Re: Brittanee Drexel

**milly** Tue 25 Oct - 22:11

Sunglasses found in Brittanee Drexel search

by Graeme Moore
Posted: 12.11.2009 at 7:09 PM

Detectives are trying to determine whether a pair of knock-off designer sunglasses found during a search this week belong to missing spring breaker Brittanee Drexel.

A couple from Charleston County who were camping in the area found the sunglasses in a wooded section of riverbank along the North Santee River in Georgetown County.

"They wouldn't be something like a hunter or anyone would wear," said Francie Varn, the woman who stumbled upon the glasses.

Francie and her husband Robert found the pair of Prada knock-offs Monday afternoon, and while they normally wouldn't have called police over such a find, they knew there was an active search for Drexel.

"I did start thinking about it and thinking this is just really too weird," Francie said.

The Varns found the glasses on the western side of the Santee Delta, a state-protected wildlife refuge made up of thousands and thousands of acres.

Georgetown County investigators and Myrtle Beach Police detectives have a picture of Brittanee on the beach the day before she vanished, and she's wearing a pair of sunglasses that show a striking resemblance to the glasses found this week.

While one detective thought the find was a "long shot," others felt confident the glasses could belong to Drexel.

The glasses will be sent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division which will try to gather and analyze any DNA that's present on the sunglasses.

Police and the CUE Center For Missing Persons began the search in the North Santee Community last Friday after receiving a new tip. That tip, investigators said, was not related to the sunglasses.

Cadaver dogs, special dive teams from Charleston and Horry Counties, and searchers spent almost a week searching several areas along the river, but by Thursday afternoon, the only potential clue remained the sunglasses.

For now, the search has been suspended until further information is developed, detectives said.

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

The 18-year-old, who was 17 when she disappeared, 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.

**milly** Tue 25 Oct - 22:12

Found sunglasses could be clue in missing teen case

By: News 14
Carolina Web Staff

WILMINGTON -- Brittanee Drexel, a teenager from New York, has been missing from the Myrtle Beach area since last spring break, but a pair of sunglasses discovered last week near Georgetown, S.C., could provide a clue in her disappearance.

Monica Caison, with the Wilmington-based Cue Center for Missing Persons, says the sunglasses match ones the teen was wearing in a photo taken with friends before she went missing.

Law enforcement will now do further testing to see if they can link the glasses to Drexel.

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for any information on Drexel's whereabouts. Anyone with information is urged to call 1-888-CRIME-SC.

http://charlotte.news14.com/content/619001/found-sunglasses-could-be-clue-in-missing-teen-case

**milly** Tue 25 Oct - 22:13

Website for missing teen up and running

A website, dedicated to the search for a missing New York state teenager, last seen in Myrtle Beach, is now on-line.

By: WBTW
Published: January 02, 2010
A website, dedicated to the search for a missing New York state teenager, last seen in Myrtle Beach, is now on-line.

Helpfindbrittaneedrexel.com allows you to post comments and messages of support for the family.

The teen went missing this past April while on a spring break trip to the beach. In the months since Drexel's disappearance, searches in Horry, Georgetown and Charleston counties turned up no clues on her location.

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:37

New website expands search for missing NY teen

Posted: Dec 30, 2009 9:06 PM
Updated: Feb 04, 2010 8:25 PM

After eight months of searching along the coast of South Carolina, the family of a 17-year-old girl who disappeared while on spring break in Myrtle Beach is hoping a new website will generate leads about her disappearance.

The CUE Center for Missing Persons says HelpFindBrittaneeDrexel.com features a new way for the community to submit web-generated tips on the disappearance of Brittanee Drexel, who was last seen on April 25 after meeting up with friends from her hometown in Myrtle Beach.

The website also features pictures from search efforts in Horry, Georgetown and Charleston counties for Drexel, in addition to the teen's description, links to search updates and upcoming fundraising events.

Myrtle Beach Police say the New York teen disappeared after she was last seen in the area of 11th Avenue South and 20th Avenue South in Myrtle Beach. Drexel, who was 17 at the time of her disappearance, was in the area against the will of her mother.

Contact was lost between Drexel and her family in New York on April 25, the same night authorities say she disappeared.

Since she went missing, multiple search efforts for the teen have been executed from Horry County to Charleston County. While investigators have searched throughout three counties, each search effort has left police empty handed.

In their most recent attempt, a search team consisting of approximately 70 people combed through an unidentified area of Georgetown County after a pair of knock-off Prada sunglasses were discovered near a body of water.

Those sunglasses, according to investigators, matched those worn by Drexel in a photo taken with friends in Myrtle Beach before her disappearance. Monica Caison with the CUE Center for Missing Persons says the sunglasses were located by a group of people collecting wood for a fire in December.

Members of the CUE Center, in coordination with investigators from the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office, Charleston County Sheriff's Office and the Myrtle Beach Police Department used search dogs, multiple boats, divers and a remote-controlled robotic camera to search the immediate area where the Prada sunglasses were found.

Despite using a variety of search tactics, Caison says investigators exhausted their search without any additional leads.

CrimeStoppers of the Lowcountry continues to offer a reward for any information on Drexel's whereabouts. Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of Drexel is urged to contact the agency at 1-888-CRIME-SC.

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:38

100+ volunteers expected for Brittanee Drexel search

by Graeme Moore
Posted: 01.07.2010 at 12:28 AM

More than 100 volunteers are scheduled to continue the search this weekend for missing spring breaker Brittanee Drexel who vanished April 25, 2009 from Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach.

The CUE Center for Missing Persons in Wilmington, NC, will head up another search in parts of Georgetown and Charleston counties on Saturday and Sunday.

The center's founder, Monica Caison, and Drexel's mom and grandparents arrived in Myrtle Beach Thursday in preparation for this weekend's efforts.

"I'm hoping to find Brittanee," Dawn Drexel said, adding, "It's a new year ... new hope that we will find something or at least have some closure."

Drexel said the holidays were especially difficult for the family, as Christmas day marked eight months since Brittanee's disappearance.

"It was a quiet Christmas for us," Drexel said.

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.

Several thousand acres will be searched in an area in the North Santee Community this weekend.

"We have definitely been looking at this area for a while, and we know that nobody has been there to search yet. It's in the general area of the cell phone, so we definitely have to eliminate all the space that's a priority in the area," said Monica Caison.

Caison said she could still use professional or certified ATV riders to help in this weekend's search. ATV teams who could help are encouraged to call the CUE Center at 910-232-1687.

In December, a couple who was boating along the Santee River found a pair of Prada knock-off sunglasses that resembled a pair belonging to Drexel. The sunglasses have been sent to SLED for DNA testing. The find occurred during the same week and near the same area that the CUE Center and law enforcement were conducting a search.

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.

A new web site was set up last week where guests can sign a guest book and where tips can also be submitted:

www.helpfindbrittaneedrexel.com

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:41

Search for missing teenager continues

Searchers spent Saturday in Charleston County looking for clues into the disappearance of missing teenager, Brittanee Drexel.

By: Mason Snyder
Published: January 10, 2010
A large search went on Saturday in Charleston County for missing teen, Brittanee Drexel.

Its been more than 8 months since Drexel disappeared in Myrtle Beach while she was spring break.

Today's search went on in the area where Drexel's cell phone gave out its last signal on the night of her disappearance back in April.

Search crews and family members came from as far away as New York down to Florida today to try to find any clue that would explain her disappearance.

"I mean we're not going to give up hope; we're not giving up,” said Dawn Drexel, Brittanee’s mother. “We can't ever give up. You've just got to keep looking."

Today, that’s what search crews were doing.

Still looking.

"Just looking for anything that could possibly be related to Brittanee," said one searcher.

Close to 100 people combed the woods for any clue that may help explain Drexel's disappearance.

They used K-9 units, ATV's, and horses to help find clues, but so far they haven't got much.

"We're still waiting for them to get the results back on the sunglasses they found, and I'm sure they'll be releasing that once they get that information," said Dawn Drexel.

Search Director Monica Caison, Cue Center for Missing Persons, said those who are looking are dedicated to searching no matter what.

"If it was raining they all would have showed up just to be told to go back home,” Caison said. “So, we're very blessed with these people that are dedicated. They want to bring some sort of resolution for Brittanee's family."

And even if no resolution is found, the Drexel’s said they won't give up hope.

"Our top priority is to find her and if not, we want closure,” said Keri Drexel, Brittanee’s Aunt. “So, we want to find some things and we want to find how, what, why, where, if, and we're not going to give up."

“It’s a waiting game,” said Dawn Drexel. “But you know what? For all these volunteers to take time out of their schedules to come search for my daughter means the world to me."

The search will continue tomorrow.

Caison said there is about a 20 mile area they are continuing to focus on in Charleston County.

Stay with News 13 for any updates on this story.

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:42

Despite a cold case, Drexel searchers driven to help

by Graeme Moore
Posted: 01.09.2010 at 11:22 PM

Brittanee Drexel, then 17, vanished April 25, 2009, from Ocean Boulevard.

The latest search for missing spring breaker Brittanee Drexel yielded no new clues Saturday, though the teen’s family and scores of volunteer searchers won’t give up hope.

“It’s just something in us that gives us that drive to try to help. We want to bring this girl home,” said Kelly Walker, a Florida law enforcement official, who moonlights as a volunteer on search and rescue missions.

Close to 60 searchers like Walker spent all day Saturday scouring parts of the North Santee Community in Georgetown County looking for clues into Drexel’s disappearance. They will return to areas in the same vicinity on Sunday.

The temperatures were well below freezing for much of the morning and afternoon, but that didn’t slow efforts.

“You kind of go over that. You don’t think about that because you have a job to do,” said golf instructor Cyndi Graham who became interested in search and rescue only a couple of years ago.

“Seeing the family,” is what inspires Graham to volunteer, and “seeing the distress that they’re having to deal with right now. You just pray to God you’re never in that situation.”

Dawn Drexel, mother of Brittanee, is living the situation that only few can understand.

“It’s horrible,” she said. “It’s the most horrible thing anyone can ever imagine going through.”

Brittanee vanished April 25, 2009, from Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach after leaving the Blue Water Resort around 9:15 p.m.

From the beginning, law enforcement agencies and the CUE Center for Missing Persons -- which organizes the large-scale searches -- have dedicated thousands of hours on the search for Drexel.

Their efforts have concentrated largely within a five-mile radius in the North Santee Community where detectives tracked Drexel’s cell phone signals from the night she disappeared.

Aside from the cell phone clue, detectives and searchers haven’t found much else. The discovery of a pair of sunglasses resembling a pair worn by Brittanee sparked hope in December, but there has been no confirmation on whether they belong to her.

It’s the kind of clue that gives hope to an otherwise cold case, and it’s the kind of case that draws strangers to help.

“I just felt like this is just something that I had to get involved in,” said Rory Ellinsky who owns a taxicab company in Myrtle Beach and who has followed Drexel’s case in the news for months.

“If something [were] to happen to you or your family, you would want as many people to get involved as possible to try to bring an end to the situation,” said Ellinsky who encouraged others with a search and rescue background to get involved.

For Dawn, who prays everyday for closure, the help she receives from strangers is uplifting.

“They’ve just been wonderful. I mean for them to volunteer their time to come out and search for my daughter means the world to me, to my family,” Dawn said, paused, and then added, “you know, they don’t even know Brittanee.”

And while they may not find Brittanee this weekend, hope and determination burns inside of these folks who give 110% on every search.

“It’s important to the families, and it’s the victims that we’re working for,” said the law enforcement official from Tallahassee who drove eight hours just for the search.

“The best thing we can walk away with here is knowing that we tried.”

How to Help

Anonymous tips can be called into the Myrtle Beach Police Department by calling 843-918-1382. A substantial reward is being offered.

For more information on the CUE Center for Missing Persons, visit www.ncmissingpersons.org

An official Brittanee Drexel web site has been set up at www.helpfindbrittaneedrexel.com.

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:42

Search for Brittanee Drexel wraps up

by Graeme Moore
Posted: 01.10.2010 at 6:11 PM

The two-day search ended Sunday afternoon for missing spring breaker Brittanee Drexel who vanished nearly nine months ago.

Around 100 volunteer searchers with the CUE Center for Missing Persons spent Saturday and Sunday scouring different wooded sections in Georgetown and Charleston counties.

Nothing of significance was found either day, said Monica Caison, the director of the CUE Center.

The majority of the searches since Drexel vanished April 25, 2009, have concentrated on a five-mile radius around the North Santee Community. It's where detectives say they tracked Drexel's cell phone signals from the night and day after she disappeared.

Caison, Myrtle Beach police and the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office have several areas of interest around the North Santee Community, but there's no specific reason searchers were back this weekend.

Caison said the search had been planned for a while to re-check areas that had already been searched and to look for clues in new areas.

Drexel, who was 17 at the time, vanished from Ocean Boulevard around 9:15 p.m. on April 25 after leaving the Blue Water Resort.

Read more on Saturday's search by clicking here.

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:43

http://www.himho.com/persons-of-interest-identified-in-disappearance-of-brittanee-drexel-30985/

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:43

Brittanee Drexel Missing May Have A Tragic End

Posted by Jacob on April 13, 2010
0Brittanee Drexel missing may have a tragic end as after about one year of her disappearance Police have identified ‘Persons of Interest’ in her case.

Brittanee Drexel, 17, vanished as she was enjoying her spring break in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The authorities have identified the ‘persons of interest’ in Rochester teen’s missing but they fear that it might have an unhappy ending for her family and friends.

Brittanee Drexel was last seen when she was leaving a hotel in South Carolina town on 25 April 2009.

Investigators are not naming the identified ‘persons of interest’ yet, but they have added that they did not believe that she is alive.

Lt. Neil Johnson of the Georgetown County Sherriff’s Office added that they are unable to go into details but they do not think that girl is still alive.

Authorities from Myrtle Beach, Charleston and Georgetown counties have said that these persons of interest know what happened to blue-eyed teen. They added that following different tips they have come closer to three out of four possible suspects.

Brittanee Drexel was of five feet height, and she weighed 103 pounds. She had brown shoulder length hair. She was clad in a multi-colored striped shirt with black shorts and flip flop sandals at the time of her disappearance.

According to Brittanee Drexel’s family, she was facing bouts of depression owing to her parents’ divorce.

The authorities have suggested contacting the Myrtle Beach Police Department in case of having any information about Brittanee Drexel.

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:45

Break made in case of teen missing in SC

Posted: Apr 12, 2010 3:18 PM
Updated: May 12, 2010 3:18 PM

Myrtle Beach investigators have developed multiple persons of interest in the case of missing teen Brittanee Drexel -- going so far as to administer lie-detector tests on at least two people.

The information was developed from a tip and officials are confident this tip is leading them in a direction of finding who might be responsible, said Myrtle Beach Detective Vincent Dorio.

According to Lt. Neil Johnson with the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office, the break in the case is the result of months of lead-tracking.

And, based on information they have received, they "don't think she's still alive," Johnson said.

They are not releasing any information on the tips they received because they fear it might jeopardize the recently revitalized investigation

"At this time, there is no reason to believe these people, [the persons of interest], knew Drexel directly," said Johnson.

No arrest warrants have been served yet, he said, but lie detector tests have been conducted on two of the persons of interest.

While the new leads are positive news for the search for the missing Drexel, Johnson said the information they have compiled in recent months indicate she is no longer alive.

"The police seem really confident, so there's a lot going through my head right now," said Brittanee's mother, Dawn Drexel. "You go through a lot of emotions. Where is she? Is she OK? Is she not OK?"

Myrtle Beach Police are working with the Georgetown County Sheriff and the Charleston County Sheriff's office on this case.

Myrtle Beach Police say the Rochester, NY, teen disappeared after she was last seen in the area of 11th Avenue South and 20th Avenue South in Myrtle Beach. Drexel, who was 17 at the time of her disappearance, was in the area against the will of her mother.

Contact was lost between Drexel and her family in New York on April 25, 2009, the same night authorities say she disappeared. The last signal from her cell phone came the next night near the South Santee River.

Since she went missing, multiple search efforts for the teen have been executed from Horry County to Charleston County. While investigators have searched throughout three counties, each search effort has left police empty handed.

In a December 2009 attempt, search team consisting of approximately 70 people combed through an unidentified area of Georgetown County after a pair of knock-off Prada sunglasses were discovered near a body of water.

Those sunglasses, according to investigators, matched those worn by Drexel in a photo taken with friends in Myrtle Beach before her disappearance. Monica Caison with the CUE Center for Missing Persons says the sunglasses were located by a group of people collecting wood for a fire in December.

Members of the CUE Center, in coordination with investigators from the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office, Charleston County Sheriff's Office and the Myrtle Beach Police Department used search dogs, multiple boats, divers and a remote-controlled robotic camera to search the immediate area where the Radar sunglasses were found.

Despite using a variety of search tactics, Caison said investigators exhausted their search without any additional leads.

CrimeStoppers of the Lowcountry continues to offer a reward for any information on Drexel's whereabouts. Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of Drexel is urged to contact the agency at 1-888-CRIME-SC.

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:46

Mom "Appalled" Police Think Her Daughter is Dead

April 14, 2010 6:15 AM PrintText Brittanee Drexel Missing (Update):

Mom "Appalled" Police Think Her Daughter is Dead
By Kealan Oliver

NEW YORK (CBS) Almost a year after 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel disappeared while on spring break in Myrtle Beach, S.C, the mother of the missing girl says she's not giving up hope - and she's not at all happy with South Carolina police.

Dawn Drexel told CBS News' Crimesider Tuesday she won't stop looking for her daughter, and says she is "appalled" police are now saying they believe Brittanee is dead, even though "they don't have a body or remains." Authorities in Georgetown County, S.C. recently said prospects of finding the Rochester, N.Y. girl alive do not look good.

Police said Friday they have identified "persons of interest" in the case, and hope to find evidence that will lead to an arrest. Asked by Crimesider what she knows about those "persons of interest," Drexel said, "We weren't told much by the police at all... they told us that they also have a location of interest. They aren't saying anything about that either."

PICTURES: Where is Brittanee Drexel?

Citing the reported new leads in the case, Brittanee Drexel's family has postponed a safety awareness event in her honor, which was intended to mark the one-year anniversary of her disappearance.

The family also announced on its website, www.helpfindbrittaneedrexel.com, that they will travel to Myrtle Beach for a pre-planned march and candlelight service in honor of the anniversary. .

Brittanee Drexel hasn't been seen since leaving a Myrtle Beach hotel April 25, 2009.

Dawn Drexel said that although it's been a year, she "will never stop looking... we need to find her."

If you have information concerning this case, please contact the Myrtle Beach Police Department at (843) 918-1963.

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:50

Missing teen's mom criticizes SC investigation

Posted: Apr 15, 2010 6:53 PM
Updated: May 15, 2010 6:50 PM

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - Investigators on the Brittanee Drexel case are defending their actions after the girl's mother went on national television, critical of recent developments in the investigation.

Dawn Drexel made an appearance on CNN earlier this week saying investigators should not have said the Rochester, NY teen was likely dead, and that investigators are not giving her enough information about the case.

Georgetown County Sgt. Neil Johnson said Thursday he understands that she's a mother in distress about her daughter's year-long disappearance, but that she is not aware of the details of the case, which cannot be released at this time because it would compromise the case and possible arrests.

Both the Myrtle Beach Police and the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office have full-time investigators working only on the Brittanee Drexel case, according to authorities, and Johnson said that law enforcement officials are hoping the details they have released will lead to a break in the case.

Johnson said that since news broke Friday on the persons of interest, investigators have been flooded with tips.

Johnson confirmed Monday investigators have pinpointed three or four people of interest in the case of Brittanee Drexel, who was 17 at the time of her disappearance. Johnson said all persons of interest have been previously questioned by authorities, but could not confirm an exact time frame in which they were questioned.

Two of the suspects, according to Johnson, have been subjected to lie detector tests. Johnson, however, has refrained from commenting on the results of those tests.

"At this time, there is no reason to believe these people [the persons of interest] know Drexel directly," Johnson said.

Myrtle Beach Police Det. Vincent Dorio said the recent advancements in the case developed from a tip, and detectives are confident the information is leading them in the right direction to finding who might be responsible for her disappearance.

Drexel disappeared after she was last seen in the area of 11th Avenue South and 20th Avenue South in Myrtle Beach. Drexel was in the area against the will of her mother.

Contact was lost between Drexel and her family in New York on April 25, 2009, the same night authorities say she disappeared. The last signal from her cell phone came the next night near the South Santee River.

Since she went missing, multiple search efforts for the teen have been executed from Horry County to Charleston County. While investigators have searched throughout three counties, each search effort has left police empty handed.

CrimeStoppers of the Lowcountry continues to offer a reward for any information on Drexel's whereabouts. Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of Drexel is urged to contact the agency at 1-888-CRIME-SC.

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:50

Brittanee Drexel's mother, searcher make national television appearances

Friday, Apr. 16, 2010
Tonya Root - troot@thesunnews.com Two fundraisers are planned for next month in the Myrtle Beach area marking the two years since a New York teen was last seen in the area while on spring break.
Brittanee Drexel was last seen leaving the Blue Water Hotel on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach April 25, 2009.
“We always got to keep Brittanee’s face out there. No one knows where she is,” said Brittanee’s grandmother, Carol Wagner, who is in Myrtle Beach with her husband and Brittanee’s grandfather, Al Wagner, until April 25. “You can never give up hope on a child missing. You always got to have hope that you will find them.”

A fundraiser will be held until 10 p.m. today at Max & Erma's Restaurant off U.S. 501 at Carolina Forest Boulveard to benefit volunteers who have searched for N.Y. teen Brittanee Drexel, who was last seen in Myrtle Beach two years ago.

Brittanee Drexel was last seen on video surveillance leaving the Blue Water Hotel on Ocean Boulevard while on spring break in the area.

Dozens of searchers have scoured Myrtle Beach and wooded areas in Georgetown and Charleston counties looking for clues in the teenÂ’s disappearance.

A week ago Georgetown County Sheriff officials said they have identified three, possibly four people of interest in the case, but no arrests have been made, Lt. Neil Johnson said Friday.

The people were identified a while ago through tips that came in about the case, and Johnson said he could not provide any other details about them.

It is not clear when an arrest could be made in the case, Johnson said.

Investigators continue to work on the case and they plan to meet with Dawn Drexel when she returns to town, Johnson said.

On the national televised show, Dawn Drexel said police have not shared much information with her about the people of interest or a location of interest. She said she relies on the support of her family, friends and people involved with other missing persons cases.

There are three scenarios about what could have happened to Brittanee Drexel, her mother said on FridayÂ’s broadcast. The teen, who was 17 when she was last seen, is being held against her will, has been part of a human trafficking ring or is dead, Dawn Drexel told Lauer.

The show broadcast photos and a video taken by someone Brittanee had met while on spring break in Myrtle Beach the day before she was last seen. In it, Brittanee can be seen sitting in a hotel room, on the balcony and texting on her cell phone. The person who shot the video, which had not been released before, was not identified.

Searches began about nine months ago after officials learned DrexelÂ’s cell phone gave off its last known signal on April 26 around U.S. 17 Bypass and the South Santee River in the Georgetown County.

The first priority for the family and searchers has been to find Brittanee, Caison told Lauer. She said it is important to keep the case in public discussion so they can continue to generate tips about it.

Â“You canÂ’t take hope from the families of the missing. ThatÂ’s all they have,Â” Caison said about police saying the case was a homicide. Â“They have to prove the crime. They have to develop more information to make an arrest.Â”

Officials also are using the Internet to solicit information about the teen. An official Web site for the missing teen was launched earlier this year after officials and family members learned about several people posing as Drexel on the Internet.

Last month officials investigated a social networking account in which the person used DrexelÂ’s photo.

To mark a year since Drexel was last seen, friends and family of the teen plan a march and candlelight vigil on April 24 from the Bar Harbor Hotel to the Blue Water.

Anyone with information about Drexel's disappearance can call Myrtle Beach police at 918-1300 or go to the Web site at www.helpfindbrittaneedrexel.com.

Read more: http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/04/16/1424706/brittanee-drexels-mother-searcher.html#ixzz1W3OyeQFC

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:51

New video of missing teen is released

Posted: Apr 16, 2010 2:28 PM
Updated: Apr 22, 2010 7:24 PM

The mother of a missing New York teen made an appearance on NBC's The Today Show on Friday in an attempt to raise awareness on the case.

New video of Brittanee Drexel, who was 17 when she was last seen in Myrtle Beach on April 25, 2009, preceded Today Show host Matt Lauer's interview with Dawn Drexel, the teen's mother. The video from "Investigation Discovery" shows Brittanee the day before her disappearance in a hotel room and texting on her phone.

Investigators say the video was shot by someone Drexel met while on vacation, but they have spoken to that person and he is not a suspect.

Drexel told Lauer that investigators have not shared any information on the persons of interest in the case, nor have they told her there is a location of interest.

Drexel said she thinks one of three things happened to her daughter: "She's either being held against her will, she's been trafficked or she's not alive," she said.

Brittanee Drexel disappeared after she was last seen in the area of 11th Avenue South and 20th Avenue South in Myrtle Beach. The teen was in the area against the will of her mother.

Contact was lost between the girl and her family in New York on April 25, 2009, the same night authorities say she disappeared. The last signal from her cell phone came the next night near the South Santee River.

Since she went missing, multiple search efforts for the teen have been executed from Horry County to Charleston County. While investigators have searched throughout three counties, each search effort has left police empty handed.

Last week, investigators confirmed they had pinpointed three or four people of interest in the case. Lt. Neil Johnson of the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office said all persons of interest have been previously questioned by authorities, but could not confirm an exact time frame in which they were questioned.

Two of the suspects, according to Johnson, have been subjected to lie detector tests. Johnson, however, has refrained from commenting on the results of those tests.

Myrtle Beach Police Det. Vincent Dorio said the recent advancements in the case developed from a tip, and detectives are confident the information is leading them in the right direction to finding who might be responsible for her disappearance.

Drexel made an appearance on CNN earlier this week saying investigators are not giving her enough information about the case.

Capt. David Knipes, spokesman for the Myrtle Beach Police Department, says he feels area investigators have given the Drexel family as much pertinent information as possible without jeopardizing the case.

Drexel also said she is upset investigators said her daughter may not be alive. Johnson said Thursday he understands that she's a mother in distress about her daughter's year-long disappearance, but based on information gathered throughout the lengthy investigation, he said investigators are treating the missing teen's case as a homicide case.

"Based off of what we have right now, we have no other information that's leading us any other direction," Johnson explained. "She's right, we have not found Brittanee Drexel. We have not made an arrest. We are making that statement based off the information that we have."

Drexel appeared with Monica Caison, director of the CUE Center for Missing Persons, on the show Friday. Caison said searchers are continuing to look for Brittanee.

"You can't take hope from families of the missing, that's all they have," she said. "You just can't rip that away from them. Every day is hope, that's what gets them up, that's what keeps them moving. And it's not a false hope, it's truly a hope that they'll be found or the answer will be that day or more information will come to lead investigators one way."

Both the Myrtle Beach Police and the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office have full-time investigators working only on the case, according to authorities, and Johnson said that law enforcement officials are hoping the details they have released will lead to a break in the case.

"If that one person that associates theirself, whether it be a family member, it be a friend," said Johnson, "they need to stop and put themselves in Brittanee Drexel's family's shoes, and kind of turn the scenario around on themselves and think about if this was them, and come forward."

On Friday, April 23, Myrtle Beach Police are releasing a new deck of cards featuring Brittanee Drexel as the 2 of diamonds. Keri Drexel, a relative of Brittanee Drexel, will also attend a conference at 10 a.m. in collaboration with Brittanee Drexel's awareness campaign in Florida to reveal a new deck of playing cards featuring her niece. Drexel was chosen as the 2 of clubs to honor her lengthy love for the sport of soccer and her last known jersey number.

Family and friends will gather at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 24, for a candlelight vigil and walk from the Bar Harbor Hotel to the Bluewater Hotel.

CrimeStoppers of the Lowcountry continues to offer a reward for any information on Drexel's whereabouts. Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of Drexel is urged to contact the agency at 1-888-CRIME-SC.

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:52

Mom of NY teen missing in SC being told little

The Associated Press

Published: Friday, April 16, 2010 at 10:34 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, April 16, 2010 at 10:34 a.m.
MYRTLE BEACH — The mother of a New York teen who was last seen in South Carolina nearly a year ago says she's been told little about new information in the case.

Dawn Drexel told NBC's "Today" show on Friday she thinks police in South Carolina are trying to find her daughter. Brittanee Drexel was last seen leaving a Myrtle Beach hotel April 25, 2009.

Police told a WPDE-TV in Myrtle Beach last week they have identified several people of interest. The Rochester, N.Y., woman says that's also about all police have told her.

Police have indicated they think Brittanee is dead and Dawn Drexel said Friday the only real possibilities are that her daughter is being held against her will or that she is dead.

A vigil is planned in Myrtle Beach next week to mark the one-year anniversary of Brittanee's disappearance.

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:53

Dawn Drexel on Today Show talking of missing teen

Posted: Apr 16, 2010 4:05 PM
Updated: Apr 20, 2010 3:40 PM
By Sam Tyson - bio

The mother of a missing New York teen made an appearance on NBC's The Today Show on Friday in an attempt to raise awareness on the case.

New video of Brittanee Drexel, who was 17 when she was last seen in Myrtle Beach on April 25, 2009, preceded Today Show host Matt Lauer's interview with Dawn Drexel, the teen's mother. The video from "Investigation Discovery" shows Brittanee the day before her disappearance in a hotel room and texting on her phone.

Investigators say the video was shot by someone the girl met while on vacation, but they have spoken to that person and he is not a suspect.

Drexel told Lauer that investigators have not shared any information on the persons of interest in the case, nor have they told her there is a location of interest.

Drexel said she thinks one of three things happened to her daughter: "She's either being held against her will, she's been trafficked or she's not alive," she said.

Drexel has also scheduled Friday an appearance on Inside Edition.

Brittanee Drexel disappeared after she was last seen in the area of 11th Avenue South and 20th Avenue South in Myrtle Beach. The teen was in the area against the will of her mother.

Contact was lost between the girl and her family in New York on April 25, 2009, the same night authorities say she disappeared. The last signal from her cell phone came the next night near the South Santee River.

Since she went missing, multiple search efforts for the teen have been executed from Horry County to Charleston County. While investigators have searched throughout three counties, each search effort has left police empty handed.

Last week, investigators confirmed they had pinpointed three or four people of interest in the case. Lt. Neil Johnson of the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office said all persons of interest have been previously questioned by authorities, but could not confirm an exact time frame in which they were questioned.

Two of the suspects, according to Johnson, have been subjected to lie detector tests. Johnson, however, has refrained from commenting on the results of those tests.

Myrtle Beach Police Det. Vincent Dorio said the recent advancements in the case developed from a tip, and detectives are confident the information is leading them in the right direction to finding who might be responsible for her disappearance.

Drexel made an appearance on CNN earlier this week saying investigators are not giving her enough information about the case.

Capt. David Knipes, spokesman for the Myrtle Beach Police Department, says he feels area investigators have given the Drexel family as much pertinent information as possible without jeopardizing the case.

Drexel also said she is upset investigators said her daughter may not be alive. Johnson said Thursday he understands that she's a mother in distress about her daughter's year-long disappearance, but based on information gathered throughout the lengthy investigation, he said investigators are treating the missing teen's case as a homicide case.

"Based off of what we have right now, we have no other information that's leading us any other direction," Johnson explained. "She's right, we have not found Brittanee Drexel. We have not made an arrest. We are making that statement based off the information that we have."

Drexel appeared with Monica Caison, director of the CUE Center for Missing Persons, on the show Friday. Caison said searchers are continuing to look for Brittanee.

"You can't take hope from families of the missing, that's all they have," she said. "You just can't rip that away from them. Every day is hope, that's what gets them up, that's what keeps them moving. And it's not a false hope, it's truly a hope that they'll be found or the answer will be that day or more information will come to lead investigators one way."

Both the Myrtle Beach Police and the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office have full-time investigators working only on the case, according to authorities, and Johnson said that law enforcement officials are hoping the details they have released will lead to a break in the case.

"If that one person that associates theirself, whether it be a family member, it be a friend," said Johnson, "they need to stop and put themselves in Brittanee Drexel's family's shoes, and kind of turn the scenario around on themselves and think about if this was them, and come forward."

On Friday, April 23, Myrtle Beach Police are releasing a new deck of cards featuring Brittanee Drexel as the 2 of diamonds. Keri Drexel, a relative of Brittanee Drexel, will also attend a conference at 10 a.m. in collaboration with Brittanee Drexel's awareness campaign in Florida to reveal a new deck of playing cards featuring her niece. Drexel was chosen as the 2 of clubs to honor her lengthy love for the sport of soccer and her last known jersey number.

Family and friends will gather at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 24, for a candlelight vigil and walk from the Bar Harbor Hotel to the Bluewater Hotel.

CrimeStoppers of the Lowcountry continues to offer a reward for any information on Drexel's whereabouts. Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of Drexel is urged to contact the agency at 1-888-CRIME-SC.

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:53

Mom missing teen held agiinst her will or Dead

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:54

4/16/2010 11:49 AM
Phone video shows teen day before going missing in S.C.
By: News 14 Carolina Web Staff

The mother of missing New York teenager Brittanee Drexel made an appearance on the "Today Show” Friday morning, nearly a year after the 17-year-old vanished from a Myrtle Beach hotel.

WILMINGTON -- The mother of missing New York teenager Brittanee Drexel made an appearance on the "Today Show” Friday morning, nearly a year after the 17-year-old vanished from a Myrtle Beach hotel.

They revealed new cell phone video taken the day before Drexel disappeared. A signal from the teen's phone in Georgetown, S.C., is one of the last big clues.

Authorities have three to four persons of interest in the case.

"There's only three possibilities that I think that would have happened to Brittanee,” her mother, Dawn Drexel, said. “She is either being held against her will, she's been trafficked or she's not alive."

A march and candlelight service are planned for Drexel next Saturday in Myrtle Beach. The Wilmington-based Cue Center for Missing Persons has been working with Drexel's family to try to locate the missing teen.

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for any information on Drexel's whereabouts. Anyone with information should call 1-888-CRIME-SC.

http://charlotte.news14.com/content/local_news/624629/phone-video-shows-teen-day-before-going-missing-in-s-c-

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:54

Family still hopeful nearly year after teen's disappearance

By NATALIE SHEPHERD | News Channel 8
Published: April 16, 2010
It's been nearly a year since 18-year-old Brittanee Drexel disappeared from a spring break trip to South Carolina on April 25, 2009. The teenager traveled to Myrtle Beach with friends, without her parents knowing.

The anniversary is a difficult one for her family in Manatee County.

"There's a lot of emotions," said her aunt, Keri Drexel. "Until there's evidence, it keeps the family going and the hope alive."

Keri Drexel has been working hard during the past year to keep her niece's name and picture in the public eye. She collaborated with the Florida Association of Crime Stoppers to get Brittanee's picture on the fourth-edition deck of Florida Unsolved Homicides and Missing Persons Playing Cards.

The cards feature 52 unsolved Florida cases, and will be sold to inmates in prisons across the state.

"I feel that as many eyes as we can get on Brittanee's case, inside, behind the walls and also in the public, I think it is absolutely wonderful," said Drexel.

The cards were unveiled today at the Manatee County Jail in Palmetto. Steve Rowland, president of the Florida Association of Crime Stoppers, said prisoners can call in and give information on unsolved cases anonymously.

Crime Stoppers started producing the cards in 2007. Since then, the cards have led to the resolution of three cold cases.

"As long as there are cases out there, we want to keep doing the decks of cards," said Rowland.

Keri Drexel also said there are new developments in her niece's case. Police have identified three to four persons of interest, and there is also a location of interest in South Carolina. Investigators also released never-before-seen video of Drexel the day before she disappeared. It shows her laughing and text messaging in a hotel room in Myrtle Beach.

Brittanee's mother, Dawn Drexel, spoke with Matt Lauer on NBC's "Today" show this morning.

"There are only three possibilities that I think that could have happened to Brittanee," Drexel told Lauer. "She is either being held against her will, she's been trafficked, or she's not alive."

The Drexel family plans on traveling to Myrtle Beach next week for the one-year anniversary of Brittanee's disappearance. They will hold a march and candlelight vigil for the teen.

"We just hope and pray that something comes up soon, and that she is alive," said her grandfather, John Drexel. "Everybody is getting closer to this. And I think something is going to pop up soon, I hope."

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:55

Search for missing New York teen continues after 1 year

04/16/2010 08:58 PM
By: Julie Fertig

WILMINGTON – It's been nearly a year since New York teen Brittanee Drexel disappeared on a spring break trip in Myrtle Beach. With the case back in the national spotlight, it's been a tough week for the 17-year-old's family.

"There's only three situations that could have happened to Brittanee," her mother, Dawn Drexel, said. "One being she is being held against her will; secondly, that she was trafficked, human trafficking; or she may not be alive."

The CUE Center for Missing Persons based in Wilmington is helping law enforcement with the search efforts. One of the last clues they got was a cell signal on the missing girl's phone in Georgetown, South Carolina.

"We always have to remain objective, so we're going to continue our live search for her in the different avenues as well as, for the past year, we have been searching the woods," CUE Center founder Monica Caison said.

Last week, authorities told the family they have three or four persons of interest and also a location of interest.

"I know that they've been actively working on her case, but I think that we need to look at every aspect we can," Dawn Drexel said. "We want our daughter back. We want her back."

The family is holding a candlelight service April 24 in Myrtle Beach to mark a year since Brittanee Drexel's disappearance. The group will meet at Bar Harbor Motel at 5:30 p.m. and march to Hurl Rock Park, where the candle light vigil will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Service
For more information about the service, visit the family's website.

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for any information on Brittanee Drexel's whereabouts. If you have any information, call 1-888-CRIME-S-C.

**milly** Thu 27 Oct - 20:56

Anniversary of teen vanishing is near

Updated: Friday, 16 Apr 2010, 11:21 PM EDT
Published : Friday, 16 Apr 2010, 11:21 PM EDT

Aaron Mason
Posted by: Eli George
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WIVB) - Next week will mark the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of a Rochester-area teen.

17-year-old Brittanee Drexel was last seen leaving a hotel in Myrtle Beach on April 25, 2009. She was on Spring break with her friends. Brittanee's mother says police have told her little new information about the case. She will hold a vigil for her daughter next week.