Epsom’s Briana Pelletier plans to fly to Florida Friday to help her family search for her 18-year-old cousin, Giovanni, who has been missing since Aug. 1.

Giovanni Pelletier left Englewood, Florida, around 1:30 that morning to reconnect with family on his father’s side in another county. About 30 minutes after he left, he texted “Mom help” to his mother, who was asleep. He then tried to get in touch with family members over text, phone calls and FaceTime, but hasn’t been heard from since, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office.

“It’s gut-wrenching. I mean, he’s just a baby. He’s still so young,” Briana Pelletier said Thursday. “I’m trapped up here in New Hampshire. I feel so helpless.”

She said growing up, she was close with Giovanni’s grandmother, Nicole, and her daughter,

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