When Bridgette Pelletier last saw her 18-year-old son, Giovanni Pelletier, he was off on an adventure with his cousins in Florida. He’d lived with his mother in North Carolina since he was 4, but as he got older, Giovanni wanted to learn more about his father’s side of the family. Pelletier was hesitant because she’d never sent Giovanni off on his own, but she trusted him. Now, the mother of five believes something sinister happened to her son after they went their separate ways, and she’s desperate for answers.
Pelletier told People that she is of Italian and Puerto Rican descent and Giovanni’s father is African American. The teen had a deep desire to learn more about his heritage. “He was craving the culture and the background from his dad’s side of the family, and I couldn’t give that to him,” she explained. “So I wanted him to have those opportunities with his dad’s side.”
Giovanni had traveled with his mother, her fiancé, and his siblings to Florida in late July to visit a relative who was undergoing chemotherapy treatment. On August 1, Giovanni’s cousins picked him up from Englewood, Florida, around 1:30 a.m. Pelletier told People she saw him off safely, but within minutes, something went wrong.
The teen reportedly texted his mom twice with the message, “Mom, help.” He then made a phone call and FaceTime call around 1:56 a.m., then texted his mom’s sister and her father asking for help getting in touch with her. Pelletier, who had fallen asleep, didn’t see any of the missed calls or texts until 6:20 a.m. One of Giovanni’s cousins also called her, but she never heard from anyone in the car after that.
Later that day, Pelletier said she received a voicemail from Giovanni’s paternal grandfather, per People. The man claimed Giovanni and the cousins got into an altercation, and they allegedly left him on the side of the road in Manatee County. She said the man told her to call him when she found Giovanni.
“When I got to where it [his phone] was, his bag had been left on the side of the road, it was his phone and his backpack, and he wouldn’t have left that,” she said. “My son eats, sleeps, showers, breathes his phone.”
The mother later got in touch with some of the family, and the cousin who called her overnight claimed they smoked marijuana with Giovanni and he panicked. He allegedly picked up a knife, and they wrestled it away. The cousin claimed Giovanni ran away, and that was the last they saw of him.
The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office issued a missing person alert with a slightly different story. “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),” police explained. “We are working this investigation collaboratively with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.”
Desiree Pelletier launched a GoFundMe account to help the family as they continue the search for Giovanni. “Giovanni is smart, kind, and full of life. He didn’t deserve this. 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,” she wrote. They’ve raised more than $16,000 thus far.
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Giovanni Pelletier should call the Charlotte County sheriff’s nonemergency number, (941) 639-2101.
