Grim discovery after Giovanni Pelletier sent mum chilling text and then went missing

A teenager who text his mother "mom help" before vanishing during a family holiday has been found dead.

Giovanni Pelletier's body was discovered in a pond near Englewood, Florida, days after he went missing in what his aunt described as "deeply troubling and suspicious circumstances". The 18-year-old man's phone and rucksack were found beside a motorway just yards from where Giovanni was discovered dead.

His aunt, Desiree Pelletier, said: "Giovanni is smart, kind, and full of life. He didn’t deserve this. Our family is devastated... We are still facing an active investigation into his death. I am living every parent’s worst nightmare, trying to find the strength to give him the goodbye he deserves."

Giovanni, his mum Bridgette and four siblings had been staying with relatives from his mother's side in Englewood for a vacation. The teen vanished overnight, having allegedly been picked up by paternal cousins, and in the early hours he sent his mother the chilling text, attempting a FaceTime one minute after that. Bridgette, though, did not see these until she woke.

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Bridgette was able to track her son's phone and bag abandned on the roadside after tracking the GPS. She said this was suspicious because Giovanni "eats, sleeps, showers, breathes his phone." The parent, from North Carolina, continued: "The thing that tells me that something is wrong is my son knows my number by heart... He would never 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."

The family hired a team of private investigators after losing patience with police, and Giovanni's body has now been discovered in the water. Speaking before the grim find by the third party, a spokesperson for Charlotte County Sheriff's Office had said the force had "received many, many tips that unfortunately turn out to be inaccurate, which takes time away from the investigation."

The probe into the teenager's death continues, though early indications suggest there were "no signs of any trauma" to his body. An investigator said: "What we don't know is what happened when he hit that pond. I'm not going to speculate. The death is undetermined... He's there, we believe, until he was located by the family friend... We don't know what happened once he got to the pond."

The family has started a GoFundMe page with the hope to raise $75,000 (£55,000) to help get Giovanni's body home, cover his funeral, and pay for legal costs. Nearly $35,000 (£26,000) has been raised so far, including from strangers. To donate, click this link.