He could have set his backpack down and went to the pond to go pee. Slipped on the steep bank and fell in, panicked and drowned. Not uncommon. It's believed that Riley Strain fell in the Cumberland River while taking a pee.

Everyone is quick to jump on the foul play band wagon but so many times it was just an accident.

 

[Dotta]

Everyone is quick to jump on the foul play band wagon but so many times it was just an accident.

This area seems to be a middle of "nowhere" IMO.

Grass, a pond and highways on both sides.
If this isn't a foul play to leave an intoxicated youth there,
(a youth not familiar with the area, mind you, and in the dark),
then I don't know what is.

What were they thinking abandoning their COUSIN there???

Better to stay away from such "family".

As the saying goes:
"There are some families
which only look good in photographs"



JMO

 

[Vern_S]

This area seems to be a middle of "nowhere" IMO.

Grass, a pond and highways on both sides.
If this isn't a foul play to leave an intoxicated youth there,
(a youth not familiar with the area, mind you, and in the dark),
then I don't know what is.

What were they thinking abandoning their COUSIN there???

Better to stay away from such "family".

As the saying goes:
"There are some families
which only look good in photographs"



JMO

A couple things.

This area is not the middle of nowhere.

Second, Giovanni is 18. An adult. If he insists on being let out, that's his choice. The cousins may have also been under the influence as well. Leaving Giovanni alone may be extremely poor judgement, but is not criminal. But this is speculative based on being left at the exit was Giovanni's action.

Once the toxicology report is back, we will know more about what happened. For example, if it is determined that Giovanni died of an overdose prior to being in the pond, that changes things dramatically.

 

[AngTxGal]

Just an FYI regarding water equipment availability to LE. FL counties have a small boat with a motor to check waterways. If what they need isn’t available, Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) will help too.

If the need for volunteers arises, boaters here respond quickly. It’s not unusual for people to pull up with all terrain vehicles, 4 wheelers, their jet skis, boats, drones, etc and assist LE.

Sometimes the investigation doesn’t warrant putting a boat in the water immediately. Ground searches, coordination of water rescue crews, divers, particularly divers needed for gator deflection, etc take a minute to get set up and on location. There’s also the Marine Patrol out there regularly. I swear every time I’m on Lido Beach, they patrol by. Probably to ensure I’m being a good girl, ha!

What We Do

What We Do

myfwc.com

Not sure all of this helped if a week passed and he was then found in a pond near his backpack and phone?

Somebody wasn’t thinking…

How else do you explain it? And the impact on his mom was huge

IMO

 

[AngTxGal]

A couple things.

This area is not the middle of nowhere.

View attachment 608319

Second, Giovanni is 18. An adult. If he insists on being let out, that's his choice. The cousins may have also been under the influence as well. Leaving Giovanni alone may be extremely poor judgement, but is not criminal. But this is speculative based on being left at the exit was Giovanni's action.

Once the toxicology report is back, we will know more about what happened. For example, if it is determined that Giovanni died of an overdose prior to being in the pond, that changes things dramatically.

Yeah, there could be a moral obligation to render aid. That is an excellent civil case if not criminal.

It isn’t ok to just let a guy described as having some sort of mental crisis out of a car and drive away.

IMO

 

[AngTxGal]

I sonar search retention ponds up and down Florida's Interstate. Most are 4-8ft with some over 10ft. If they are 3' or less then they will have thick vegetation.

This is the pond where Gio was found taken from Street View last Nov. which was very dry, no precipitation. I would estimate the depth in the center 2' to 3' at this time. The concrete overflow at the back is an indicator of how high it can get. Probably 6ft to 7ft in the center when full.

View attachment 608302

In this google earth photo from a couple years ago you can see the same pond at a much higher level. but still not at capacity.

View attachment 608305

In the last few days of July the Bradenton had 3" of rainfall. Gio went missing on the 1st. A few days later Bradenton had 4" of rainfall over 2 days. I would say that the pond was at least 6ft or more during this time and could easily hide a submerged body until it floated.

If it could easily hide a body upon surface observation- pretty much irrelevant IMO.
Were they not supposed to search? Or just walk by and look?

Unbelievable that it looks like he was there the entire time.
Not a good look

IMO

 

[angelainwi]

If it could easily hide a body upon surface observation- pretty much irrelevant IMO.
Were they not supposed to search? Or just walk by and look?

Unbelievable that it looks like he was there the entire time.
Not a good look

IMO

The body would have been at the bottom of the pond for the first few days until gases start increasing and that causes the body to resurface and float.

 

[AngTxGal]

The body would have been at the bottom of the pond for the first few days until gases start increasing and that causes the body to resurface and float.

Of course, and if you and I know the basics of how a body works in water, then shouldn’t LE know that? His mom could Google and find out that info.
So LE can’t simply walk by and look and say “He isn’t here” if they don't’ see him.
LE would have to search, which means getting into the water and going down to the bottom.

It looks pretty clear to me that LE didn’t search the pond but told his mother they had.
Why? He was there

What was so hard about searching this pond? It wasn’t a 200k acre 120 foot deep lake.
And then it seems the mom is frustrated and upset after a week the search is in a 50 miler radius and LE is flying around in helicopters.

The lack of common sense here is baffling
IMO

 

[Justice101]

Of course, and if you and I know the basics of how a body works in water, then shouldn’t LE know that? His mom could Google and find out that info.
So LE can’t simply walk by and look and say “He isn’t here” if they don't’ see him.
LE would have to search, which means getting into the water and going down to the bottom.

It looks pretty clear to me that LE didn’t search the pond but told his mother they had.
Why? He was there

What was so hard about searching this pond? It wasn’t a 200k acre 120 foot deep lake.
And then it seems the mom is frustrated and upset after a week the search is in a 50 miler radius and LE is flying around in helicopters.

The lack of common sense here is baffling
IMO

deleted

 

[Vern_S]

Of course, and if you and I know the basics of how a body works in water, then shouldn’t LE know that? His mom could Google and find out that info.
So LE can’t simply walk by and look and say “He isn’t here” if they don't’ see him.
LE would have to search, which means getting into the water and going down to the bottom.

It looks pretty clear to me that LE didn’t search the pond but told his mother they had.
Why? He was there

What was so hard about searching this pond? It wasn’t a 200k acre 120 foot deep lake.
And then it seems the mom is frustrated and upset after a week the search is in a 50 miler radius and LE is flying around in helicopters.

The lack of common sense here is baffling
IMO

"What was so hard about searching this pond?" It's called Observation Bias. LE looks at the pond and thinks it's to shallow for someone to drown in it so they move on with little more then a cursory look. I see this all the time. Especially when it comes to water.

The Lae'Quan Little missing persons case in Greenboro NC this past January is a great example. LE dropped the ball bigtime on this one.

I have a saying that I tell family and LE when conducting a search. "You don't know, until you know." Meaning that I search and clear everything, that way "I know"..

 

[Kakidoll]

If i remember correctly, the big 'search' area was the Mims area early on. It wasn't until the backpack and phone were found that brought the area to SR 70 off of I75. Thats a HUGE area to search, from Englewood to Mims. 4 hours of driving all on highways. The rains here have been up and down since he went missing. Those retention ponds could fill in a matter of hours, then soak in and drop in another 8 once the sun is up. The speeds along that road area is upwards of 70mph. If they let him out on the side of the road (northbound) he crossed over the highway to get there. There would be lights on in both directions due to fast food, gas stations etc. That area does track with when the call was made, timewise. Where exactly was the backpack and phone found, do we know? Was it on 75 or was it on the exit ramp off or on? or on SR70? that may tell which where he was heading if he did start off with those items in his possession after being 'evicted' from the car. I drive that area quite often, Traffic is horrendous and there is usually construction going on within a couple exits on either side.

 

[PayrollNerd]

RIP Giovanni

https://www.wfla.com/news/local-news/manatee-county/body-found-in-pond-finally-identified-as-giovanni-pelletier/

Snip
The body found in a Manatee County pond has been positively identified as Giovanni Pelletier, according to the sheriff’s office.

A Manatee County Sheriff’s Office release stated that the District 12 Medical Examiner’s Office identified the 18-year-old using his dental records.

 

[Vern_S]

RIP Giovanni

https://www.wfla.com/news/local-news/manatee-county/body-found-in-pond-finally-identified-as-giovanni-pelletier/

Snip
The body found in a Manatee County pond has been positively identified as Giovanni Pelletier, according to the sheriff’s office.

A Manatee County Sheriff’s Office release stated that the District 12 Medical Examiner’s Office identified the 18-year-old using his dental records.

“Detectives are actively pursuing multiple leads to learn more about the circumstances surrounding Peletier’s death,” the sheriff’s office said. “There are still no signs of foul play.”

 

[Sjöberg]

The problem with the psychosis idea is, that while it is very likely, it is hard to prove.

Weed does not have to be laced to causes psychosis. Just plain weed is totally capable of causing psychosis, especially in a young man (maybe even more likely in a black young man, but that's up for dispute, afaik).

The autopsy therefore might not help us whatsoever. If the autopsy tells us he did cannabis, then... well, we already know that. The cousins told so. But how do we check, that he had an episode (compared to something happening with the cousins). Pretty tricky.

While you can detect structural changes in the brain of a scizophrenia patient, I am not very hopeful that such changes can reliably detected regarding one simple epsiode. Nor that anyone actually does that, anyways.

So I feel like the only ones, who really know what happened, are the ones who were in the car. I can see it going either way, as there are signs of both, paranoia and sus actions of others. And on the one hand, he called only exactly the logical people for help, on the other hand this number of calls seems unlikely during an actual danger. Hopefully the timeline will clear stuff up a little.

 

[Justice101]

So beating, stabbing, shooting, etc - off the table. As weird as their story was, the cousins may have been truthful

That where I was leaning due to the place he was found. IF they were disposing of a body they would not do it at a major intersection like that.

I am guessing he smoked weed and it was laced with fentanyl, angel dust or something else or even high sativa content of just plain marijuana will do it.... and he just freaked out, maybe hallucinating and unable to make good decisions as to where he was and what he was doing.

Regardless, this is a very sad case for that young man. My heart feels for his poor family.

PS - Marijuana is legal in my state and I got some street pot and tried it again (after 40 years of abstinence because it was illegal) and made a huge mistake of smoking a huge amount in about 5 minutes. THC in pot is 5 times what it was when I had last smoked it. It may have also been laced with something since it was street weed given to me by a friend.

I literally had to think to walk to put one foot in front of the other and thought I was communicating with the dog thru the leash as I tried to walk her. I came right back in the house and tried to sleep but was up all night just THINKING.... solving all the worlds problems. It was surreal. I've never had an experience like that ever before. It scared me pretty badly and when I smoked again, it was low amount and weed that was grown legally by a friend so I knew it wasn't laced. I can envision him freaking out and after being let out, totally disoriented and maybe even thought a swim would calm him down as crazy as that sounds.

 

[warp3dwing]

The problem with the psychosis idea is, that while it is very likely, it is hard to prove.

Weed does not have to be laced to causes psychosis. Just plain weed is totally capable of causing psychosis, especially in a young man (maybe even more likely in a black young man, but that's up for dispute, afaik).

The autopsy therefore might not help us whatsoever. If the autopsy tells us he did cannabis, then... well, we already know that. The cousins told so. But how do we check, that he had an episode (compared to something happening with the cousins). Pretty tricky.

While you can detect structural changes in the brain of a scizophrenia patient, I am not very hopeful that such changes can reliably detected regarding one simple epsiode. Nor that anyone actually does that, anyways.

So I feel like the only ones, who really know what happened, are the ones who were in the car. I can see it going either way, as there are signs of both, paranoia and sus actions of others. And on the one hand, he called only exactly the logical people for help, on the other hand this number of calls seems unlikely during an actual danger. Hopefully the timeline will clear stuff up a little.

Absolutely, just plain old strong cannabis could do this, especially the infused products (way too strong!)

It will be important for investigators to find out of Giovanni used cannabis often. It wouldn’t preclude a breakthrough mental health event being spurred by cannabis in this instance, but I know it can be difficult if not impossible to tell postmortem what timeframe cannabis was taken, considering it lasts so long in body tissue. I’ve seen this a lot in NTSB airplane crash investigations.

In other words, being positive for cannabis doesn’t necessarily corroborate his cousins’ story of acute cannabis psychosis or even being under the influence at the time. Tricky.

 

[Dotta]

I literally had to think to walk to put one foot in front of the other and thought I was communicating with the dog thru the leash as I tried to walk her.

I'm curious what the pooch tried to communicate to you through the leash ??

Not enough doggie treats per day???

 

[Justice101]

I'm curious what the pooch tried to communicate to you through the leash ??

Not enough doggie treats per day???

Haha!! Not that elaborate. Dog was telling me which yard he was going to walk into to the left or to the right and when.... telepathically relaying which way she was going to move wayyyy ahead time. Of course, it was all just in my head.