Brittanee Drexel

Crews call off Brittanee Drexel search, investigation will go on


by Graeme Moore

The collaborative search ended early Saturday evening for the New York teen who vanished on spring break in Myrtle Beach two weeks ago.

Over the past two weeks, the search has included areas from Horry County to extreme northern Charleston County. The largest efforts were centered near the North Santee River community in Georgetown County.

The searchers were led to Georgetown County because Drexel's cell phone gave off a signal there the night she was last seen and into early Sunday morning.

What started out as a five-mile search radius turned into more than double that by late this week.

Exhaustive foot, horse, dog, and ATV searchers were conducted for almost two weeks in the area, but searchers came up short every time.

Despite returning empty-handed, searchers call the search successful.

"No search is unsuccessful. At the end of the day when you get through with a search, you've eliminated more space that person isn't," said Monica Caison with the CUE Center for Missing Persons.

Caison organized the bulk of the search and the dozens of search and rescue volunteers who participated in it.

On Saturday, there were more than 20 mounted horse teams, multiple ATVs and at least four cadaver dogs scouring the Santee Coastal Reserve in Charleston County. Myrtle Beach police received a tip that generated significant interest in that area, but again, nothing was found -- and that tip was later discredited by investigators.

The investigation will go on, said Captain Chuck Capp with the Myrtle Beach Police Department, though the scores of volunteer searchers are heading home Saturday night.

"We have used every avenue of search personnel ... meaning horse, ATVs, boats, sonar, dogs on water, dogs on land, and so at this point we have to look back and see if that's all we can do until some more information produces," said Caison.

If you have information, you're asked to call a police tipline at 843-918-1963.

$12,000 in reward money for Brittanee Drexel case

by Graeme Moore

A pastor from Albany, N.Y., has offered an $11,000 reward for information that helps find 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel who vanished from Myrtle Beach two weeks ago.

Pastor Charlie Muller of Victory Christian Church of Albany announced on Saturday that he would offer the reward and hopes other helps to raise it.

Drexel is from Rochester, N.Y., and was last seen leaving the Blue Water Resort on Ocean Boulevard on April 25.

Massive searches in Horry, Georgetown and Charleston counties have turned up nothing for police and rescue searches.

Crime Stoppers of the Low Country offered a $1,000 reward last week.

For more information on the $11,000 reward, contact Charles Muller at 518-857-0726.

Mother of missing teen to leave Myrtle Beach


by Graeme Moore


Brittanee Drexel has been missing since April 25th.

The mother of missing 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel left Myrtle Beach Wednesday to go back home. It's been two months since the teen disappeared from Ocean Boulevard.

Her daughter's disappearance turned Dawn Drexel's world into a nightmare two months ago. "You never think this is going to happen to you, but I'm living it right now," she said Wednesday.

After weeks of searching, Dawn Drexel says it's time to go. She has two other children, a house, and job back home. It's not easy, but it's her reality. "Not bringing my daughter home, and that's very difficult."

She says she'll call detectives with Myrtle Beach Police for daily updates. She received a final briefing from them before heading home.

Dawn's journey has been a long one. Her daughter disappeared on April 25th. In the days and weeks that followed, she kept busy passing out fliers, holding vigils, raising money, and watching searchers scour the woods near Georgetown where Brittanee's cell phone last gave a signal

Police were hesitant to speculate at first. But Wednesday, the lead investigator put his best theory forward. "Somebody took her. That's pretty much where we're standing now," said Detective Benny Dorio, Myrtle Beach Police.

The leads are still coming in, but most don't pan out. False sightings and dead-end leads wear on a woman who's stayed strong, only letting her guard down in private moments. Dawn said, "When you go home and relax, that's when it hits you."

Dawn's parents will stay on the Grand Strand a while longer. Wednesday, they said an emotional goodbye to her as she headed home.

Dawn may be leaving without her daughter, but does have some comfort. "They've covered a lot of ground, and I feel comfortable leaving knowing they're still out there searching for her."

Dawn also expressed her gratitude for everyone's unwavering support in our community, for all the donations, well wishes and prayers.

Police still asking for tips. You can call them anonymously at 843-918-1382.

Meeting scheduled to discuss missing teen


Posted: 07.09.2009 at 12:50 AM



A multi-jurisdictional meeting will take place Friday concerning the disappearance of a New York teenager who vanished from Myrtle Beach.

Officials with Myrtle Beach and Georgetown and Charleston Counties will come together.

Officials will put together and rehash all the information everyone has and go from there.

17-year-old Brittnee Drexel was last seen in April on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach.

Brittanee's mother Dawn has conducted numerous searches for her daughter spanning all over the area.

NewsChannel 15 will be at this meeting. Look for this report Friday on NewsChannel 15 at 6.

Officials discuss missing teen case


by Joel Allen



It was a meeting of the minds Friday, as police continue the search for a missing New York teenager.

It's been two and a half months since 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel disappeared in Myrtle Beach.

Friday, all the local agencies involved in the investigation got together to brainstorm. Those agencies are Myrtle Beach Police, the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office, and the Charleston County Sheriff's Office.

They hope that by sharing information and ideas, maybe they'll shake something loose that will lead them to Brittanee Drexel.

Tips and potential sightings still come in to Myrtle Beach Police every day. "But nothing that has led to any fruitful information," Joey Crosby, MB Police, said.

Sadly, teen runaways and disappearances are not unusual for Myrtle Beach. Detectives say, most of those cases are wrapped up within a day or two, but not Brittanee Drexel.

"This case has various circumstances surrounding it that are different than any that I've worked since I've been here," Crosby. He said he can't reveal what makes Brittanee's disappearance different than the others, but with all the time, effort and information that's gone into this case, Myrtle Beach Police thought it worthwhile to bring in Georgetown and Charleston County investigators to share ideas.

"Maybe one of the investigators says something that maybe somebody might have said or somebody might have done that really sparks something, that really puts the pieces of the puzzle together," said Crosby.

Brittannee was last seen as she left the Blue Water Resort in Myrtle Beach on April 25th. The last place her cell phone gave off a signal was on the Charleston/Georgetown County line the night she disappeared.

Since then, police have been in contact with Brittanee's mother almost every day, keeping her up to date on any new developments and hoping Brittanee might still be out there, ready to be found.

"If she is out there, and she is listening to us, our most important thing right now is that we want to know that she's OK and where she's at.

That's our number one goal right now," said Crosby.

Crosby says the potential sightings have led them all across the United States, from East Coast to West Coast, north and south.

They look into all those tips, but so far nothing.


Brittanee's family is holding an event this weekend to raise money to help them pay for their search.

The fundraiser will be held at the Beaver Bar in Murrells Inlet Saturday from 1pm until 6pm. There will be food and entertainment and all the money raised will go to defer the family's expenses while they stay in Myrtle Beach looking for her.

Brittanee's grandmother says they're keeping their spirits up and still have hope. "We keep busy every day. That's the only way you keep strong. i have a positive feeling that she's out there," Carol Wagner said.

Brittanee's mother spent weeks in Myrtle Beach, passing out fliers, holding vigils, and helping searchers scour the area looking for the teenager.

The family has also hired a private investigator to aid in their search.

Dr. Keith: Brittanee Drexel's Disappearance Should Remind Parents Not to Take Children for Granted
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
By Dr. Keith Ablow

Dawn Drexel, the mother of missing teen Brittanee Drexel, told WHEC News 10 in Rochester, N.Y., she believes her daughter may have been kidnapped or may not be alive.

Brittanee, 17, has been missing since April 25 when she went to Myrtle Beach, S.C., for spring break.

Brittanee’s mother is no longer a stranger to the darkest possible chapter in a parent’s life story: the feared or actual loss of a child.

I have worked with several parents who have survived their own children. I have struggled with them against tides of grief that seem never to recede, but simply to become more expected, so they lose the power to sweep these bereaved mothers and fathers off their feet.

Losing a child lays bare the miraculous connections that can hold families together through thick and thin. No matter how contentious the relationships mothers and fathers may have with their children, the bond between them can’t be reproduced or entirely obliterated. At the ages of 50 and 60 (and older), my patients still want to make sense of the way they related to their parents in childhood, young adulthood and beyond. They are still sons and daughters, even if they have lost their parents.

So Dawn Drexel, brave enough to speak to the media at an unspeakable moment, may wander tonight into Brittanee’s room. Maybe she’ll lie down on her daughter’s bed, maybe she’ll let herself smell her daughter’s pillow. She may think she hears Brittanee's footsteps or voice or her car pulling into the driveway. That’s no surprise when we consider the sounds of togetherness that come to play like music in the backgrounds of our daily lives, sounds that we stop hearing after a while, maybe because we take them for granted, maybe because no parent’s heart could maintain its rhythm while bearing full witness to the unspeakable, unfathomable beauty of one’s own child. We don't hear a tenth of what we could, if we thought the music might end.

For those of you reading these words — the lucky parents out there with children still close enough to hug, I hope you’ll give it a try tonight. Sit for a few minutes and listen to the sounds of your children in the house: their footsteps, their fingers clicking keys on a computer, the opening and closing of their closet doors, their voices on the phone and their breathing as they sleep. Let yourself marvel at the fact that your life has spawned another life and that you have the continuing, rare and wonderful opportunity to shape not only your existence, but that of another human being. Let yourself smile at the thought of their favorite toys (if they’re still young enough), their favorite clothes, the posters on their walls, their best friends, the sports they’ve come to enjoy, the hopes and dreams they’ve embraced.

Stay silent a minute longer. Then close your eyes, think about Dawn Drexel and her missing daughter Brittanee and pray for them both.

I’m going to do that right now. My children are asleep, a few dozen feet away from me. I am a lucky man and I know it.



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,519135,00.html#ixzz1W3H0P17o

MB Spring Breaker missing for three months


by Mola Lenghi
Posted: 07.25.2009 at 12:50 AM
Mola Lenghi

Saturday marked exactly three months since a 17 year old teenager from New York disappeared in Myrtle Beach while on spring break.

Three months later, Brittanee Drexel remains missing. She was last seen, Saturday night, April 25th in Myrtle Beach, leaving the Blue Water Resort on Ocean Boulevard.


Her cell phone last gave off a signal on the Charleston--Georgetown County line the night she disappeared.


A handful of police and missing persons agencies have been working together in the search -- from Myrtle Beach police all the way down to Charleston County.

In June, Drexel was featured on America's Most Wanted Missing Persons segment. Police say tips and potential sightings come in every day and the search has taken authorities across the entire country.

Myrtle Beach police say teen disappearances on the Grand Strand, unfortunately, are not unusual. Though, they add that Drexel's case is different than any other, but won't release why.

If you have any information, you're asked to call Myrtle Beach Police at (843) 918-1382.

Brittanee Drexel look alike grabs attention

by Mola Lenghi
Posted: 07.30.2009 at 12:53 AM



More than three months after a 17 year old girl from New York disappeared while on spring break in Myrtle Beach police say they continue to follow up on regular tips and leads into the Brittanee Drexel search only to come up short.

But one local teen's unmistakable resemblance has had many people believing they've spotted Drexel.

Miranda Flinchum says she gets stopped, questioned, and stared at almost everywhere she goes and it's because she looks so much like Brittanee Drexel.

On April 25th, 17 year old spring breaker Brittanee Drexel walked out of the Blue Water Resort in Myrtle Beach and hasn't been seen since.

Although, Miranda Flinchum says, she experiences a Brittanee Drexel sighting almost every time she goes out.

"Two mornings ago I went to breakfast with my friend and the waitress asked if, said I looked just like her and then last week at McDonald's it happened. Then a couple of nights ago at Wal-Mart," recalled Flinchum, a high school student at St. James High School.

Miranda's mother, Debbie, fields phone calls from friends and family whenever Drexel's picture is seen on TV or posters.

Recalling the first time she saw Drexel's picture on television, Miranda's mother, Debbie said, "I got a phone call, and then I got another phone call and I probably had about, probably 20 phone calls within 30 minutes, wondering if that was my daughter because she looked so identical."

So identical, Debbie questioned it herself.

"When I saw the picture I actually went in to make sure that my daughter was in and safe in her room," said Debbie.

"It has been weird," admitted Miranda, "Everybody asking is me and saying I look just like her, and it's been sad, you know, they can't find her. People think it's me and they get hope when they see me," she continued.

"Having my daughter tell me that she's always stared at and pictures are taken of her, it just breaks my heart to know that someone's missing their daughter and she looks so much like mine," Debbie said.

But while Miranda may look like Brittanee Drexel, she is not Brittanee Drexel. And Brittanee's mother, Dawn Drexel, continues searching for her daughter.

"I'm just thankful everyday when I see my daughter's face, and hopefully one day (Brittanee's) mother will be able to see her daughter's face," said Debbie.

The Flitchum's added, all the attention her daughter Miranda gets proves something -- people out there remember what Brittanee Drexel looks like and they haven't forgotten that she's still missing.

Authorities say the search for Drexel has not let up. If you have any information -- you're asked to call police at (843) 918 1382.

Video on this link

http://www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?id=331381

Billboard to be erected for missing NY teen


by Graeme Moore
Posted: 08.16.2009 at 8:25 PM



A large roadside billboard will go up sometime in the next week that features what has become one of Myrtle Beach's only unsolved missing persons cases.

The billboard will be placed near the North Santee community in Georgetown County and feature a large picture of 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel who vanished from Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach on April 25.

The CUE Center for Missing Persons in Wilmington worked with Next Media Group to get the design and billboard donated.

CUE, along with scores of law enforcement and volunteers, combed dozens of acres in Georgetown County in the weeks that followed Drexel's disappearance.

Drexel was on spring break in Myrtle Beach when she disappeared on the night of April 25. She was last seen leaving the Blue Water Resort on the south end of Ocean Boulevard.

Myrtle Beach detectives were able to track her cell phone signal to a tower in rural Georgetown County, but they never recovered the phone, and while hundreds of tips have been generated, no solid leads have been formed.

Detectives say they are continuing to work on the case, but right now there are no suspects and no persons of interest. They have said in the past that they consider the case to be an abduction and not a runaway.

Members with the CUE Center said they are considering a new search in the North Santee area sometime this Fall when the leaves fall and the terrain becomes a little easier to maneuver.

If you've got any information that could help police, you're asked to call Crimestoppers or Myrtle Beach police at 843-918-1382. A reward is being offered, and you can remain anonymous.

To learn more about Brittanee's case, and other missing persons, visit the CUE Center's web site at www.ncmissingpersons.org.

Brittanee Drexel: 4 months later, still missing


by Graeme Moore
Posted: 08.29.2009 at 8:43 PM

More than four months after her disappearance, Brittanee Drexel's whereabouts remain a mystery.

Drexel, 17, of New York, disappeared April 25 after leaving the Blue Water Resort on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach.

Almost from the very beginning detectives theorized Drexel was abducted and feared she was in danger. During the first few weeks of her disappearance, police and volunteer searchers with the C.U.E. Center for Missing Persons initiated exhaustive searches.

The main search focused on the North Santee Community in Georgetown County, an area where Drexel's cell phone last gave a signal the night she vanished.

"Law enforcement stepped right up and said we got something wrong here. A lot of times (missing persons) cases will be downplayed for a week or two until they realize they really have a problem. And then what happens is they realize it's too late. You don't capture the media and attention of the community," CUE founder and director Monica Caison said.

Despite heavy media coverage, inevitably the weeks came and went. The organized searches stopped. Summer dragged on. Eventually Brittanee's story faded from the headlines, and there was still no Brittanee.

But on Saturday there was a renewed effort to keep her story front and center among the Myrtle Beach community at a missing persons awareness tour, and the person sponsoring that effort knows the pain of a missing person.

Angie Gilchrist's mother is Alice Donovan who was abducted, raped and killed in November 2002 by Brandon Bashum and Chadrick Fulks.

For years Donovan remained missing, despite the death sentence convictions of her murderers. In late 2008, Gilchrist ran into Monica Caison with the CUE Center, and together they decided it was time to find Alice. Previous searches by CUE, police and others yielded nothing.

"It is the most excruciating, tormenting thing to ever have to deal with. Your life stops," Gilchrist described of her ordeal with her mother's murder and subsequent disappearance.

Caison wrote to Fulks in prison, and to her amazement, he sent her a package stuffed with maps pointing to where Alice could be found.

Caison's crew jumped into action and in January 2009 they found human bones that would later be positively identified as Donovan.

Far from a "success" story, it is a story that brings closure, something Brittanee Drexel's mom is desperately searching for.

"I still have hope that she's somewhere out there," Dawn Drexel said Saturday at the Myrtle Beach stop of CUE's "On The Road to Remember Tour."

Dawn left Myrtle Beach at the end of June after spending two months in Myrtle Beach searching and raising money for her daughter's cause.

Her frustration is growing.

"I just wish people would come (forward) and call one of the tip lines," Drexel said.

Those tip lines, run by the Myrtle Beach Police Department and the CUE Center, have lit up in the months past, but no tip has generated the clue needed to crack the case.

Dawn, Monica and police are determined to keep the tips flowing, and one of the ways to do that, they say, is through events like the one held Saturday.

It was a small gathering of no more than a dozen folks -- from lead detectives to Dawn to Monica to a few who didn't even know the Drexels -- but it was meaningful.

"The whole purpose of the tour is to get their information out, tell their stories, show their pictures and to visit their towns and rally their communities to remind them they're still missing," Caison explained.

As for the investigation by police, NewsChannel 15 learned that detectives have brought in an FBI agent to be "thoroughly briefed" on Brittanee's case.

Detectives are also working with the CUE Center to organize a new search sometime later this Fall when the leaves fall and the terrain becomes easier to navigate.

What won't become easier is Dawn Drexel's anguish.

"Brittanee's 18th birthday is coming up which is going to be very difficult in Ocotber," Dawn said adding, "I just want to know something. I know my daughter didn't just disappear off the face of the earth."

Anonymous tips and information can be called in to the Myrtle Beach Police Department at 843-918-1382 or to the CUE Center at 910-343-1131.

Donations to the planned search effort can be made to CUE, a non-profit organization, by visiting their web site www.ncmissingpersons.org or by calling them.

Missing teen's family celebrates her birthday


Posted: 10.07.2009 at 2:24 PM
It's been nearly six months since the search for Brittanee Drexel began, and Wednesday marks a sad milestone for her family - Brittanee's 18th birthday.

The teen from New York was last seen leaving the Blue Water Resort in Myrtle Beach back in April. Her mother has not given up. As days and months go by, the searches, fliers, billboards and fundraisers continue for Brittanee in Myrtle Beach and Georgetown.

"We do have hope that she's still out there, you still always have hope, but in the back of your mind you have to think the worst," said Brittanee's mother, Dawn.

Myrtle Beach police called off the search for Brittanee in June.

The CUE Center for Missing Persons in Wilmington, North Carolina says it will conduct another search later this month. You can read background stories on Drexel's disappearance through the links below.

New search planned for Brittanee Drexel

by Graeme Moore
Posted: 10.07.2009 at 10:50 PM


Searchers and police are gearing up for a renewed search effort for 18-year-old Brittanee Drexel who vanished April 25th from Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach.

Searchers and police are gearing up for a renewed search effort for 18-year-old Brittanee Drexel who vanished April 25th from Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach.

The CUE Center for Missing Persons in Wilmington, NC, led the search in May and is organizing a new search for the weekend of October 16th.

The organization's founder Monica Caison said cadaver dogs, a mounted horse patrol, ATVs and foot searchers will scour areas in Georgetown County near the North Santee Community.

Myrtle Beach Police think Drexel's cell phone ended up somewhere in that vicinity the night she went missing. It has not been recovered.

Drexel, then 17, was last seen leaving the Blue Water Resort around 8:15 p.m. when surveillance video caught her walking out. Police say she was heading back to the Bar Harbour Hotel to meet up with friends.

Drexel is from Rochester, NY, and she turned 18 on Wednesday -- nearly six months after vanishing.

Lead Detective Not Giving Up

The lead detective on the case, Cpl. Vincent Dorio, says the case is being investigated daily and that leads come in weekly.

"We're still actively going over every lead, reevaluating everything we've done to date to see if we've possibly missed something. It's still an active investigation."

Dorio said finding the cell phone is still a top priority, but other things are being pursued just as heavily, though he would not divulge more.

Dorio has said in the past that Drexel's case was most likely an abduction, and as more time goes by, the more likely that theory becomes.

"She's been missing this long. I was hoping to have discovered she was a runaway, but it doesn't look like that," Dorio said Wednesday afternoon, though he stressed, anything is possible at this point.

Dorio hopes the public may generate leads, and he asks anyone who saw anything -- however insignificant -- to come forward.

"There's going to be one person out there who may not realize they saw something important, but they may actually have something that puts this all together."

There are two tip lines that have been set up where anonymous information can be called in.

The Myrtle Beach Police Department: 843-918-1963

CUE Center for Missing Persons: 910-232-1687

Crews search Myrtle Beach for Brittanee Drexel

by Graeme Moore


Myrtle Beach Police detectives, FBI agents and searchers with the CUE Center for Missing Persons combed several wooded areas within the City of Myrtle Beach Monday for missing spring breaker, Brittanee Drexel.

For close to five hours Monday, the searchers scoured a two-block, wooded lot between Yaupon Drive and Kings Highway from 17th Avenue South to 19th Avenue South; a piece of property on 18th Avenue South near an abandoned cinema and backing up to the AVX Corporation; and a large area on the old Myrtle Beach Airforce Base.

"We're just re-searching target locations in the area where she was last seen, and of course utilitizing search dogs with the CUE Center and getting assistance from the FBI," said Lt. Chuck Capp with the Myrtle Beach Police Department.

By 2:00 p.m. Monday, crews completed the search, but did not discover any signs of Brittanee, Monica Caison with the CUE Center said.

Drexel, then 17 years old and from Rochester, NY, was last seen on Ocean Boulevard around 8:15 p.m. April 25. She turned 18 this past Wednesday. She and some of her friends were staying at the Bar Harbor Hotel for Spring Break, but Drexel was caught on surveillance video leaving the Blue Water Resort a few minutes before vanishing. Detectives have said Drexel was visiting friends at the Blue Water Resort and was heading back to the Bar Harbor.

In the first couple of days detectives established that Drexel's cell phone traveled to Georgtown County the night she vanished. The cell phone pinged along a path from Myrtle Beach to an area near the North Santee Community before dying that night.

Extensive searches in the first few weeks in Georgetown County turned up nothing, but another one is planned for this weekend, October 16, 17 and 18.

Search grows for Brittanee Drexel


by Graeme Moore
Posted: 10.17.2009 at 12:32 AM

Myrlte Beach police and CUE Center searchers look for evidence in Brittanee Drexel case.

On Saturday, search efforts for missing spring breaker Brittanee Drexel grew to levels not seen since the 18-year-old vanished from Ocean Boulevard in April.

More than 100 search volunteers and law enforcement officials combed through hundreds of wooded acres near the Georgetown/Charleston County line, though no signs of Drexel were found.

Efforts are focused on that area because it's where detectives tracked Drexel's cell phone signals in the first few days of her disappearance.

The searchers scoured much of the same area in April, though the heat, thick growth and active wildlife made conditions less than ideal.

Saturday morning's shot of crisp, cool air was just what searchers had hoped for this time around. The cadaver dogs, mounted horse patrols and searchers are able to work better in cooler weather, said Monica Caison with the CUE Center for Missing Persons.

The group gathered around 8:30 Saturday morning for a debriefing from the "Incident Command Post," and they were then handed out specific search assignments.

The men and women, dogs, horse teams and ATV teams worked in groups of 8-10 as they worked areas from McClellanville to the North Santee Community in Georgetown County.

A central area of focus was along South Santee Road in the Collins Creek Community, and there were moments of piqued interest Saturday.

"We've had many articles found throughout the day which tells us that our searchers are working really hard and uncovering things," said Caison, but "at this point ... nothing fits Brittanee's case or any other missing persons from this area."

The searchers called it a night around 8:00 p.m., but things will ramp up again Sunday morning.

"We're just going to continue on and continue searching and hope that we'll get to the right place where we'll have some type of discovery," Caison said.

The search was organized by the CUE Center for Missing Persons and Myrtle Beach Police detectives who've worked the case since day one. The Georgetown and Charleston County Sheriff's offices provided additional logistical planning. Thornehill Farms on Higwhay 17 opened their farm for search teams to camp for the weekend.

Brittanee Drexel search wraps up

by Graeme Moore
Posted: 10.18.2009 at 9:36 PM



The search for missing spring breaker Brittanee Drexel wrapped up Sunday, but crews left with no new information on her whereabouts.

Searchers from the CUE Center for Missing Persons spent Saturday and Sunday scouring areas along the Charleston/Georgetown County line. A few hours on Sunday afternoon were spent re-searching areas in Myrtle Beach.

Myrtle Beach Police said if and until new leads are developed, no more large-scale searches are planned. The investigation and tracking down current leads, however, will not stop, said Detective Vincent Dorio.

Drexel, 18, from Rochester, NY, vanished from Ocean Boulevard around 9:00 p.m. on April 25th.

A reward is being offered, and anonymous tips can be called in to the Myrtle Beach Police Department at 843-918-1963 or to the CUE Center at 910-232-1687.

To read more on this weekend's search, click here.

Drexel's mom on 'Maury,' psychic consulted


by Continuous News Desk
Posted: 10.22.2009 at 5:53 PM


Brittanee is the spring breaker from New York who vanished in April from Myrtle Beach.

The search for Brittanee Drexel made its way back into the national spotlight today, after her family appeared on Maury Povich's show. Brittanee is the spring breaker from New York who vanished in April from Myrtle Beach.

Host Maury Povich hired a psychic for the family to aid in the search for the missing teenager. The psychic and the girl's mother, Dawn Drexel, went to Myrtle Beach to retrace Brittanee's last known steps.

When the psychic returned, he talked about the Blue Water Resort hotel where she was last seen.

"I was getting my strongest hits when we were at the hotel. So I think she is still in that area," said Jeffrey Wands, Psychic.

Authorities did trace signals from her cell phone to Georgetown County after she disappeared.

If you have any new information on Drexel's disappearance, call Myrtle Beach police at (843) 918 - 1963.

THIS IS IN THE CAROLINAS

Missing spring breaker featured in People Magazine

by Continuous News Desk
Posted: 11.13.2009 at 12:30 PM

The search for Brittanee Drexel is making its way back into the national spotlight. Drexel is one of six missing people being featured on the cover of People Magazine.

Drexel was last seen leaving the Blue Water Resort in Myrtle Beach while on spring break from New York on April 25th.

Myrtle Beach detectives were able to track her cell phone signal to a tower in rural Georgetown County, but they never recovered the phone, and while hundreds of tips have been generated, no solid leads have been formed.

Detectives said they are continuing to work on the case, but right now there are no suspects and no persons of interest.

The People Magazine article, called "vanished" also focuses on other high profile missing persons cases, including Jaycee Dugard, who had been kidnapped 18 years ago in California and was found alive earlier this year.

The issue hits magazine stands today.

If you have any new information on Drexel's disappearance, call Myrtle Beach police at (843) 918 - 1963.

Information courtesy: www.13wham.com

Missing Teen Turns Adult




Mon, 5 Oct 2009|
Bay area family members of a missing New York teenager are enduring another milestone without her but they are making sure her name is still fresh in the news.

Tip reignites search for Brittanee Drexel

by Graeme Moore
Posted: 12.06.2009 at 8:31 PM

A new tip has reignited the search effort in Georgetown County for missing spring breaker Brittanee Drexel who vanished from Ocean Boulevard in April.

While Georgetown County investigators won't elaborate on the new tip, it was enough to bring in cadaver dogs, special dive teams and search crews.

The efforts began Friday when two cadaver dogs from the CUE Center for Missing Persons were brought in to work an area along the North Santee River.

The dogs, specifically trained to detect human remains, spent a couple of hours on and around a 25-foot dock that juts into the river.

Once those dogs were done working, the CUE Center requested a third and fourth cadaver dog to search the same area, but those dogs didn't arrive until Saturday. Myrtle Beach detectives -- the lead agency in the investigation -- also arrived on Saturday.

The second set of dogs searched the same wooded and swampy area but concentrated around the waters of the same dock which sits in an alcove of the river.

The dogs' work produced further developments which prompted police and searchers to request a dive team, CUE Center found Monica Caison said.

Members of the Horry County Fire Rescue's dive team suited up around 10:30 Sunday morning, and the three divers worked for close to four hours.

Around 11:45 a.m., one of the divers found some sort of hard material that piqued interests among the group of searchers and law enforcement.

No one at the scene could definitively classify what it was, but it will be sent to the Medical University of South Carolina on Monday morning to determine if it is a human bone.

The divers called the search for the day around 3:00 Sunday afternoon, but they are scheduled to return Monday morning.

A native of Rochester, NY, Drexel traveled to Myrtle Beach against her parents' wishes and vanished April 25 from Ocean Boulevard.

She was last seen leaving the Blue Water Resort and was reportedly headed back to where she was staying at the Bar Harbor Hotel.

Myrtle Beach detectives tracked Drexel's cell phone signals from Myrtle Beach to Georgetown County in the first days of her disappearance. As previously reported, the cell phone made a bee line from Myrtle Beach to somewhere near the North Santee Community around the hour Drexel was last seen.

A substantial reward is being offered for any information leading to Brittanee, and detectives are asking for the public's help. Anonymous tips can be phoned in to the Myrtle Beach Police tip line at 843-918-1963.

Tips can also be made by calling the CUE Center for Missing Persons at 910-232-1687.

Material found during Drexel search not bone

by Graeme Moore
Posted: 12.07.2009 at 12:14 PM


Special dive teams have reassembled Monday morning along a section of the North Santee River in Georgetown County and will continue diving for signs of Brittanee Drexel.

A hard material discovered during a search for missing spring breaker Brittanee Drexel that piqued interest Sunday afternoon is not bone, the authorities said Monday.

Special dive teams have reassembled Monday morning along a section of the North Santee River in Georgetown County and will continue diving for signs of Brittanee Drexel.

The efforts began here Friday afternoon after Georgetown County investigators received a new tip in the case of Drexel who vanished April 25 from Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach.