Working on an anonymous tip about a missing teen's possible location, family members and friends desperate for information on him gathered Aug. 4 to search a heavily wooded stretch of a Mims road.
Giovanni Pelletier, who was born in Mims and later moved to North Carolina, has been missing for four days after failing to turn up after vacationing in the Englewood, Florida, area, investigators reported.
More than 20 people joined the Brevard-based search party, which included at least one person with a drone and centered along Hammock Road in Mims.
"We got a bunch of anonymous tips to check this road," said Morgan Hull, one of the family members and friends who turned out for the search.
Charlotte County sheriff’s investigators reported that the teen was with family in Englewood before leaving around 1:30 a.m. Aug. 1 with several cousins from his father's side, headed to visit more family in Brevard.
He was believed to be traveling along I-75 with the cousins, who told authorities that Pelletier suddenly began to act "erratic," exiting the vehicle at one point as they traveled through Manatee County and walking away. Around that same time, Pelletier's mother received a text from him stating "Help me."
A trucker later found Pelletier's cellphone and backpack on a road near Bradenton.
"We just want him to come home," said Tierra Hadley, one of about two dozen people who came out to join the search party in Mims.
Several Brevard County sheriff's agents also showed up to the search effort, which is being investigated by the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office.
“We are working this investigation collaboratively with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office,” said a spokesperson for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office.
Anyone with information on Giovanni Pelletier's location is asked to contact the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office non-emergency number at 941-639-2101.
Tim Shortt contributed to this story. J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or [email protected]. Or X, formerly known as Twitter: @JDGallop.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Family: Search for missing teen who was visiting Florida extends to Mims
Comments