Vigil Held for Teen Who Died After Texting Mom ‘Help’

A vigil has been held for a teen who was found dead days after texting his mom “help” while out of state to reconnect with family.

Giovanni Pelletier, 18, was found dead in a pond in Florida in August, authorities previously announced.

The teen was seen on video sprinting down an embankment near where he was later found dead, they said. He had recently traveled with family to Florida from Raleigh, N.C., in July.

A vigil for Giovanni was held on Saturday, Sept. 13, at Hope Community Church in Apex, N.C., according to CBS affiliate WNCN. His girlfriend Arden said the situation remains “very confusing and very hard to process.”

“No matter what, he was always spitting some jokes, finding something funny, he was always just being the brightest person in the room,” Arden said, according to WNCN.

His maternal cousin Morgan Hall added, “We’re just trying to keep pushing forward, keep our heads high and do what he would want us to do and celebrate him the best we could.”

Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells previously said Giovanni was picked up in Englewood — where he had been staying — by a paternal cousin and two of the cousin’s friends at around 1:30 a.m. local time on Aug. 1. The group was going to take Giovanni to Brevard County.

Bridgette Pelletier, Giovanni’s mom, previously told PEOPLE that her son texted her twice about 30 minutes after he was picked up. One of his messages read, “Mom help.”

Giovanni was seen on video sprinting down an embankment near where he was later found dead, authorities said a news conference on Aug. 19.

“He’s coming down there, almost [at an] uncontrollable sprint,” Wells said of the footage. “The important thing that I want you to see — there’s no one chasing him. There’s no one around him.”

He added, “He’s by himself. And what we don’t know is what happened when he hit that pond.”

At the time Giovanni was seen running down the embankment, the car he had been picked up in was two miles away. The three individuals who had been with Giovanni were “cooperative” with investigators and turned over the vehicle to authorities who searched it, Wells said.

Authorities believed Giovanni was in the pond for days before his body was located. No foul play is suspected in connection with the teen’s death.

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Additionally, investigators believe Giovanni may have smoked marijuana with his cousins before getting in the car, according to WNCN. Family and friends are still awaiting the results of a toxicology test on the teen’s remains.

“As of right now, we’re still just in the waiting process, which makes it harder to grieve but it gives you a little hope at the end of the day that we might get a better resolution in the end,” Hall said.