New Footage Reveals Missing Black Teen Found Dead In Pond Ran Into Water Despite No One Chasing Him

The teenager seemingly ran into the water on his own volition.

New footage has revealed a significant update in the case of a formerly missing Black teenager, Giovanni Pelletier.

The North Carolina teen went missing Aug. 1 during a family trip to Florida. The missing teen was last seen with his cousins as the relatives picked him up to spend time with his dad’s side of the family. Pelletier went missing for over a week until a private investigator group found his body Aug.8 at a pond in Manatee County.

The investigation gained national attention as motives for the 18-year-old’s disappearance remained unclear. Pelletier had also sent his mother an urgent “help” text and called her several times before he went missing.

However, new footage shows that Pelletier seemingly fled the scene on his own accord. According to Fox13, the clip shows him running to the pond, yet police cannot make out what happened next.

Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells revealed the video at a press conference Aug. 19.

“There’s no one in this area with Giovanni,” Sheriff Wells explained. “There’s no one chasing him. He’s by himself. What we don’t know is what happened when he hit that pond. We don’t know. The death is undetermined. We know we don’t have anybody come down that embankment after him. He’s there, we believe, until he was located by that family friend on Friday, the 8th. We really don’t know what happened when he got into that pond.”

More investigation revealed that the young boy had plans to smoke weed with his cousins and his friends. They did so while on their drive to see other relatives in Brevard County, hours away from Manatee. Wells noted that Pelletier explained how he had not smoked in a while as he dealt with court issues back at home.

However, not long into their drive, Pelletier allegedly started “tripping,” leading to an altercation between the young men. After letting him out on the side of the road to use the restroom, Pelletier began acting abnormally.

One person in the car claimed Pelletier said, “I am a demon and I will wreck this car.”

The N.C. native also reportedly threatened to kill them all, with the Sheriff confirming the boy had carried knives before. They pulled over shortly after the bathroom break to let Pelletier out. There, he ran onto the highway, nearly getting hit by a truck.

However, he left his backpack and cellphone in the car, which the cousin and his friends took out and left outside. After calling both Pelletier’s mother and his grandfather, the group continued on their trip. The cousin called the worried mother again to explain what had happened, and she then alerted the police.

She told officers that the boy had received some harmful drugs and had begun to trip out. The family also turned in the car used during the trip to Brevard, which police determined had no wrongdoing inside.

While the investigation has a better sense of what led to the young boy’s fleeing from his cousin’s car, what caused his death remains unknown. A medical examiner will determine how Pelletier died following his autopsy results. A toxicology report is also underway, but the results could take up to two months.