A body believed to be missing North Carolina teen Giovanni Pelletier was too decomposed for official identification — but showed no signs of violence or foul play, officials said Monday.
The body was found floating in a Florida pond Friday as Pelletier’s family searched the area for the 18-year-old who vanished more than a week earlier after sending alarming messages, including a text pleading, “Mom, help.”
Authorities preliminarily identified it as the missing teen, who was in the Sarasota area of Florida visiting his estranged father’s family.
However, an autopsy Sunday failed “to make a positive identification,” Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells told The Post on Monday.
“Due to the advanced state of decomposition, further forensic testing is necessary,” the sheriff said.
“Detectives believe the body had been in the pond for multiple days before floating to the surface.”
However, “no foul play or trauma was found during the autopsy,” the sheriff stressed. “The cause and manner of death are pending toxicology.”
The body was spotted by a relative who was searching close to a pond near I-75 and State Road 70 on Friday afternoon.
On Saturday, the remains were preliminarily identified as belonging to the missing teen.
Pelletier, who disappeared after getting in the car with some cousins early in the morning on Aug. 1, was visiting his father’s family in Florida after traveling to the state from his home in North Carolina.
About 25 minutes after he was picked up, Pelletier texted his mother, “Help me,” and tried to contact several other relatives.
His cousins told police he started acting erratically and pulled out a knife when they pulled the car over, before he got out of the vehicle and walked away.
Pelletier’s backpack and phone were later found by the side of the road by a truck driver.
The investigation is continuing.
