Brittanee Marie Drexel, missing since 4/25/09 from Myrtle Beach, SC

[Dolce]

I was hoping to come in here to find good news that she was found.  How saddening that nothing more has been found.

[Anna]

Continuing to hope and pray and watch for news in this case.

It is hard to imagine how this is for her family.  And with each passing day, the chances of her being found OK are less and less likely.

Still, all we can do is hope and pray some more.

[Tracygirl]

Just popping in to check for updates. Still saying prayers they find her safe and sound.

[mizjay]

Brittanee's Myspace?  http://www.myspace.com/brittylush

Is this Brittanee or some sick joke? http://www.myyearbook.com/?mysession=cmVnaXN0cmF0aW9uX3Byb2ZpbGUmdXNlcmlkPTI3NDE5Nzk=&allofem=y

Is this Brittanee?

I think something went very wrong in MB and I think her "friends" know more than they're saying.  Can someone who is myspace literate help out? TIA, lovinlife

The MySpace looks to be hers.  Here is the last log-in info, but it could have been by police or family members trying to find information.....so don't get your hopes up.

http://www.myspace.com/brittylush

Female
21 years old
WEBSTER, New York
United States

Last Login: 5/17/2009

Not sure about the Yearbook website.....could be hers. (Looks to be a British thing though)

  That's pretty weird. I jumped ahead to see if anyone commented or knew anything??  I guess not.  Sure looks like her in the pics on front page!

[Lovinlife]

http://blogs.discovery.com/criminal_report/2009/05/missing-brittanee-drexel.html

Day 33: Where's Brittanee Marie Drexel?

May 27, 2009
Thirty-three days have passed, and there still has been no sign of Brittanee Marie Drexel, a 17-year-old girl from Rochester, N.Y., who disappeared after a spring break trip to Myrtle Beach last month.

"At this point in the investigation, we continue to devote our utmost attention to this case in hopes of a timely conclusion," reads a recent statement released to the "Dr. Phil" show by Myrtle Beach police. "While we have not named any persons of interest or suspects, we have not ruled anyone out. It would not be feasible on our part to do this, because we don't know what happened."

Despite the fact that police say there have been no new leads, Brittanee's family is not yet ready to give up. Brittanee's mother, Dawn Drexel, along with several other friends and family members continue to search for Brittanee in both the Myrtle Beach and Charleston areas.

"We can't lose hope," Brittanee's grandmother, Carol Wagner, said in an interview with wmbfnews.com. "She's got to be out there somewhere. Somebody has to know where she is. I can't lose hope. She's our pride and joy."

A series of fundraisers that have been held in Brittanee's hometown of Rochester have helped cover the search expenses. The most recent event, a dinner held on May 22, raised more than three thousand dollars.

"Dawn will not give up," family friend, Jennifer DiMaggio, said in an interview with whec.com. "Dawn will stay down there until they find Brittanee."

Meanwhile, members of 3 View Search Services, an Indiana-based search and recovery group, continue to digitally enhance and filter thousands of aerial photos that were taken earlier this month, in an effort to identify anything that looks out of place, such as shapes that might be a body or a new dig site.

Aerial imaging has been successful in other missing person cases, including the search for 36-year-old Charles Rickey -- a man who went missing in Carmel, Ind., two years ago. In that case, the search team knew that Rickey was wearing a blue jacket and blue jeans, so they were able to use a computerized photo imaging system to make the color blue in the pictures show up as red. As a result, they were able to locate Rickey's remains in a quarry near 96th St. and the Hazel Dell Pkwy.

It remains unknown whether the same technology can be used to locate Brittanee; however, the fact that people are still looking should bring some comfort to her family.

Brittanee Marie Drexel was last seen on the night of April 25, when she left the Bluewater Resort to return an item of clothing to a friend at the Bar Harbor Hotel. What happened to her after that remains a mystery.

Brittanee is described as a white female, five feet tall, 103 pounds, with blue eyes and shoulder-length straight brown hair. She was last seen wearing a multicolored shirt, black shorts and flip flops. According to Dawn, Brittanee was recently diagnosed with depression.

[Toler]

It's so heartbreaking to check in here and on so any other threads and to see no media coverage at all. There are so many useless channels on satellite etc., how's about one devoted to missing persons?

[cookie]

It's so heartbreaking to check in here and on so any other threads and to see no media coverage at all. There are so many useless channels on satellite etc., how's about one devoted to missing persons?

that is a great idea Toler!

[Nut44x4]

That is something I have wished for for a very long time. I can see no reason not to!! I also would like to see one for UID's. 'Unidentified Remains'...more people could bring their loved ones home.  I guess Reality TV takes priority  

[Toler]

That is something I have wished for for a very long time. I can see no reason not to!! I also would like to see one for UID's. 'Unidentified Remains'...more people could bring their loved ones home.  I guess Reality TV takes priority  

I think the time has come, Nut...I'm surprised it hasn't happened already given the popularity of real crime docudramas. You do yeomans work for the 'unidentified'. Thanks!

[Toler]

It's so heartbreaking to check in here and on so any other threads and to see no media coverage at all. There are so many useless channels on satellite etc., how's about one devoted to missing persons?

that is a great idea Toler!

Hi buddy,  I'm sure it would be a moneymaker...don't a lot of things boil down to that?
Who cares why, I hope someone runs with it.

[klaasend]

Brittanee's Myspace?  http://www.myspace.com/brittylush

Is this Brittanee or some sick joke? http://www.myyearbook.com/?mysession=cmVnaXN0cmF0aW9uX3Byb2ZpbGUmdXNlcmlkPTI3NDE5Nzk=&allofem=y

Is this Brittanee?

I think something went very wrong in MB and I think her "friends" know more than they're saying.  Can someone who is myspace literate help out? TIA, lovinlife

The MySpace looks to be hers.  Here is the last log-in info, but it could have been by police or family members trying to find information.....so don't get your hopes up.

http://www.myspace.com/brittylush

Female
21 years old
WEBSTER, New York
United States

Last Login: 5/17/2009

Not sure about the Yearbook website.....could be hers. (Looks to be a British thing though)

  That's pretty weird. I jumped ahead to see if anyone commented or knew anything??  I guess not.  Sure looks like her in the pics on front page!

I don't know anything about the MyYearbook sites but I think we should tell someone about this, just to check it out.  Sure looks like her.

[Tracygirl]

What type of site is that? It sure looks like one of the facebook or myspace or springbreak pics. She had that expression.

[Shelle]

What type of site is that? It sure looks like one of the facebook or myspace or springbreak pics. She had that expression.

I hope it's okay to jump in here. I have been following this since day one! However; I was not able to post until recently.

I have checked into the yearbook thing and feel that it is probably legit - some basic info:

MYYEARBOOK.COM IS FOURTH MOST POPULAR SOCIAL NETWORK IN UNITED STATES
High School Students. Site Nearly Triples Its Audience in One Year- http://www.myyearbook.com/press/release16/

I created an account to take a look quickly and when I look at the pics, there a a quiet a few of Brittanee. Most of the ones that have comments below them are all dated in the year 2007. In the comment section, the comments begin in the year June 2007 and end June 2008.

Why is someone logging onto it now? Don't know, it seems to me, if it were close friends or family, the page would be dedicated to finding Brittanee or at least a mention of finding her.

[Lovinlife]

Jump on in here Shelle, the silence has been deafening. We have not forgotten you, Brittanee!

Lovinlife

[MuffyBee]

Jump on in here Shelle, the silence has been deafening. We have not forgotten you, Brittanee!

Lovinlife

I agree Lovinlife, we have not forgotten Brittanee and the silence has been deafening.  My own child is just finishing up with the school year, getting ready to enjoy summer time off.  Brittanee should be enjoying the summer too.  But where is she?   

[Shelle]

Posted at: 06/03/2009 5:35 PM | WHEC.com
Updated at: 06/03/2009 6:38 PM
By: Lynette Adams



Brittanee Drexel update
In five weeks of searching, there has been no sign of Brittanee Drexel. There have been dozens of leads and sightings. None have panned out.

Brittanee’s mother, Dawn Drexel, has been in South Carolina since the beginning. She is determined as ever, but she told News 10NBC by phone Wednesday she’s emotionally spent.

“This is very, very difficult because you don’t know, you just don’t know if she’s still here with us…or she’s not….But we’re trying to keep hopeful that we can find her still,” Drexel said.

Drexel has traveled to Charleston and points in between, talking to people, handing out flyers. This weekend, Brittanee’s story will air on “America’s Most Wanted.” That gives Dawn Drexel hope.

“I’m trying to get her on national television and keep her face out there so if somebody did see something or heard something, that they would come forward.”

Drexel hopes to stay in South Carolina until she finds Brittanee, but that may be dependent on the generosity of others. That’s what has kept her there this long.

She says the police are still actively involved in this case. She says some leads are coming in, they’re just not turning up anything. She’s pinning big hopes on the “America’s Most Wanted” broadcast.

While the search continues in South Carolina, work is going on here in Rochester.

“I’m continuing at the pace that I was five weeks ago,” Brittanee’s boyfriend John Grieco said.

Grieco had to come home after weeks of searching. He’s working to make enough money to go back. He’s also put together a major fundraiser for June 26.  It’s three parties in three locations at the Dome Arena that he hopes will raise money and keep Brittanee’s story alive.

“If people stop searching, I’m going to continue to search for the rest of my life, honestly,” Grieco said.

Grieco’s fundraiser is called, “Fill the Dome and Bring Brittanee Home.” Again, it’s at the Dome Arena in Henrietta on June 26. It will feature celebrity guests from some of your favorite television shows. Grieco says he’s looking for more sponsors and people to rent booths.

For more information or for tickets, you can call 453-0282.

For more Rochester, NY news, go to our website, www.whec.com.

http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S961214.shtml?cat=565

[always 1]

I really had hopes for this one.  I thought she just wanted away for a bit and she would return, but I realize after all this time, she would not treat her family and friends that way, and I am very sad for her.

[Nut44x4]

Missing Child: Nightmare That Never Ends
June 11, 2009 
Two months since her 17-year-old daughter went missing in a South Carolina beach town, Dawn Drexel cautiously holds on to hope. But each day it gets harder.

"This is a nightmare, and you don't wake up out of it," said the Rochester, N.Y., mother who has lived in a donated condo in Myrtle Beach, S.C., since her daughter Brittanee disappeared April 25.

Brittanee Drexel was last seen on a surveillance video leaving the Bluewater Resort where she had gone on spring break with friends, against her mother's will, friends she later left.

"I will never stop looking for my daughter," said Drexel. "So many children go missing each day. This is part of my life now. I am not going to quit."

Parents of missing children say that the pain is excruciating, and psychologists confirm that the loss can be even greater than when a child dies. Deciding when to give up the search is different for each.

"For those of us who will never experience such a horrible crime, it's hard to imagine how they get up every day, go to jobs, get their other children ready for school," said Marsha Gilmer-Tullis, director of its family advocacy division for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

"We never encourage them to give up," she told ABCNews.com. "Our goal is to always work the case and try to have some resolution. We always talk about hope."

But Drexel has set a deadline for herself -- the end of June -- when she will return home to her husband, from who she recently divorced, and her two other children.

"It's been very difficult," she told ABCNews.com. "I wake up in the morning, and I think about Brittanee. At this point, I just want some closure. I need to know where she is -- and if she's not alive, I need to know."

"But I am missing my other children," she said of her 12-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son, whom she talks to daily. "My daughter Marissa says she wants her Mommy home."

The U.S. Department of Justice reports that 797,500 children under the age of 18 were reported missing in 2008. An average of 2,185 children are reported missing each day. Most are family, not stranger, abductions.

Coping with a missing child -- be it months or years -- is an excruciating ordeal for families. Many couples split apart, commit suicide or suffer physical or mental health consequences. Some turn to drug and alcohol.

page 2-4 at >>> re: others missing

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=7802603&page=1

[EverySunset]

I looked at Brittanee's bf's myspace. He is what people on the internet call a "guido". The stereotype of a guido is a man who uses steroids, pumps iron, waxes his eyebrows, gets fake tans, wears too much hair gel, puckers his perfectly chap-sticked lips in pictures. But, it is just that - a stereotype. The "guido's", as they are referred to on the internet, have sort of become the big butt of jokes online. I only know this, because I subscribe to a LOL-picture blog & noticed the LOL guido picture phenomenon awhile back.

Anyway, I am not into stereotypes, but did notice his "juice" picture in his myspace photo gallery. Juice is slang for steroids. This more than likely means nothing and is just a joke based on stereotypes. He seems to be a nice man who cares, so I am just throwing this out there. I don't necessarily believe any of it. Just thinking...or, typing out loud.

[EverySunset]

Also, I think I am just crazy, but I was looking at her bf's friends on myspace and on one of his friend's page, I noticed a girl who looked like Brittanee. Here is the friend of Brittanee's bf's page. If you scroll down to friends' comments, there is a comment left by a girl with the user name "Tiny". The comment only says "hey." Of course, her profile is private. I'm sure that I'm wrong and this is not Brittanee, but she looked like her enough to me, that I would feel guilty, if I didn't at least mention it. Location says Italy. Who knows if that's true.
http://www.myspace.com/sicilieskid