FUQUAY-VARINA, N.C. (WNCN) -- Fuquay-Varina High School students and faculty are remembering former student Giovanni “Gio” Pelletier as a fun-loving, friendly young man who always seemed to be smiling.

The 18-year-old went missing on August 1 while on a Florida vacation with his family to visit other relatives.

A private investigator assisting the family says Gio had just gotten into a car with his cousins when his mother got a text message from her son that said: “Mom, HELP me”!

The cousins later told investigators that Gio was acting erratically, then got out of the car and started walking along Interstate 75.

The private investigator says Gio’s cellphone and backpack were found in that area.

Then on Friday, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office says a family member searching for Gio,

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