ROCKLEDGE, Fla. – Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey addressed questions on Friday about the agency’s involvement in the search for an 18-year-old who was last seen in Manatee County a week ago.
According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, Giovonni Pelletier was vacationing with his family in Englewood before leaving around 1:30 a.m. to visit relatives in Brevard County.
While traveling north on I-75 with his cousins, Pelletier began acting erratically before exiting the vehicle and walking away near State Road 70 in Manatee County, the sheriff’s office said.
[VIDEO: Search for missing teen continues in Florida]
Ivey emphasized that Charlotte County is the lead agency on the investigation, but the only connection to Brevard County is that three young men Pelletier was with are from Brevard County.
Ivey said there is no evidence Pelletier ever came to Brevard County.
“In fact, just the opposite. Things at this time demonstrate that he was not here,” Ivey said.
Ivey said his sheriff’s office has assisted Charlotte County by interviewing the three young men who were with Pelletier in Sarasota County. Deputies first spoke with one of the individuals on Aug. 1 after being contacted by Charlotte County. They also investigated rumors circulating on social media about a car linked to the case found at a salvage yard in Brevard.
“The car was not part of this,” Ivey said. “It hadn’t moved in a substantial amount of time. The brake pads were rusted.”
The sheriff’s office recovered the vehicle from the family and conducted a thorough crime scene investigation.
“We reported back to Charlotte County that there was no evidence of any wrongdoing,” Ivey said.
Ivey said Pelletier’s belongings, including a backpack, school bag and phone, were found on an interstate in Manatee County but again emphasized no indication he was ever in Brevard.
“There is no place to search. There’s nothing that would say, ‘Go look in this specific area,’” Ivey said.
He noted that some search parties formed based on misinformation about the salvage yard car and urged anyone with information to contact the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.
Brevard County community correspondent James Sparvero asked to interview that sheriff’s office after his initial story on Monday.
Community affairs supervisor Chris Hall responded, “We are not going to be speaking about this case. It is still active and we have released all we can at this time. Thank you for understanding.”
You can watch Wayne Ivey’s entire news conference in the video below.