|
Post by Admin on May 13, 2013 23:31:39 GMT
teen continue to hold out hope By PETER BERNARD | WFLA Published: October 6, 2009 BRADENTON - Bay-area relatives of a missing Rochester, N.Y., teen say her 18th birthday on Wednesday will be hard to take. Brittanee Drexel vanished on April 25 after traveling from her home with friends, against her parent's wishes, to attend spring break in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Her aunt, Keri Drexel of Bradenton, says her family will miss celebrating her birthday. "Birthdays are real big in my family and all of her friends, too, so to not have here there, it's the first time and with upcoming holidays, it's very hard," said Keri Drexel. Her aunt is working to keep her niece's name in the news, hoping Brittanee will be found alive. The recent discovery of Jaycee Dugard, who was found living in a shed after being abducted from a bus stop in 1991, brings both hope and fear to her family. "For my daughter to be tortured somewhere? I'd rather her have gone in peace," said Brittanee's father, Chad Drexel. The missing girl's aunt agrees. "It does keep hope out there, but hope that it's nothing that my niece is going through as far as being tortured," said Keri Drexel. Four full-size billboards in Myrtle Beach and Georgetown have produced some leads, but so far there is no sign of the missing teen. Security cameras at the hotel where she was staying caught a glimpse of Brittanee in the lobby. But that is the last anybody saw of her. Brittanee's mother says not knowing what happened to her, is hard to take. "You don't know if she's alive, if she's OK, if she's not alive. It's hard. Nobody knows what I'm going through," said Dawn Drexel.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 13, 2013 23:32:15 GMT
hs later, the search continues for missing NY teen Posted: Oct 06, 2009 1:00 AM GST Updated: Oct 06, 2009 1:00 AM GST MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - October marks the six-month anniversary since a New York teen vanished while on spring break in Myrtle Beach, and despite any substantial leads, the search continues for Brittanee Drexel. Wednesday marks the teens 18th birthday of Drexel, one she won't be spending alongside her friends and family in Rochester, NY. Drexel was last seen in the area of 11th Avenue South and 20th Avenue South in Myrtle Beach on April 25 after meeting up with friends from her hometown. Drexel, 17, was in Myrtle Beach on spring break, against the will of her mother. Contact was lost with Drexel and family in New York on Saturday evening, when authorities say she disappeared. Since her disappearance, a number of leads have been investigated by the Myrtle Beach Police Department and regional law enforcement agencies, but so far, all have turned into dead ends. Myrtle Beach Police suspended an active search for Drexel in June, following several weeks of no progress in the case. Investigators extended their search as far as Charleston County, along the Santee River and Coastal Reserve. Now, in the months following her disappearance, billboards spanning from Georgetown to Myrtle Beach bear Drexel's description and picture, in hopes of jogging the memory of someone who might know what happened to her. "It just keeps everything out in the open, so that she's seen everywhere. We know Brittanee's out there, and we're going to get her back," said Carol Wagner, the teen's grandmother. 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. ©2009 WMBF News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 13, 2013 23:32:53 GMT
at: 10/05/2009 9:24 AM | WHEC.com Updated at: 10/05/2009 7:23 PM By: Lynette Adams Search continues for Brittanee Drexel Brittanee DrexelHuman remains found in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina are not those of missing Chili teen Brittanee Drexel. Police in Myrtle Beach have confirmed they are the remains of a male. They were discovered five days ago in a town near Myrtle Beach. Meantime, the Drexel family is preparing to celebrate Brittanee’s 18th birthday on wednesday without her. “I'm just mentally and emotionally exhausted.” Dawn Drexel returned home this afternoon after a few intense days in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She went to tape a portion of the Maury Povich show. “I'm glad to get Brittanee's name and face back out there, so people are still looking for her.” She spent quite a bit of time going through Myrtle Beach with a psychic. At the same time she's coping with the fact that her first born will be 18 on Wednesday. They'd made lots of plans before Brittanee disappeared in Myrtle Beach April 25. She had gone there for spring break. “We had a lot of plans for her 18th birthday and she's not here, so it's very difficult.” Brittanee's father Chad Drexel also talks of exhaustion. It's the not knowing what's happened to Brittanee that's the toughest to deal with. He tells us the talk show psychic identified a car he believes Brittanee got in. Drexel says the psychic saw a group of young men in that car. “It's a high human trafficked area and for my daughter to be tortured somewhere. I would rather her have gone in peace.” As her 18th birthday approaches, the Drexels didn't think they would celebrate it without Brittanee. “Never thought I would be not without her. Especially on her 18th birthday.” They say they will never stop looking for Brittanee and they ask the community to continue to pray for her return. “You don't know if she's alive, if she's okay, if she's not alive. It's hard. Nobody knows what I'm going through. They have no idea and I hope they never have to go through what I'm going through right now.” Drexel says she will be headed back to Myrtle Beach for another organized search in about two weeks. She also plans a balloon launch in the coming days in honor of Brittanee’s 18th birthday.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 13, 2013 23:38:06 GMT
e Drexel's 18th Birthday, Missing Nearly Six Months Reported by: Sean Carroll Email: scarroll@13wham.com Last Update: 10/07 11:12 am Brittanee Drexel's 18th Birthday, Missing Nearly Six Months Gates, N.Y. -- October is a month of sad milestones for the family of Brittanee Drexel. Wednesday is Brittanee Drexel's 18th birthday, and October 25 will mark six months since the Chili teen was last seen leaving a Myrtle Beach hotel. Since then, Drexel's family has held six months of searches on land and air, of flyers and vigils, hugs and prayers, and fundraisers and friends and hope. Six months later, and on the eve of her daughter's 18th birthday, Dawn Drexel is tired, but ready to press on. "We're going to keep looking for Brittanee… We do have hope that she's still out there," Dawn Drexel said. "You still always have hope but in the back of your mind you have to think the worst." Thinking and hoping fills in the gaps of Drexel's busy days. There are more searches, more fundraisers, more flyers, and more billboards. "There's three digital billboards in Myrtle Beach, and there's a huge one down in Georgetown," Drexel said. But on Brittanee’s 18th birthday, all that gets a bit tougher for mom, and for her kid brother and sister. "It's hard looking at all her baby pictures up until now, we miss her." After celebrating Brittanee's birthday together, Drexel's family will get busy once again. They're planning a balloon launch locally in the next few weeks, and Maury Povitch is taping a feature for his show, all of which is aimed at keeping Brittanee's story, and disappearance, in the public eye. Myrtle Beach Police say they have no current plans to resume an active search for Drexel after calling that off in June. They currently have no fresh leads or clues that explain her disappearance.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 13, 2013 23:38:58 GMT
Missing teen's family celebrates her birthday Wednesday, October 07, 2009 at 1:24 p.m. 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.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 13, 2013 23:39:36 GMT
Posted at: 10/07/2009 2:25 PM | WHEC.com Private gathering to celebrate Brittanee Drexel's 18th birthday Brittanee DrexelThe parents of Brittanee Drexel are asking the community to continue to keep Brittanee in their thoughts and prayers. Today is her 18th birthday and her family is planning a private get together tonight. Her mother just returned from Myrtle Beach on Monday after taping a segment for The Maury Povich Show. She has hired a psychic to help with the investigation and says there will be another organized search in two weeks. It's been over five months since the Chili teenager disappeared in Myrtle Beach while on spring break.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 13, 2013 23:40:28 GMT
New search planned for Brittanee Drexel By Graeme Moore Wednesday, October 07, 2009 at 9:50 p.m. 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
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 13, 2013 23:41:10 GMT
New search planned for Brittanee Drexel in SC Continuous News Desk Staff Published: October 8, 2009 A new search is scheduled to take place in South Carolina for a missing teenager from New York, Brittanee Marie Drexel went missing while vacationing with friends in Myrtle Beach. She was reported missing on April 25th, and was last seen leaving the Bar Harbor Hotel on Ocean Boulevard. Monica Caison with the CUE Center for Missing Persons says search crews will be in South Carolina on Oct. 16, preparing for the search that will take place Oct. 17-18. To protect the search, Caison would not say exactly where search crews will be looking. Drexel was 17 years old when she went missing while on Spring Break from her home in Rochester, NY.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 13, 2013 23:41:47 GMT
Drexel's mom on 'Maury,' psychic consulted By Continuous News Desk Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 4:53 p.m. 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.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 13, 2013 23:42:53 GMT
Balloons for Brittanee Last Update: 10/26 10:10 am (Myrtle Beach, S.C/Rochester, N.Y)- Brittanee Drexel, 18, has been missing for six months. The Gates-Chili teen disappeared back in April after going on a spring break trip with her friends in Myrtle Beach. Last weekend, a crew of over 100 people search the area in which Drexel's cell phone last gave off a signal, but they found nothing. Saturday afternoon friends and family of the missing teen gathered at Ontario Beach Park in Charlotte to release balloons in Brittanee's honor. "It's been too long. Not a day goes by or a minute goes by that none of us think about her," Brittanee's mother Dawn Drexel said. Investigators in Myrtle Beach continue to follow leads, but the family says they have no plans to go back unless there is a break in the case.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 13, 2013 23:43:27 GMT
Search for missing teen yields no clues By Prentiss Findlay The Post and Courier Tuesday, October 20, 2009 Brittanee Drexel To offer tips To provide information on the Drexel case, call the Myrtle Beach Police Department tip line at 918-1963. A team of searchers scoured woodlands near McClellanville over the weekend seeking clues in the disappearance of Brittanee Marie Drexel but came up empty-handed. "There was nothing related to the case located," said Lt. Mark Fields of the Charleston County Sheriff's Office. Searchers were hoping to find her cell phone, clothing or anything else that would be helpful in solving the case, Fields said. Drexel, 17, of Rochester, N.Y., last was seen in Myrtle Beach in April wearing a white, black, teal and gray top, black shorts and white flip-flops. She is 4 feet, 11 inches tall, weighs 103 pounds and has blue eyes and blond hair with highlights. Her ears and nose are pierced. The searchers revisited a wooded area near Healing Farm Ministries where her cell phone gave off a signal in May, Fields said. The Sheriff's Office, the Myrtle Beach Police Department and the Centers For Missing Persons participated in the search. In all, 85 people hunted for clues to Drexel's disappearance, including 26 on horseback and five canine teams. Officials from Missouri, Florida and North Carolina participated, along with sheriff's officers from Richland, Kershaw, Darlington and Georgetown counties, Fields said. The search was a continuation of previous searches. There was no new information on Drexel's disappearance that prompted the new searches, Fields said. Reach Prentiss Findlay at 937-5711 or pfindlay@postandcourier.com.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 13, 2013 23:44:13 GMT
Search for teen picks up over weekend Rochester teen disappeared without a trace Updated: Monday, 19 Oct 2009, 8:30 AM EDT Published : Monday, 19 Oct 2009, 8:30 AM EDT * Kelly Hayes * Posted by: Emily Lenihan MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WIVB) - The search for a Rochester-area teenager picked up again in South Carolina over the weekend. More than 300 people participated on foot and horseback in the search for Brittanee Drexel. She disappeared without a trace six months ago, while on a spring break trip in myrtle beach. "I hope that we find Brittanee. Of course I hope we find her alive. But we do need some closure at this point and time for the family. It's very hard," said Brittanee's aunt, Keri Drexel. The search took place in Georgetown county, where Drexel's cell phone last gave out a signal. Copyright WIVB.com
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 13, 2013 23:45:23 GMT
No New Clues Found in Search for Brittanee Drexel Last Update: 10/18 10:36 pm South Carolina - Search crews were back on the ground Sunday, looking for clues that could help locate missing Chili teen Brittanee Drexel. Drexel was last seen leaving a hotel in Myrtle Beach while on spring break in April. At least 100 searchers, including police officers and volunteers, used cadaver dogs and ATVs to search a two county area this weekend. They searched in the area where Drexel's cell phone last gave off a signal. Crews didn't find any new clues in the search this weekend. The search was led by the CUE Center for Missing Persons.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 13, 2013 23:47:11 GMT
Brittanee Marie Drexel Top Row and Bottom Left and Center: Drexel, circa 2009; Bottom Right: Drexel on surveillance camera footage the night of her disappearance Bar Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance # Missing Since: April 25, 2009 from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina # Classification: Endangered Missing # Date Of Birth: October 7, 1991 # Age: 17 years old # Height and Weight: 5'0, 103 pounds # Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue-green eyes. Drexel has blonde highlights in her hair. Her ears and nose are pierced and she wears blue-tinted contact lenses. She frequently changes her hair's style and color. Drexel's nickname is Britt. She is of Turkish descent. # Clothing/Jewelry Description: A white, teal and gray spaghetti-strap top, black shorts and white or silver flip-flops. A photo of the top and shorts is posted below this case summary. # Medical Conditions: Drexel suffers from depression. Bar Details of Disappearance Drexel resided in Rochester, New York in 2009; she was a junior at Gates-Chili High School, where she was a star player on the soccer team. Her parents are legally separated and Drexel lived with her mother, but saw her father frequently. In April 2009, Drexel asked for her mother's permission to travel to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for spring break with her friends and longtime boyfriend. Her mother said no, they argued about it, and Drexel got permission to go to a friend's home. She went to Myrtle Beach in spite of what her mother said. Her mother was unaware of this; she thought Drexel was staying with a friend locally. They spoke several times on the telephone after she arrived in South Carolina. Drexel's mother didn't find out where her daughter really was until she was notified that Drexel had disappeared. Drexel's friends last saw her Bar Harbor Hotel in Myrtle Beach at 8:00 p.m. on April 25, 2009. Drexel walked more than a mile to the Blue Water Resort on Ocean Boulevard, where other friends were staying. Surveillance cameras there show her going into the resort, then leaving sometime after 8:30 p.m. At 9:15 p.m., she sent a text message to one of her friends saying she was going to see a friend who was staying at another hotel. She has never been heard from again. She left all her clothes behind at her hotel room. Her beige purse and pink cellular phone disappeared with her. The phone's last signal was near U.S. 17 and the Charleston County line the night Drexel went missing. Since then its battery has died. Peter Brozowitz (often referred to as "Broswick" in the media) is a person of interest in Drexel's disappearance. He is one of her New York friends and is the last person known to have seen her. He checked out of his hotel at 1:00 a.m., a few hours after he saw Drexel, and drove back to New York. He maintains his innocence in her disappearance. There were sightings of Drexel in the Myrtle Beach area in the days after her disappearance, but the reports turned out to be about a young woman who merely resembled her. Police stated there was little evidence available in Drexel's disappearance and they haven't even established that she was a crime victim, but they believe she may have been abducted. Drexel moved frequently during her childhood because her father was in the military. Her parents describe her as a very resourceful, strong-minded and independent young woman. She was upset over her parents' pending divorce, but they don't believe she ran away, as this is uncharacteristic of her and they don't think she would have left her clothes behind if she had run. Her boyfriend of three years agrees with this assessment. Drexel was studying cosmetology in high school and is very interested in fashion and wearing stylish outfits. Her case remains unsolved. Clothes Above: Drexel's clothes Bar Investigating Agency If you have any information concerning this case, please contact: Myrtle Beach Police Department 843-918-1000 Bar Source Information The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children America's Most Wanted Help Us Find Brittanee Marie Drexel Project Jason SC Now News Channel 15 Carolina Live 13 WHAM WHEC News 10 The Sun News WCIV News 4 Charleston The Wilmington Star News CBS News WMBF News Bar Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated October 26, 2009; casefile added. Charley Project Home
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 13, 2013 23:47:54 GMT
The Invisible Chaperone: Keeping Your Children Safe Tech Savvy Parents Keep Kids Safe Parents going high tech to keep kids safe By Randi Hempel Published: October 29, 2009 Back in April, a teenager from New York visited Myrtle Beach for spring break and hasn’t been seen since. 17-year old Brittane Drexel’s parents and loved ones did all they could to look for her. She was on a trip her mother had forbidden. Activity on her cell phone and ATM card stopped and Brittane has not been seen since. Some parents are taking high tech steps all in an effort to protect their child from something this tragic. It may seem like just another text message coming through on Greg Martin’s phone, but this one’s alerting him that his 15-year old daughter, Whitney, just left school. “It’s a 40 minute drive and so along the way back and forth, I can check on her, not necessarily saying she’s doing something she’s not supposed to do, but I’ve got it there just in case something happens,“ explains Martin. Martin has set zones. One is around the school. Another is around their house and a third around Whitney’s boyfriend’s house. He receives a text every time she enters or leaves each area. Martin can also create new zones in a matter of 2 to 3 minutes. “If she’s going to be traveling, like going to the grandparent’s or something like that, I can still keep track of her when she’s in Atlanta,” adds Martin. “So, you could type in ex-boyfriend’s house and have that as a no-zone and find out if she came or went from that area?” I ask. “Yeah. I can just go in, they have a nation wide map, and I can set up a new zone, just online I can set up all the zones and then I can monitor those zones from either a home computer, a laptop on Wi-Fi or my cell phone,” Martin details. And martin’s not monitoring his daughter because she’s a bad kid. “I think it’s good, not necessarily not to keep a thumb on top of your kids, I mean, I trust my kids but I can’t trust everybody else’s out there,” If Martin doesn’t know where his daughter is, he can track her phone and get directions to her location. “I’m kind of glad they didn’t have it when I was a kid. The old I’m gonna stay at so-and-so’s house and they’re saying that they’re going to stay with them and then going to a 3rd person’s house, isn’t going to wind up being able to do that any more,” he laughs. And for those who say a teen would just leave the phone to avoid being caught? “My answer to that is well, you don’t get 15-16 thousand text messages a month by leaving your phone somewhere,” he adds with another laugh. The Chaperone is priced at $9.99 per month. It’s something Martin says is well worth the money. The GPS tracking device does not work if the phone is off or if someone is on the phone being tracked.
|
|