BRITTANEE DREXEL - 17 yo (2009) - Rochester NY / Myrtle Beach SC

BRITTANEE MARIE DREXEL: TEEN MISSING FROM SPRING BREAK S.C.

Posted by Blink Tuesday 28 April 2009 10:30 pm

Myrtle Beach, SC– Brittanee Marie Drexel, 17, has been missing since the evening of April 25^th. Drexel was last seen, according to witnesses at the Motel she was staying in, against her Mother’s protests, at 8:15PM.




Police have named Peter Broswick, the person last seen with Brittanee, a person of interest in her disappearance. Dawn Drexel, Brittanee’s Mother did not grant her permission for the Spring Break trip, but she had maintained regular contact with the sparkling blue-eyed beauty.



Broswick has retained a local attorney and attempts to reach him for a statement have not been returned to blinkoncrime.com.

Mrs. Drexel became worried when she was unable to reach her daughter Sunday after she told her she would be returning that evening.

Dawn called a family friend in North Carolina to file a missing persons report after Brittanee did not come home on Sunday as promised. Stationed at Camp Lejeune, John Hahn, a family friend for 8 years and Marine, drove the 2.5 hours from base to S.C. to file a missing persons report at the request of Drexler.

“Then I called John Grieco back, Brittanee’s boyfriend.
He proceeded to tell me, nobody’s gone looking for her. Of the friends
she was down at Myrtle Beach with, nobody had gone looking for her. I
don’t know what kind of friends those are, but that’s not right,” Hahn
said.

Hahn went on to say Brittanee’s boyfriend, John Grieco, first informed him of Brittanee’s disappearance in the early hours of Sunday morning through a text message from Rochester. Hahn says Brittanee was staying in a room at the Bar Harbor hotel with three friends - two females and a male.

According to Hahn, Broswick left S.C for Rochester, his hometown, when he learned Police wanted to speak to him and Hahn was on his way to speak with detectives.



When Hahn arrived in Myrtle Beach, he was immediately concerned.

Hahn found all of Brittanee’s belongings still inside her hotel room, he also found Drexel’s clothes and liquor inside Broswick’s hotel room.

Broswick and friends also left behind a $100 deposit at the front desk

The assault on the web community commences, note who gives an obvious Broswick supporter a voice:



Broswick, the 20-year-old who is reportedly the last one to see Brittanee, has hired defense attorney John Parrinello.

Parrinello says his client is fully cooperating with investigators and hopes the young lady is okay.

Apparently his well wishes do not include mentioning “the young lady”, Brittanee Marie Drexel, by name.

In an interview with WHAM, Brittanee’s Mom, Dawn Drexel said:

..” Peter, we need to know what’s going on. “Brittanee
is very special to us. We need to know what is going on. We need to
know why the authorities weren’t called. We need answers and we’re not
getting them,”

Images courtesy of Klaasend

http://blinkoncrime.com/2009/04/28/britanee-marie-drexel-teen-missing-from-sc-spring-break/#more-1313

“Person of Interest” Questioned in Brittanee Drexel Case

(Webster, N.Y./Myrtle Beach, S.C.) - A young man from Webster, Peter Brozowitz, is being questioned in the disappearance of 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel of Chili in Myrtle Beach.

Brittanee's father, Chad Drexel, said local police will be talking to Brozowitz on Wednesday. He is the last known person to see Brittanee on Saturday. He has retained attorney John Parrinello. Chad Drexel said that he doesn't think Brittanee ran away; he wonders what Brozowitz might he hiding since he "lawyered up."

13WHAM’s Sean Carroll spoke with Brittanee’s mother, Dawn Drexel, in Myrtle Beach and she has a message for the young man: "Brittanee is very special to us. We need to know what is going on. We need to know why the authorities weren't called. We need answers and we're not getting them."

Dawn Drexel said about 13 people from the area are in Myrtle Beach putting up fliers and looking for her.

The Myrtle Beach Police Department has interviewed friends and others involved in the case in their continuing investigation.

They said they’ve "attempted to gather every possible piece of evidence, video, cell. or other related evidence in the case."

While Brittanee’s mother is in Myrtle Beach, her father stayed here to care for the family’s younger children.

Brittanee went to Myrtle Beach Wednesday with friends without her mother's permission. She told her mother she was at a friend's house. Her mother didn't discover the deception until the friends called to tell her that Brittanee was missing.

http://www.13wham.com/mostpopular/story/Person-of-Interest-Questioned-in-Brittanee-Drexel/5zvFR4OCL0q6etDkAADcFw.cspx

Missing Chili Teen Reported Sighted

Last Update: 12:25 pm

According to the ABC affiliate in Myrtle Beach, WPDE, missing Chili teen Brittanee Drexel may have been seen.

Myrtle Beach police searched an area Wednesday morning after someone reported seeing Drexel get off a bus there.

Around 8:35 a.m. Wednesday, maids on a county bus in Myrtle Beach reported seeing a girl fitting Drexel’s description getting off a bus on North Ocean Boulevard. This is the same area where she was last seen.

Police showed the women a picture of Drexel and they identified her as the girl on the bus.

Officers canvassed the area searching for Drexel and remain in the area completing an intensive search, but she still hasn't been found. They are going through beach accesses in the area and visiting businesses to distribute fliers with Drexel's photo.

Drexel, 17, was reported missing early Sunday while visiting the area.

13WHAM’s Sean Carroll is in Myrtle Beach investigating this and any other new information in the case. We’ll bring you latest information as it becomes available.

http://www.13wham.com/mostpopular/story/Missing-Chili-Teen-Reported-Sighted/BoaHG7LYD0eq9Gh6z2F0sA.cspx

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2009/04/28/ng.teen.missing.cnn (Teen missing)

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2009/04/29/ng.teen.mother.cnn (Mother speaks)

Police: Sighting on Bus was Not Brittanee Drexel

Last Update: 11:18 am

(Myrtle Beach, S.C.) -- Myrtle Beach Police confirmed Thursday morning that the girl spotted exiting a bus who matched the description of a missing teen from Chili was not Brittanee Drexel.

Around 8:35 a.m. Wednesday, maids on a county transit bus in Myrtle Beach reported seeing a girl fitting Drexel’s description getting off a bus on North Ocean Boulevard. This is the same area where she was last seen.

Myrtle Beach Police showed the women a picture of Drexel and they identified her as the girl on the bus. The police then conducted an intensive search of the area. They located the young woman and comfirmed she was not the missing girl.

Captain David Knipes, Myrtle Beach Police, said, "This is a transient crowd down here. It's very easy to blend in and certainly there's other people that will take her in and you don't know what's going to happen to her. So, you got to take it seriously." Drexel, 17, was reported missing early Sunday while visiting the area.

13WHAM Reporter Sean Carroll is in Myrtle Beach to bring the latest information in the case.

http://www.13wham.com/news/local/story/Police-Sighting-on-Bus-was-Not-Brittanee-Drexel/BoaHG7LYD0eq9Gh6z2F0sA.cspx

Endangered Missing

BRITTANEE DREXEL

DOB: Oct 7, 1991 Missing: Apr 25, 2009 Age Now: 17 Sex: Female Race: White Hair: Brown Eyes: Blue Height: 5'0" (152 cm) Weight: 103 lbs (47 kg) Missing From: MYRTLE BEACH SC United States

Both photos shown are of Brittanee. Her ears and nose are pierced. Brittanee has blonde highlights in her hair. She was last seen wearing a purple top, black shorts, and flip flops.

ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST) Myrtle Beach Police Department (South Carolina) 1-843-918-1000

Hope this works!

Thanks SUS

www.whec.com

Posted at: 04/28/2009 1:50 PM | WHEC.com Updated at: 04/28/2009 5:22 PM By: Kristen Ciaccia Update on missing Gates-Chili student There is new information in the case of a missing Gates-Chili student. The Monroe County Sheriff's office is now helping in the search. Seventeen-year old Brittanee Drexel was on spring break in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She was last seen Saturday night. The sheriff's office is talking with people who were in contact with Drexel and have now returned to Rochester. Dawn Drexel was handing out flyers in Myrtle Beach, hoping to find someone who knows something about her daughter. “Either someone has picked her up or she's not alive. In my heart of hearts that's how I feel because I know it's not like my daughter to do this.” Drexel says Brittanee's boyfriend, one of her good friends and her grandparents are also in Myrtle Beach helping in the search.

It has now been nine days now since a Gates-Chili High School student disappeared from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
There has been an all out search for Brittanee Drexel. And still no
sign of the 17-year-old. She was in South Carolina on spring break.
Drexel's boyfriend, a 19-year-old from Chili, believes Brittanee has
been abducted. John Grieco said, “It is not a runaway. I can tell you
that right now.”
Grieco says he's known Brittanee for two-and-a half years and she
would not runaway. “She could not drop her brother and sister, her
grandfather. She knows her grandfather has a bad heart. She would not
put her family through this.”
Grieco has been in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the past week
searching for his girlfriend. He was in Rochester when she disappeared
and is back in Rochester for a day to take care of some business and
he's headed back as soon as he can get a flight out.
Grieco has put college and his job on hold. “Even
though every instinct is telling me she's not in Myrtle anymore. It's
still a lot easier to walk the beach and hand out flyers than to sit at home and talk about it.”
Grieco was possibly the last person to communicate
with Brittanee. Grieco sent her a text and she never responded. He
broke the news to her family that she was in Myrtle Beach and missing.
“Once I talked to her friends I found out that she walked back to her hotel alone and that was the last contact I had with her and that's when I knew something was wrong.”
Grieco says about eight people, mostly family members from
Rochester, are in Myrtle Beach searching for the Gates-Chili High
School junior.
He says they hand out flyers and talk to people everyday. Grieco is
convinced Brittanee has been abducted and is no longer in Myrtle Beach.
“My gut is telling me she's out there, she's alive and somebody has her
and is doing horrible things to her.”
No matter what, Grieco says he won't give up. “Everything's been devoted to Brit, so I'm hoping this pays off.”
Grieco will be headed back to South Carolina with his father. He
says Drexel's family is coping as best as possible. He says the support
from Rochester is helping tremendously.

Family and friends are holding out
hope that a missing New York teenager is still alive and are continuing
to plan for Brittanee Drexel's prom this weekend.Carol Wagner
took a few minutes Monday to speak to a business that is making her
granddaughter's dress for the junior prom at Gates-Chili High School in
Rochester, N.Y., on Saturday."It was for a fitting appointment
for the dress," Wagner said from her hotel room in Myrtle Beach. "It's
just, if we do find her, she'll be able to go to the prom. We bought
everything for her. It's just ... you never think this would happen to
your family."

Drexel, 17, was last seen on
April 25 near the Blue Water Resort in Myrtle Beach. Several groups
spent the weekend in Georgetown County near the South Santee River,
where Drexel's cell phone last gave off a signal, police said.Police
did not receive any new leads to the girl's whereabouts on Monday,
according to Capt. David Knipes, spokesman for the Myrtle Beach Police
Department."We're still looking for her," Knipes said. "She
could be a runaway, a missing person or an abduction. We don't have a
label on it."Also Monday, two representatives from the Laura
Recovery Center for Missing Children arrived in Myrtle Beach to assist
in the search, according to Bob Walcutt, executive director. The
Texas-based group's mission statement is to "prevent abductions and
runaways and to recover missing children by fostering a Triangle of
Trust among law enforcement, community and a missing child's family."Knipes
said the police department has a "good number" of missing persons
reports that it investigates every month. But because of Drexel's
reported history with depression, the case has been handed over to
investigators.Wagner said Drexel has been dealing with
depression for about the last year because her parents are divorcing,
the family house is being sold, and the teen learned she may have to
switch high schools before her senior year."It has just been one
thing after the other," said Wagner, who came to Myrtle Beach with her
husband soon after learning of the disappearance. "Brittanee keeps it
all bottled up inside. Between the fights with her parents and school
and a boyfriend, it probably just ate her up inside."She said,
'I have to get away for a while.' We didn't know she was going to come
down here. We thought she was at a friend's house back home. ... She's
never done anything like this before."Wagner said she knew something was wrong when Drexel did not call her grandfather on his birthday, April 27."Brittanee
used to call us every night to say good night until the last year,"
Wagner said. "I went to see her three times a week. She would always
say, 'Grandma, can you take me shopping, can you take me to find a
dress.' My husband would give the last dime out of his pocket for her."Tara
Friedman, a friend, said she talked to Drexel about three to four times
a week for the past four years. Friedman said she did not know Drexel
was coming to Myrtle Beach and said she didn't see a "big change" in
Drexel's emotions in the last year."When I was her age, I was
all stressed out, too," said Friedman, 19. "It's kind of a crazy time
for a teenager. I remember going through it. I remember getting in
fights with my parents and grandparents 'cause I was so stressed."But she was still having a lot of fun and was still smiling."Drexel
has played soccer for about 10 years and is one of the top players on
her team in Rochester, Wagner said. She also was taking cosmetology
classes in her hometown, Friedman said."She is a very fun-loving girl, always smiling" Friedman said. "She is very strong-minded, very independent."Anyone
with any information about Brittanee Drexel is asked to call the
Georgetown County Sheriff's Office at 546-5102 or the Myrtle Beach
Police Department at 918-1382 or 918-1952.

The boyfriend of a
New York teenager who disappeared on spring break in Myrtle Beach said
someone knows what happened to her, but he doesn't believe the male
friends she visited there are involved.
John Grieco said his girlfriend Brittanee Drexel never told him about the
group, including Peter Broswick — whose hotel room she went to shortly
before she vanished the night of April 25.
Detectives believe Broswick may have been the last person to see 17-year-old Brittanee alive.
"She didn't make me aware of that because she was friends with them and she
knew that I didn't necessarily like the fact that she was hanging out
with a whole group of guys," Grieco told FOX News on Tuesday.
But Grieco said he doesn't think Broswick is involved in whatever happened to his girlfriend.
"I don't believe he had anything to do with Brittanee's disappearance,"
Grieco said. "I do believe there are people out there who know what
happened to her."
When asked whether Brittanee could have hurt herself or left of her own accord, Grieco said "absolutely not."
"This is not a runaway case, and she did not do anything to harm herself," he told FOX.Police released new
surveillance footage late Monday of the Rochester, N.Y., high school
junior going to the Blue Water Resort Hotel to visit Broswick and the
group of boys he was staying with along Myrtle Beach's popular Ocean
Boulevard strip.
Meanwhile, Brittanee's mother thinks her daughter could be dead after going on the spring break trip against her wishes.
Dawn Drexel told WHEC News 10 in Rochester that her daughter would never run away.
"I seriously think someone took my daughter or she may not be alive," Dawn Drexel said.
Brittanee Drexel, a junior at Gates-Chili High School, left the Bar Harbor Hotel,
where she was staying with some girl friends, at about 8 p.m. on April
25 to visit Broswick.Broswick, who is also from
Rochester, left Myrtle Beach to return home to New York about 1 a.m.
the night Brittanee was last seen, according to News Channel 15's
CarolinaLive.com.
He and several others were questioned, but were cleared as suspects, according to Brittanee's mother.
"As far as I know, they’ve done what they needed to do as far as those boys
are concerned back home," said Dawn Drexel. "They’re not persons of
interest anymore."
South Carolina authorities focused their search over the weekend on an area just south
of where the teen disappeared after pinpointing the last place her cell
phone gave off a signal.
Brittanee's cell phone signal was captured April 26, a day after police say the teen was
last seen. Myrtle Beach Capt. David Knipes told reporters the search
hasn't yielded any new clues in the case.
Drexel has said she's concerned because the teen suffers from depression. The
girl may have been upset because she and her husband are getting
divorced, according to Drexel.
Family and friends spent the past week canvassing popular beach clubs and hangouts in the resort town without any results.
Brittanee has blue eyes and shoulder-length brown hair with blond highlights.
She's 5 feet tall, weighs about 100 pounds and was last seen wearing a
multi-colored shirt, black shorts and flip-flops.
Those with any information are asked to call Myrtle Beach Police at (843) 918-1300, 1-800-CRIME-TV or 1-800-THE-LOST (843-5678).

The mother of a New York teenager who
disappeared on spring break in Myrtle Beach dismissed the theory her
daughter would have run away, and thinks someone knows something about
her location.
Dawn Drexel told FOX News she was "not really satisfied" that police cleared
Peter Broswick and other male friends whose hotel room Brittanee Drexel
went to shortly before she vanished the night of April 25.
"I'm going by what police officers are tell me and they are going by what
evidence they do have," Drexel said. "Someone may have been watching
her and may have abducted her.Brittanee, a junior at Gates-Chili High
School, left the Bar Harbor Hotel, where she was staying with some girl
friends, at about 8 p.m. on April 25 to visit Broswick.
Broswick, who is also from Rochester, left Myrtle Beach to return home to New
York about 1 a.m. the night Brittanee was last seen, according to News
Channel 15's CarolinaLive.com.
Detectives believe Broswick may have been the last person to see 17-year-old Brittanee alive.
Her boyfriend, John Grieco, thinks the male friends she visited there are involved.
"She didn't make me aware of that because she was friends with them and she
knew that I didn't necessarily like the fact that she was hanging out
with a whole group of guys," Grieco told FOX News on Tuesday.Brittanee's mother told FOX her daughter didn't have her permission to take the trip.
"She's 17," Drexel said. "She felt like she needed to get away for a little
bit. She wanted to hang out with her friends. It really didn't matter
[what I said]. Kids are not nieve, but they don't know what's out
there."
Drexel has said she's concerned because the teen suffers from depression. The girl may have been upset
because she and her husband are getting divorced, but would never
runaway. according to Drexel.
"I know my daughter and she is not like that," Dexel told FOX. "She's not that
type of person to leave her clothes behind. She is always done up and
she is not going to stay in the same clothes for five days."

Police and Crime Stopper officials
hope a monetary reward and the ability to remain anonymous will prompt
someone who knows about the disappearance of 17-year-old Brittanee
Drexel to come forward and share the information.A $1,000 reward
is being offered from Crime Stoppers of the Lowcountry for information
related to Drexel, who was last seen on April 25 near the Blue Water
Resort in Myrtle Beach, said Frank Morea, public information officer
with the organization."We offered [police] whatever help we
could give them. We can easily put that out there and we can take
anonymous tips. We don’t want to know who they are, we only want their
information and we give them a code number,’’ Morea said. "Somebody
knows something. They may be afraid to talk. They may not want to talk
or offer what they know. We offer a layer of protection that we don’t
want to know who they are. I’m hopeful that will spur someone on to
come forward.’’

No new information was available
Wednesday in the search for Drexel, which included areas in Myrtle
Beach and Georgetown County since she was last seen, Myrtle Beach
police Capt. David Knipes said. Officials welcomed the offer of a
reward and for tipsters to remain anonymous, but provide clues to
Drexel’s whereabouts, he said."If
it helps obviously it is a great thing,’’ Knipes said. "I hope that
people aren’t just motivated by money to turn in information to us. But
whatever avenues we can take to try to get this thing resolved we
will.’’Several groups along with police have searched an area of
the South Santee River in Georgetown County, but have not found
anything related to the girl, police said. A cell phone belonging to
Drexel gave off its last known signal the night of April 26 in the area
around U.S. 17 and the South Santee River, authorities said.Less
than 40 percent of rewards are claimed through the Crime Stoppers
organization, Morea said. More often the organization is used by people
who have information, but wish to remain anonymous."While the
money can be an incentive, the anonymity is more of an incentive,’’ he
said. "We get the information and it’s sent to the departments within
10 or 15 minutes of us receiving it so they can act quickly. If
somebody knows something here is an avenue to tell us and remain
anonymous.’’Anyone with information about Drexel or her
disappearance can call Crime Stoppers at 1-888-274-6372
(1-888-CRIME-SC), or log on at www.5541111.com. Anonymous text tips can
be sent by starting a new text message to CRIMES (274637), and mark the
beginning of the message with "CSL".

(CBS)




John Greico refutes many of the theories surrounding the disappearance of his girlfriend, Brittanee Drexel.
He says he doesn't think Drexel's problems at home or depression
caused the 17-year-old spring breaker to vanish nearly two weeks ago in
Myrtle Beach, S.C. Both are from Rochester, N.Y.
"That is something that I really want to get out to the nation, that she didn't run away," Greico told Early Show news anchor, Russ Mitchell, on Thursday. "This is not a runaway case, and it should not be handled like a runaway case."
And he says he still believes -- 12 days after her disappearance -- that Brittanee is alive.
"I speak for myself, my family, and her family, we miss her
terribly. And we're going to do everything in our power to bring her
home safely," Grieco said. " ... We all love her with all of our
hearts."
Grieco told CBS News Drexel was going through a lot when she
traveled to Myrtle Beach without her parents' permission: Her parents
were getting divorced, she had her own relationship issues, and her
family was losing their home.
Grieco said she needed the trip to clear her head.
Drexel told her mother she was going to stay the weekend a friend's house.
"I knew she was going," Greico said. "It was only for three days,
so I wasn't concerned -- I never thought anything could happen in three
days."
Grieco himself has taken two trips to Myrtle Beach to search for Drexel and follow leads -- many of which have now gone cold.
"I can't stand to be in Rochester without her," he said. "It is
more like a marriage. I miss her. I was going through my voicemails,
and there was one of her yelling at me, and I even miss her yelling at
me."
Grieco says something must have gone wrong, but he doesn't think suicide should even be considered.
"She definitely met with foul play," he said. "I think somebody saw
her walking and offered her a ride and she got in the car with the
wrong person."
Grieco said the police have leads that they won't discuss, so as not to ruin the investigation.
"(The police) are giving us a positive vibe, so we are hoping that
the outcome is also positive." Grieco said. "(Brittanee) is a fighter.
If anybody of going to survive this she will."
The last person known to have been with Brittanee is Peter
Broswick, a high school friend she went to visit in another hotel that
night. Police named him a "person of interest" in the case.

The search for a missing teen from chili has expanded to a South Carolina high school.
Myrtle Beach Police,
who are looking for Brittanee Drexel, were at Georgetown High School
yesterday. Georgetown is about forty miles from where Brittanee was
last seen in Myrtle Beach on April 15.
Police were asking high school students questions and they have
searched the woods and a river in that county looking for clues since
Brittanee's cell phone gave off a signal in Georgetown.
Early this morning, Matt Lauer of The Today Show
did an extensive interview with biological parents of Brittanee. This
was the first time we've heard from Drexel’s biological father, John
Kahyaoglu, who saw Brittanee about three weeks ago.
Kahyaoglu said, “Nothing that I have seen when we hung out we went
to the movies, she was in a great mood, we went out to eat, she was
making plans, she was very excited to come down to Tampa to see our
family everybody has been waiting for her so there was nothing that I
have seen.”
Brittanee's biological father re-established contact with his
daughter about a year and a half ago. He's now with Brittanee's mother
helping in the search.

Mounted horse search teams are beginning to
arrive in Georgetown County for a renewed search effort for missing
17-year-old Brittanee Drexel.[/size]The Laura
Recovery Center for Missing Children out of Texas and the CUE Center
for Missing Persons sent out alerts to volunteer horse units on
Wednesday, and they expect as many as 100 teams could be on the ground
by Saturday.The Darlington County
Sheriff's office sent its Mounted Patrol Unit with two horses, and
three officers. River View Farms out of Little River has four horses,
and two volunteers from Loris have arrived.The
searchers are scouring areas around the North Santee River community in
southern Georgetown County for any signs of Drexel. The Rochester, NY,
native was on Spring Break in Myrtle Beach when she vanished around
8:45 p.m. Saturday, April 25, after leaving the Blue Water Resort on
Ocean Boulevard. Myrtle Beach Police were able to pick up a signal that
Drexel's cell phone beamed to a tower a few hours later near the Santee
Rivers in Georgetown County. The cell phone communicated with the tower
the following day, on Sunday, but there has been no activity from it
since.That's been the strongest lead
according to detectives, and it led searchers to begin combing the area
by Tuesday of that week, but an exhaustive search by foot, on boat and
on ATVs for the better part of the week turned up nothing.The
next step will be using the horses which searchers say provides a
better viewpoint. "Right now they are best resource, and we are going
to continue utilizing them through Saturday," said Monica Caison with
the CUE center. Caison is asking for more horse patrols and asks anyone
interested in volunteering to call the CUE Center at 910-232-1687.

This doesn't sound good, if this girl was alive and well I am sure she would have contacted someone by now to let them know she was alright....I sure hope they come up with something soon.

Thanks for keeping us updated TomT...we appreciate it.

This doesn't sound good, if this girl was alive and well I am sure she would have contacted someone by now to let them know she was alright....I sure hope they come up with something soon.

Thanks for keeping us updated TomT...we appreciate it.

By Aisha Khan
WBTW Reporter

Published: May 9, 2009

Family
and friends of missing New York teen Brittanee Drexel came together
Friday night for a candle-light vigil on S.Ocean Blvd behind Bluewater
Resort.

Family members said they wanted to have the vigil in that particular
spot because that was the place where Brittanee was last seen.

Drexel’s father John John Kahyaoglu said he wasn’t sure if he was
going to attend Friday night’s vigil because the emotions were too
strong but he said he wanted to pay respect to his daughter and say a
prayer for her safe return home.

“I’m going to pray just like I’ve been doing every night, besides
what Myrtle Beach Police has been doing the great job they’ve been
doing, everybody has been praying and I’m going to continue praying,“
said Kahyaoglu.

Family, friends, several members of the community and vacationers
taking part in the vigil wore t-shirts with Brittanee’s picture whiel
handing out white candles provided by St Andrew’s Catholic Church.

Along with the candle-light vigil, Monsignor Joseph Roth of with the church offered a prayer service followed by a hymn.

Among the several dozens attending were parents with small children,
some of whom told News 13 they could not imagine the crisis Brittanee’s
parents were going through but wanted to offer their prayers.

“We have some years till our daughters are that age but we just want
to show our support and let them know that our thoughts and prayers are
with them,“ said Mike Christy who was visiting from New York with his
wife and three young daughters.

Brittannee’s mother Dawn Drexel told News 13 that the vigil was
important because it gives her and the family hope that her daughter
will return home soon.

“God does many things he’s there for you, praying has a lot to do
with bringing her back home, we need to bring her home,“ said Drexel.

“I’m not going to give up I love you I want you back,“ said Kahyaoglu.
.
Stay with News 13 for the latest developments on the search for Brittanee Drexel.

Anyone with information on the missing teen’s where abouts is asked to call Myrtle Beach police at 918-1300.

MCCLELLANVILLE — Brittanee Marie Drexel would have gone to her junior prom tonight in Rochester, N.Y. Instead,
her family held out hope Friday that searchers scouring a swath of
dense, forested wetlands in Charleston County would find some trace of
her. "I'm just really hoping Brittanee is out there," her mom
Dawn Drexel said Friday. "It's starting to wear on me. It's very
difficult. Torture. It's been horrible not to know where your kid is.
It's the most horrible feeling, it really is."Brittanee, 17, was
last seen 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. Police also are looking for a pink cell phone related to the case, according to a banner at Healing
Farm Ministries where family and searchers gathered. Her phone last
gave off a signal in the area where the search continued Friday just
north of here, family members said. A helicopter from the
Charleston County Sheriff's Office searched the area. The Myrtle Beach
Police Department continued to follow leads from around the country,
including a tip that she could have been seen at a truck stop in
Tucson, Ariz. Nothing credible has emerged since Brittanee vanished
more than a week ago during a trip to Myrtle Beach with friends. "We're
chasing a lot of ghosts," said Capt. David Knipes. Brittanee
wanted to go on the Myrtle Beach trip with friends. Her mother said no.
She went anyway but told her mother she was spending a weekend with
friends in Rochester. Her mother didn't learn the truth until a phone
call April 25 from one of the teens who went on the trip. Brittanee was
missing, her mother learned. "She didn't run away. There's no way she would hurt everybody like that," her mother said. On
Friday, law enforcement searched difficult terrain that is home to
snakes, alligators and wild hogs from 11 miles south of the North
Santee River bridge to six miles above the bridge, said Monica Caison,
founder of Community United Effort Center for Missing Persons. Two
horse teams worked the area. Cadaver dogs were on standby if needed,
she said. Brittanee's father, John Kahyaoglu, of Tampa, Fla.,
said he and Brittanee had reunited just 18 months ago. "It was love at
first sight," he said. "Now she's gone again. It breaks my heart." He
said Brittanee planned to visit him in Florida this summer. Kahyaoglu
said Brittanee made the trip with two girls and three guys, all from
Rochester. She left behind her clothes, makeup and luggage at the
Myrtle Beach hotel where she and her friends were staying when she
disappeared. Brittanee was described by family as a good student,
socially active and a soccer player. "She never wandered off.
She had people with her constantly," said Carol Wagner, her
grandmother. "It's not like her to meet someone and go with them."Brittanee's
grandfather, Al Wagner, said the situation doesn't add up. "It just
doesn't make sense. Somebody knows something that they don't want to
say," Wagner said. "I don't know how to comfort my wife and my daughter
and my niece anymore. We're not leaving until me and my wife do find
out what happened to Brittanee. Some kook might have grabbed her, I
don't know."

McClellanville, SC - The search for 17 year old Brittanee Drexel was
called off Saturday night at 7 p.m. Officials have been looking for the
missing New York teen since she disappeared from her Myrtle Beach
apartment on April 25. So far their search has turned up nothing.
It has been another day of searching and waiting.
“It is horrible because you don’t know where she is or what is going on
or if she’s hurt,” Dawn Drexel, Brittanee’s mother said.
Police on horseback, ATV’s and in the air searched the woods outside
McClellanville, but there is still no sign of Brittanee.
“My personal opinion is that she’s not in this area,” Brittanee’s
boyfriend John Grieco said. “I believe they are searching for clues to
where her stuff was last located.”
Grieco and Brittanee have dated for the past three years. He was the
last person to speak with her.
“We were mid conversation about what she was going to do that night,”
Grieco added. “I knew once I didn’t receive a response from the text
message I sent her, I knew something was up.”
Brittanee was last seen walking back to her Myrtle Beach hotel by
herself.
“I know she didn’t run away,” Drexel added. “Foul play, I don’t know,
but I hope not.”
There are more questions than answers tonight for Drexel’s family, but
for now they continue to search for answers.
Investigators say even though the search is over, they will continue to
work more than 200 new leads they have received.

Two weeks after she first went missing, the
search for Brittanee Drexel is called off in Georgetown and Charleston
Counties, and the investigation moves back to Myrtle Beach.

Authorities have been searching an area just outside if
McClellanville for the past 11 days in the area where Brittanee’s cell
phone last gave off a signal.

They’ve used helicopters, ATV teams, K-9 units and ground searchers
to make sure they left no stone unturned. While the search in that area
has been called off, Brittanee’s mother, Dawn Drexel, isn’t giving up.

“I don’t want to leave here without my daughter.”

Since learning of her daughter’s disappearance, she’s been holding on to hope that there’d be a break in the case.

“It’s horrible, it’s horrible. Because you don’t know where she is,
you don’t know what’s going on, if she’s being hurt, you don’t know.”

John Grieco, Brittanee’s boyfriend, says now is the time for people to pitch in if they have any information at all.

“I want to stress to the nation that Brittannee Drexel, Britannee
Marie Drexel, is more than a name that you read on a flyer, it’s more
than a picture that flashes across the TV screen, she’s an actual
person that people love and care about.”

Authorities are not giving up on the investigation, and are continuing to follow new leads.

Drexel was reported missing April 26, a day after police say she was
last seen after leaving a group of friends. The group had traveled from
Rochester, N.Y., to visit people in Myrtle Beach for Spring Break.

Police have pulled back on their search for Brittanee Drexel, the Gates
Chili High School junior who has been missing since her spring break in
Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Drexel, 17, disappeared April 25.Over the weekend,
police officials had slowly started shifting their investigation from
Myrtle Beach to Charleston County, about 55 miles south of Myrtle
Beach, near where her cell phone gave off its last signal. That final
signal had also led authorities to Georgetown County, about 35 miles
south of Myrtle Beach. After using canine, boat, aerial and foot
patrols, neither Drexel nor her cell phone has been found."It's
getting to the point where we don't have any more clues," said
Georgetown County Sheriff Lane Cribb. The search there was temporarily
suspended early last week.Police will continue to investigate Drexel's disappearance.While
missing persons cases are not always solved in the first 14 days,
experts say that the longer police go without clues or new information,
the graver the situation becomes."When
a person goes missing, you have to talk with relatives and see if they
have noticed a shift in behavior coming from depression," said Thomas
Lauth, who works for the National Center for Missing Adults."After that, you can't solely depend on law enforcement because they don't have the resources or large numbers of detectives to handle the case."Drexel's
family and friends have been in Myrtle Beach since her disappearance,
working with police, posting fliers and searching for the teen. Family
members say Drexel had had bouts of melancholy after hearing her
parents were going through a divorce.The family held a candlelight vigil Friday at the Bluewater Resort, the last place Drexel was seen."We just hope that she hears about everyone looking for her so she can just come back home," said Carol Wagner, Drexel's grandmother.A
total of $11,000 is now being offered for information that could help
locate Drexel. Crime Stoppers in South Carolina is offering a $1,000
reward.An additional $10,000 is being offered by the Rev. Charlie Muller of Victory Christian Church in Albany."I
just want to keep this thing going, keep it in people's minds," Muller
said, adding that no one really knows what happened to Drexel, so any
amount of information does help.Anyone
with information about Drexel is asked to call the Georgetown County
Sheriff's Office at (843) 546-5102 or the Myrtle Beach Police
Department at (843) 918-1382 or (843) 918-1952.