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

[Tracygirl]

I am very surprised to read people are putting down the mom. She told her daughter she didn't have permission to go to spring break, why are people coming down hard on her? Geez

It is all so mysterious who these people are. I hope they arrest them soon and can find this girl so she can come home. Either way, she needs to come home.

[Nut44x4]

I agree. I doubt any of us can say we never did anything that our parents told us not to.

[melisb]

I agree. I doubt any of us can say we never did anything that our parents told us not to.

Amen Nut, Amen!

[Monkey with Class]

At least they have news of people of interest. and possible location to search.   Hope closure comes for the family and friends.   Glad to see this news in the spotlight again.

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?id=454925
 Detectives: Phone call not from Brittanee Drexel
by Graeme Moore
Posted: 05.10.2010 at 3:56 PM
Detectives say there's no truth to a claim that missing spring breaker Brittanee Drexel called her grandmother over the weekend.

Drexel's grandmother got a call from a restricted number two nights ago and heard muffled voices. The grandmother thought it was Brittanee. When detectives traced the call, it turned out it came from Drexel's mother Dawn. They say it was an unintentional "pocket" dial.

Drexel vanished April 25th of last year from Ocean Boulevard and has not been seen since.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?id=454925
 Detectives: Phone call not from Brittanee Drexel
by Graeme Moore
Posted: 05.10.2010 at 3:56 PM
Detectives say there's no truth to a claim that missing spring breaker Brittanee Drexel called her grandmother over the weekend.

Drexel's grandmother got a call from a restricted number two nights ago and heard muffled voices. The grandmother thought it was Brittanee. When detectives traced the call, it turned out it came from Drexel's mother Dawn. They say it was an unintentional "pocket" dial.

Drexel vanished April 25th of last year from Ocean Boulevard and has not been seen since.

Oh, this must have just been so heartbreaking for Brittanee's mother and grandmother. 

[onereddoxie]

http://rocnow.com/article/local-news/2010100622004



Brittanee Drexel to be honored at Gates Chili graduation

Local News – June 22, 2010 - 7:51am

Brittanee Drexel, the Gates Chili High School student who disappeared during spring break in Myrtle Beach, S.C., last year, will be honored this week at what would have been her graduation.

The school will present an honorary diploma for Brittanee, who would have graduated this year, to her family during graduation ceremonies at RIT’s Gordon Field House during Wednesday’s ceremony.

Brittanee’s mother, Dawn Drexe,l said the school recently called her with the news.

“They are going to present her father and me an honorary diploma,” Dawn Drexel said Monday. “It makes me feel great that they would recognize her.” she said.

Brittanee disappeared in April 2009.

This April, law enforcement agencies in South Carolina said they had located persons of interest in the case.

“As of right now they’re still questioning people in South Carolina. That’s that all I know right now,” Dawn Drexel said.

No arrests have been made in the case and Brittanee’s whereabouts are still unknown.

The Drexel family has hosted a series of events in Myrtle Beach and elsewhere to raise funds and bolster search efforts, and the CUE Center for Missing Persons, of Wilmington, N.C., has been retained to help search efforts for Brittanee.

A website has been established for information concerning Brittanee’s disappearance. .

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20100624/NEWS01/6240345/1002/NEWS/Gates-Chili-honors-Brittanee-Drexel
Gates Chili honors Brittanee Drexel

Ernst Lamothe Jr. • Staff writer • June 24, 2010
The Gates Chili Central School District honored one of its students in a rare and special way. The district presented an honorary diploma for Brittanee Drexel to her family during graduation ceremonies Wednesday at Rochester Institute of Technology. Drexel, who has been missing since April 25, 2009, would have graduated this year. She disappeared during a spring break trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C. The last image of the teenager is security camera footage of her walking out of the Bar Harbor Motel wearing a multicolored shirt, black shorts and flip-flops.
"Brittanee was someone who was part of our student body, and the students who are graduating were affected by her disappearance so we wanted to do something to honor her," said Mark Davey, Gates Chili schools superintendent.

The idea stemmed from the district's Trauma, Illness and Grief Team, a group of school mental health professionals who help students and teachers deal with emotional situations.

Working with students since Drexel's disappearance, school officials reached out to her mother, Dawn.

"We know this was an emotional issue and we wanted to find the best way to work with her family, and the idea of giving Brittanee an honorary diploma came up," Davey said. "Dawn was very touched when we asked her about doing something special."

Brittany Marciano, 18, who graduated from Gates Chili High School last year, said she was sad that her friend is still missing but thankful that the school district planned to make a public acknowledgment Wednesday.
I was very happy that they wanted to do something in honor of Brittanee," said Marciano. "The fact that they are taking time out of the ceremony to do this is great."

ELAMOTHE@DemocratandChronicle.com

[Nut44x4]

Saturday, Jul. 24, 2010
Botched kidnapping in Myrtle Beach raises interest in Brittanee Drexel search
By Tonya Root
troot@thesunnews.com
An ongoing investigation into a recent kidnapping attempt on Ocean Boulevard that involved a 20-year-old woman has sparked the interest of some who have searched the area several times for a teen who disappeared last year while on a trip to Myrtle Beach.

Police say they have found nothing that links last year's disappearance of Brittanee Drexel, a visiting New York girl, to an incident Wednesday in which a woman fought off would-be abductors and escaped, according to Myrtle Beach Capt. David Knipes. But he said both cases, which involved young women, have the same investigators. He also said the attempt Wednesday occurred near where Drexel was last seen.

Monica Caison of the CUE Center for Missing Persons in Wilmington, N.C., who has helped with several searches related to Drexel, said the proximity of Drexel's disappearance and the woman's attempted kidnapping are "an awful coincidence."

Drexel was last seen on April 25, 2009, while on spring break in Myrtle Beach. She was seen on video surveillance leaving the Blue Water Hotel at 2001 S. Ocean Blvd., police said.

The incident Wednesday occurred about 4:30 p.m. along Ocean Boulevard near 22nd Avenue South, Knipes said. The victim said a van drove up behind her and two men got out and grabbed her.

She said she fought back against the men and told police she was able to get free before they pulled her into the van, which was described as being pale blue with several rust spots and a side sliding door, according to the report. The woman said there was a yellow sticker in the back passenger window, but she was unable to get the license plate number because the incident occurred so quickly.

The woman told police she elbowed one of the men and when she turned around she noticed he had blood coming from his face. She said the men got back inside the van where a third man was waiting in the driver's seat.

"We do have the same group of investigators that worked the Drexel case looking into this one," Knipes said in a statement released on Friday. "At this time, we are not saying that the cases are related, however we must exercise due diligence and properly review the cases and see if there are any similarities. As of now the only facts that are related are the [approximate location] and the fact that they are both younger women."

Caison said, "We're glad this young lady is OK and she wasn't abducted. We're hoping also that if, and that is a big if, they are connected then by her making it away, it might actually provide some information to investigators if they are connected.

"It does spark a ray of hope that this could bring forth some information on Brittanee," Caison said. "Regardless if it is related to Brittanee, we hope these people are caught quickly and the next person is protected."

Caison said she spoke to Drexel's family Thursday and they are hopeful someone with information about the teen will come forward to authorities.

"We're hoping it will yield some information to pertain to Brittanee; you can't help but hope that," Caison said. "If that happens in any town it's something to be concerned about and you're going to look into anything to see if it's connected. We're hopeful because Brittanee's case needs a break."

http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/07/24/1601020/drexel-search-hopes-for-lead.html

[Nut44x4]

looking in the wrong direction, imo. Her friends know what happened and where her body can be found....imo.

[Nut44x4]

comments here
http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/07/23/1600296/myrtle-beach-police-not-ready.html?storylink=mirelated

[Nut44x4]

SC authorities seek ties in missing woman cases
Posted at: 07/30/2010 8:55 AM

Authorities in South Carolina are investigating possible links between the attempted kidnapping of a young woman, the disappearance of a New York teen and an unsolved homicide.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports that Timothy Shaun Taylor, 37, of McClellanville, S.C., turned himself in Wednesday, accused of trying to kidnap a woman in Myrtle Beach last week.

The incident occurred near where Brittanee Drexel disappeared in April 2009. That disappearance led to extensive searches along the South Carolina coast.

Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon says detectives are now also comparing the cases to the 1998 killing of Shannon McConaughey.

Taylor's brother, Randall Keith Taylor, was originally charged in the McConaughey case, but those charges were later dismissed. McConaughey's body was found in Charleston County, near the last location of Drexel's cell phone signal.

Drexel was last seen leaving a Myrtle Beach hotel with a group of friends who had traveled with her from Rochester.

Cannon said the three cases have similarities and officials would be remiss if they did not investigate.

"It's just a natural evolution when you are dealing with cases like these," the sheriff said. "If you've got something that suggests a pattern of similar incidents, it is the responsible thing to do."

Myrtle Beach Police Capt. David Knipes said no connections have been found between last week's attempted kidnapping and the Drexel case, the Sun News reported.

Taylor could be sentenced to 40 years if convicted of attempted kidnapping and first degree assault and battery.

He told authorities at a bond hearing Wednesday he tried to contact police when he heard he was wanted.

"I didn't try to hide anything because I know it wasn't me," he said.

http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S1675642.shtml?cat=565

[Nut44x4]

Saw this when I was reading about Nadia Bloom, thought I would post it. Skeletal remains found in Florida? The girl is said to be an older teen about 5ft tall, they show hair that is still on the ground and it looks blond. Could this be Brittanee?

http://www.myfox8.com/wghp-human-jawbone-100410,0,4606691.story

Anything is possible, but this is doubtful, imo. The distance is 658 miles

UPDATE
Remains Found In Julian Last April Identified
Created: 8/6/2010

Julian, NC -- Guilford County Sheriff B.J. Barnes said the skeletal remains found in Julian this spring have been identified.

In April, a dog brought home a human jawbone that has now been identified as Jahela Lucero-Menor, according to Sheriff Barnes.
http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=146268&catid=57

[MuffyBee]

Thank you for the update Nut. 

[melisb]

What happened?  I thought they were making some progress in this case or should I say linking someone to it maybe?  It's time she got to go home with her Mom.

[MuffyBee]

What happened?  I thought they were making some progress in this case or should I say linking someone to it maybe?  It's time she got to go home with her Mom.

I had thought there was some progress made in the case too, melisb.  I wholeheartedly agree with you, it's time she got to go home to her Mom.   

[Nut44x4]

NY church offers reward for missing teen in SC

Associated Press - September 14, 2010 7:55 AM ET

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - A New York church is offering a $5,000 reward for information about a teen missing in South Carolina for more than a year.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Victory Christian Church in Albany, N.Y., has offered the reward for information about Brittanee Marie Drexel.

The Rochester, N.Y., teen was 17 when she was last seen April 25, 2009, on a hotel security camera in Myrtle Beach. She had gone to the South Carolina coast on vacation without her parents permission.

Dawn Drexel says she hasn't given up hope that her daughter is alive.

Crime Stoppers of the Lowcountry has offered a $1,000 reward in the case.

Myrtle Beach Police Lt. Chuck Capp says officers still think they will be able to solve the teen's disappearance.

Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.com

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?s=13149091&clienttype=printable

[Sister]

looking in the wrong direction, imo. Her friends know what happened and where her body can be found....imo.

I absolutely believe you are correct.  But how do you hold her "friends" feet to the fire?
 

[MuffyBee]

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/09/16/return-of-the-investigation-discovery-hit-series-disappeared-on-oct-4/63763
Return Of The Investigation Discovery Hit Series ‘Disappeared’ On Oct 4
September 16, 2010

INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY PROFILES MISSING PERSONS CASES
WITH THE RETURN OF THE HIT SERIES, DISAPPEARED
– Season 2 of DISAPPEARED Premieres Monday, October 4 at 10 PM (ET) –

(Silver Spring, MD) – When someone goes missing, every moment is an emotional roller coaster for the loved ones left behind, while every second and every single clue counts in the search for the missing.  Investigation Discovery is proud to present Season 2 of DISAPPEARED, providing an outlet for the loved ones of missing persons to profile their stories in the hopes that fresh leads or new information may come forward.  Returning with 13 new episodes, the second season of DISAPPEARED premieres Monday, October 4 at 10 PM (ET) on Investigation Discovery.
(snip)
Some of the first few cases profiled in the new season of DISAPPEARED include:
The Secret Journey: Premieres Monday, October 4 at 10 PM
Known for her quick smile and lightning speed on the soccer field,
17-year-old Brittanee Drexel from Rochester, N.Y., slipped off to spring break vacation in Myrtle Beach, S.C., without the consent or knowledge of her parents.  On April 25, 2009, the night before she was supposed to come home, Drexel disappears.  Video surveillance shows Drexel exiting a friend’s hotel and her last known communication is a text to her boyfriend.  But when police track her cell phone to an isolated rural area known for alligators and swamps, her family fears the worst.
Snip)

[Nut44x4]

Damn, I missed it, but as much as that station repeats stuff, I am sure it will be on again and again.