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

[ChatteringBirds]

You can't blame the family if they are unhappy that their private searchers were the ones to find him (if that is how he was found) in a body of water relatively close to his belongings, because to be honest, that was the most likely outcome.
We see this outcome time and again on Websleuths.

How much should LE and their teams have kept searching there, is the question?

I am not putting down LE nor their efforts, but I am saying, you can understand his family's feelings.

 

[Dotta]

You can't blame the family if they are unhappy that their private searchers were the ones to find him (if that is how he was found) in a body of water relatively close to his belongings, because to be honest, that was the most likely outcome.
We see this outcome time and again on Websleuths.

How much should LE and their teams have kept searching there, is the question?

I am not putting down LE nor their efforts, but I am saying, you can understand his family's feelings.

Although,
to be fair...
I read about situations where even big cars were missed during searches in bodies of water.

There was a thread on WS
with "Adventures with Purpose" Team
which found a missing girl in a car in a lake previously searched by LE.

Anybody remembering this case??
The girl vanished after a party in the woods.
But so much time has passed that my memory is a bit hazy...

JMO

 

[PayrollNerd]

https://www.wfla.com/news/local-news/manatee-county/autopsy-finds-no-foul-play-in-body-believed-to-be-missing-teen/

…..an autopsy was conducted Sunday, but the medical examiner has not yet made a positive identification.

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office says a family member searching the area on Friday spotted a body floating in the pond.

 

[Justice101]

RIP Giovanni. What on earth happened?

Being younger and wanting to fit in, I wonder if he was asked to bring money with him and they ended up robbing him and it escalated and they killed him to hide the fact.

It is hard for me to believe that he would go into a alligator infested pond and off himself that way.

Very unlikely he had a gun or a knife to off himself.

This looks like murder to me. HOWEVER, I will definitely wait for the autopsy to see how he died. You know, they could also have held his face under the water to drown him to make it look like an accidental drowning, but there would be tell-tale signs of a struggle/marks on the neck, etc.

What do you think?

 

[Justice101]

Here is that intersection of I-75 and Rte 70 in Florida.

Looks like there are 7 or 8 big and small ponds. That is Florida for you... lakes everywhere.

That is not a very secluded place to drown or dispose someone quite honestly. There would be occasional traffic passing by. So I am changing my mind seeing this and am now leaning towards maybe accidental as a possible that the story the other "cousins" might be true.

I wonder if the driver was driving like 100 mph and Giovanni asked to get out of the car? When I was 15, I unfortunately got in a car with my brother and his friend. His friend drove his hotrod 120 mph and it scared the living hell out of me. I wanted to get out so badly.

According to the source I found, the body of water was that small triangular one at the upper top left of the photo. This is the start of the southbound exit from I-75.

 

[Justice101]

So...

The boy was found in the lake/body of water that had been previously searched by Police, right?

Maybe his body was moved there after Police left?

I still don't get how this tragedy happened.
I need to read all posts as I only skimmed the article I posted earlier.

Was the boy killed?
Why did his cousins leave him in the middle of nowhere at night??
And why were his things left at the edge of the road?

SMH in bewilderment.

IMO, he floated to the surface after a few days and anyone could find him once he surfaced.

 

[truthfinder2019]

I’ll be interested to see the results of the toxicology analysis. As I’ve posted before, IMO this has sth to do with laced weed and its dangerous side effects, coupled with unknown surroundings and unfortunately, water. Poor kid.

 

[Justice101]

I’ll be interested to see the results of the toxicology analysis. As I’ve posted before, IMO this has sth to do with laced weed and its dangerous side effects, coupled with unknown surroundings and unfortunately, water. Poor kid.

As most everyone knows, weed bought on the street now can be laced with pentanol, etc. and can have extreme reactions.

If he freaked out and screamed to let him out of the car and they did.... he could easily have been tripping and thought he could wade thru a body of water.

Again, the autopsy report is going to be critical for where this case heads.. accidental drowning complicated by drugs given to a minor by "adults"..... or if it is an actual murder. The autopsy will lead the way.

Again, at this point, I am leaning slightly towards the accidental drowning just due to the location this happened at a major highway interchange albeit in the wee hours of the morning.

 

[Leilei]

As most everyone knows, weed bought on the street now can be laced with pentanol, etc. and can have extreme reactions.

If he freaked out and screamed to let him out of the car and they did.... he could easily have been tripping and thought he could wade thru a body of water.

Again, the autopsy report is going to be critical for where this case heads.. accidental drowning complicated by drugs given to a minor by "adults"..... or if it is an actual murder. The autopsy will lead the way.

Again, at this point, I am leaning slightly towards the accidental drowning just due to the location this happened at a major highway interchange albeit in the wee hours of the morning.

Though Gio wasn't a minor, legally, if he did die by OD the three "cousins" could still be charged as contributing to his death, maybe.

IMO.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Gio’s story is heartbreaking. I’m stuck on the location and direction, south vs north.

If their destination was Mims, FL, why was he found on the southbound side of I-75….. They would have been traveling northbound from Englewood, and exiting off SR 70, in order to head east. [Otherwise they would have taken the back roads further south at SR 72 (Clark Rd).]

Due to the big concrete barriers on the I-75 overpass, they must have exited I-75, and let him out of the car along with his belongings. Did they turn left, (west) and go under the overpass, or did Gio get booted to the curb, then walk under the overpass? Exiting I-75 NB, they could have pulled into a parking lot and then simply returned to I-75 NB.

I’d be curious to know, exactly where his belongings were found. Were they found on the embankment near the SB triangular pond? Or were they found on the NB side, along the exit ramp? Maybe near Texas Roadhouse? The road next to the triangular pond is the exit ramp for SB so they wouldn’t have been able turn into that.

Did Gio start walking along the SB exit ramp and maybe thought he could get out to the edge of I-75 and hitch a ride back? He hadn’t had any responses to his messages and calls yet, so maybe he was desperate. If he was in an impaired state, he could have fallen into the pond, unaware it was actually water, due to the darkness.

The only other scenario I can think of is, they actually exited further north at SR 64, because Gio wanted out of the vehicle and return home. They re-entered I-75 SB, letting Gio out off the SB exit ramp next to the triangular pond at SR 70.

 

[GraceG]

Hey guys, just sharing some info. Thanks for posting and participating in the discussion

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Thanks - I'll add the (professional) verification process was easy to follow, I just had to get my documentation of formal training (mine covered both aircraft, accidents, and human factors & human remains ID in accident investigations). That and my creditials, and msm verification of past cases I'd worked in a formal capacity and a few minutes of my time is all that I remember having to do at the time.
The WS staffer who assisted me with everything made it easy and was so nice. So consider it if it's somehing you meet the criteria for~ Grace

 

[Justice101]

Thanks - I'll add the (professional) verification process was easy to follow, I just had to get my documentation of formal training (mine covered both aircraft, accidents, and human factors & human remains ID in accident investigations). That and my creditials, and msm verification of past cases I'd worked in a formal capacity and a few minutes of my time is all that I remember having to do at the time.
The WS staffer who assisted me with everything made it easy and was so nice. So consider it if it's somehing you meet the criteria for~ Grace

I've thought about being authenticated but I must be too lazy to act. LOL

 

[ChatteringBirds]

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office says a family member searching the area on Friday spotted a body floating in the pond.

How horrible.

is hard for me to believe that he would go into a alligator infested pond and off himself that way.

It was the middle of the night, so I think he just accidentally went in. It happens to college students who walk home from bars alone and fall into rivers near their path. There seems to be cases on WS every year where that happened.

 

[AngTxGal]

Although,
to be fair...
I read about situations where even big cars were missed during searches in bodies of water.

There was a thread on WS
with "Adventures with Purpose" Team
which found a missing girl in a car in a lake previously searched by LE.

Anybody remembering this case??
The girl vanished after a party in the woods.
But so much time has passed that my memory is a bit hazy...

JMO

I remember,

Kiely Rodni, Truckee, California, 16 yr old left a party at a state park alone and drove her car into the lake. It was thought someone had gotten into her car, she was kidnapped, the search went on for weeks.
I think Aug or Sept of 2022

Her car was found in the lake by Adventures with Purpose- Jared I think. There was controversy because they showed the footage of the scuba diver who filmed as he swam around the car with her body in it. She was blurred but still, she had been down there weeks, it shook her family up.
I still remember the footage of her dad. After they found the car into the lake, he refused to leave the shore, he stood out there for hours and hours waiting for them to get what they needed to get the car out.
Heartbreaking

IMO

 

[Dotta]

I remember,

Kiely Rodni, Truckee, California, 16 yr old left a party at a state park alone and drove her car into the lake. It was thought someone had gotten into her car, she was kidnapped, the search went on for weeks.
I think Aug or Sept of 2022

Her car was found in the lake by Adventures with Purpose- Jared I think. There was controversy because they showed the footage of the scuba diver who filmed as he swam around the car with her body in it. She was blurred but still, she had been down there weeks, it shook her family up.
I still remember the footage of her dad. After they found the car into the lake, he refused to leave the shore, he stood out there for hours and hours waiting for them to get what they needed to get the car out.
Heartbreaking

IMO

I bow to your excellent memory.
As sharp as a razor!!!
Wow!
I only remembered the Adventure Team.
Thank you.

Very sad case

 

[PayrollNerd]

https://www.wfla.com/news/local-news/manatee-county/investigation-continues-after-body-believed-to-be-missing-teen-found-in-manatee-county/

Snip
Although the cause of death is still in question, MCSO said detectives did not see any obvious signs of trauma to the body, and the results of the autopsy didn’t suggest foul play.

“An X-ray was done, and that didn’t show any broken bones or anything along those lines,” MCSO Public Information Officer Randy Warren said.

 

[kuromiiiilove]

https://www.wfla.com/news/local-news/manatee-county/investigation-continues-after-body-believed-to-be-missing-teen-found-in-manatee-county/

Snip
Although the cause of death is still in question, MCSO said detectives did not see any obvious signs of trauma to the body, and the results of the autopsy didn’t suggest foul play.

“An X-ray was done, and that didn’t show any broken bones or anything along those lines,” MCSO Public Information Officer Randy Warren said.

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

 

[Charlot123]

Being younger and wanting to fit in, I wonder if he was asked to bring money with him and they ended up robbing him and it escalated and they killed him to hide the fact.

It is hard for me to believe that he would go into a alligator infested pond and off himself that way.

Very unlikely he had a gun or a knife to off himself.

This looks like murder to me. HOWEVER, I will definitely wait for the autopsy to see how he died. You know, they could also have held his face under the water to drown him to make it look like an accidental drowning, but there would be tell-tale signs of a struggle/marks on the neck, etc.

What do you think?

I agree…

 

[Dotta]

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

But...
Who leaves somebody at such a place in the middle of the night?
Stranded...
In unfamiliar surroundings.
With ponds nearby.
Next to the highway.
Is this family???

JMO

 

[Vern_S]

Major Update in Hunt for Missing Teen Who Texted Mom for Help​

Law & Crime Sidebar with Jesse Weber

The search team interviewed is the team that the family had issues with....

Edit: After watching this episode. I think the friction between the search team and the family was the families insistence in being directly involved in the search where the search team wanted the family to stand aside and not be directly involved sparing them the trauma of finding Gio like they ultimately did.

I understand both sides in this. I do find that having a close friend of the family act as a liaison between the search team and the core family who has gathered somewhere to wait for search results works best. This is how Public Safety operates.