Overview

• Authorities have provisionally linked the body recovered August 8 in a Manatee County retention pond to Giovanni Pelletier but await final identity confirmation and toxicology results.
• An initial autopsy found no signs of trauma or foul play, prompting investigators to rely on delayed forensic analyses to determine cause and manner of death.
• The family has launched an online petition that has garnered thousands of signatures demanding FBI involvement, citing concerns over local law enforcement’s search efforts.
• Relatives have hired an attorney and raised more than $30,000 through a GoFundMe campaign to support legal action and probe expansion.
• Investigators are also questioning conflicting witness accounts from paternal relatives about an altercation and Giovanni’s movements before fleeing into nearby woods.