Drexel case heats up as persons of interest identified
Published Friday, April 09, 2010 - 7:25 PM


Investigators from three counties who have been working to find a missing New York teenager say they now have persons of interest in the case.

Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Neil Johnson said based on information that has been collected investigators feel Brittanee Drexel who was 17 years old when she disappeared from Myrtle Beach last year is no longer alive.

Johnson said investigators have “three and possibly four” persons of interest in the case. He said no other details about the persons of interest is being released at this time.

Johnson said there is no reason to believe the persons of interest knew Drexel directly.

He said lie detector tests have been administered to two of them.

Investigators from Horry and Charleston Counties are also involved in the case because Drexel’s last known whereabouts was at a Myrtle Beach hotel.

Signals from her cell phone were detected in the North Santee area along the Georgetown County - Charleston County border on April 26 of last year, one night after she went missing from Myrtle Beach. Several searches have been conducted in the North Santee area as well as in northern Charleston County for any evidence that may lead to Drexel.

Johnson said the case got hot in December when Georgetown County Investigator Chris Bailey received information about Drexel’s disappearance.

 

 

It was in December that searchers found a pair of sunglasses near the river in North Santee.

“Everything we know is leading to this area,” Johnson said. “At this point, based on everything we know, we feel she is not alive.”

Johnson said the evidence continues to point to southern Georgetown County as the place something may have happened to Drexel. He said that is based on the amount of text messages she sent in the days before her disappearance.

“She was constantly on the phone texting. Then it all stopped when she went missing,”he said. “It was like someone took the phone.”

He said a private investigation service from Maine has been hired to help in the case because they have a lot of resources such as cadaver dogs to assist local authorities.

When asked if having persons of interest will lead to charges in the case, Johnson said that is not currently known.

“We could make an arrest next week or next year, we just do not know” he said.

By Scott Harper

sharper@gtowntimes.com

Persons of Interest in Brittanee Drexel Case

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 — Investigators in the case of missing spring breaker Brittanee Drexel say they've developed three, possibly four, persons of interest in connection to the teen's disappearance. "The people we're looking at, I feel really good about because all of our little pieces of evidence ... they're all pointing in the same direction towards certain people," Myrtle Beach Detective Vincent Dorio said Friday. Drexel, 17 at the time of her disappearance and from Rochester, NY, vanished April 25, 2009, from Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach. In the first few days following her disappearance, investigators tracked Drexel's cell phone signals to an area near the South Santee Community in Georgetown County. Dozens of searches over the past year provided no substantial evidence, and at one point last fall, detectives described the case as becoming cold. But Georgetown County Investigator Chris Bailey says that all changed during the holidays. "I think the tip I received in the first part of December was the big turn around," Bailey said Friday afternoon during an interview. Bailey, Dorio and Charleston County Detective Rocky Burke formed a task force soon after the December discovery and have spent most of this year developing additional leads. The trio, along with an outside group, Merrill's Investigations, have concentrated their efforts in an area along the Georgetown/Charleston County line. They're describing that area as the "location of interest," and they say it's where the persons of interest live. However, detectives wouldn't provide specific details for fear of jeopardizing the investigation. Bailey said the new information has recently provided enough probable cause for search warrants and even lie detector tests that have been given to the persons of interest. "There have been some polygraphs, but again, we can't discuss that," Bailey said. "But we're real comfortable with our (persons of interest.)" The persons of interest, Bailey said, know what happened to Drexel. "They're suspected of being present with Brittanee, knowing her whereabouts or possible whereabouts," Bailey said. The investigators, while confident in their persons of interest, say they still need the final clue to establish that a crime occurred. "We could use that one person -- or that one piece of evidence -- that comes forward and ties everything together to make a solid arrest which leads to a solid conviction," Dorio, the Myrtle Beach detective said. When asked whether they thought if Drexel is still alive, both Dorio and Bailey said no. "Things that we are hearing, and I'm speaking for myself, leads to believe that she is not," Bailey said. "In the beginning, it was a missing persons case, but everything we've looked at, I'm confident foul play was involved, and this is probably going to be a homicide investigation," added Dorio. When reached Friday afternoon and asked about the new developments, Brittanee's mother, Dawn Drexel, said she was reeling from all sorts of emotion. Dawn said it she could be close to finding closure based on the news, but "are you ready to hear what you're about to hear?" she asked. She said it's tough adjusting to a possible turn of events, "knowing it is going to be a whole different story." "I may have to accept I'm never going to see my daughter again." Investigators ask that anyone with information call their tipline at the Georgetown County Sheriffs Office. The number is 843-436-6058, and you can remain anonymous.

https://wach.com/news/local/police-have-persons-of-interest-in-brittanee-drexel-case

https://wpde.com/news/local/a-year-in-review-the-brittanee-drexel-case