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

Friend and relatives of a missing New York teen spent Monday trying to enlist visiting bikers in their search for the girl.Brittanee
Drexel's family members said they wanted to take advantage of the
Harley-Davidson Cruisin' the Coast spring rally to continue to get the
word out about her disappearance, so they spent Monday passing out
fliers to bikers along Kings Highway.The action comes two days
after one group that had been helping to look for her called off its
search, after spending 11 days in the effort.
"We're trying to get fliers out because we know when they leave
here, they are going to go all over the country," said Renee Friedman,
a family friend and family spokeswoman.Individuals
have also set up benefits and candlelight vigils in Rochester, N.Y., to
raise awareness that 17-year-old Drexel is missing, Friedman said.Drexel, who is from Rochester, N.Y., was last seen April 25 during a trip to Myrtle Beach.Her family has been in the area since then."We're staying here until it's over," said Carol Wagner, Drexel's grandmother. "I'm not leaving without her."Several
groups and law enforcement agencies have been searching for her in
areas in Myrtle Beach, Georgetown County and Charleston County.The
groups and agencies include the Myrtle Beach Police Department, the
Georgetown County Sheriff's Office, the Laura Recovery Center, the
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and the Community
United Effort Center for Missing Persons, which stopped searching
Saturday evening.The Myrtle Beach Police Department is still investigating the case."We
haven't ruled anything out," Capt. David Knipes with the Myrtle Beach
Police Department said Monday, regarding whether police think Drexel
still might be in the area and whether foul play may be a factor. "We
don't have anything leading us one way or the other. We get [leads] on
a daily basis and have police follow them up."Monica Caison, of
Community United Effort, an N.C.-based organization that searches for
missing people, said the group has called off its search for Drexel to
wait for new information in hopes it leads to new search areas, Caison
said.Friedman said the family is encouraged that search groups would look into any leads.The
case has "brought as many resources to the area as it could," she said.
"Efforts people have put into the case have been exceptional."

Dawn Drexel says she wants to set the record straight-- her daughter did not run away.

"Somebody took her," she said.

After weeks of searching for her daughter Brittanee in Myrtle Beach, Dawn
Drexel has returned to Rochester to keep hope alive in her hometown.

"As you can probably tell, I'm exhausted," Drexel said. "We've been just
handing out flyers, getting Brittanee's name out there."

It's a bittersweet homecoming-- Drexel has returned to Chili for her
youngest daughter's birthday. It's the first break Drexel's taken from
the search for her daughter Britannee since she disappeared April 25th
while on spring break in Myrtle Beach.

Drexel says her two other children keep asking about the latest news on their sister-- especially her son, Camden.

"He would say, 'Mommy, did you find BritBrit yet?'" Drexel said. "And of
course I'd have to tell him 'No, but we're still looking for her.'"

For Drexel, it's heartbreaking to come home with no news about Brittanee.

"It's hard because we don't know where she is or what she's doing," Drexel
said. "The only thing we can do is plea that she'll come back to us."

She's spent weeks in Myrtle Beach, handing out flyers and talking to locals
about Brittanee. Drexel says she believes her daughter was abducted by
someone who knew she'd be alone.

"She was walking by herself a lot down there," Drexel said. "So...from Wednesday
to Saturday, she was by herself a lot. Someone was probably watching
her and..either she got in the car with somebody that she thought she knew, just from meeting them there, or they took her."

The possible Brittanee sightings, like at a convenience store eight miles south of Myrtle Beach, are tough to take.

"A lot of people they say they've seen Brittanee there," Drexel said of
the many false sightings in South Carolina. "But there's a lot of girls
that look like Brittanee."

So Drexel holds onto reminders of her daughter, like a necklace with Brittanee's picture on it.

"I had this pendant made to wear around my neck, so Brittanee's close to
my heart," she said. "It's a picture of Brittanee and it says, "Love
you Brittanee."

And she holds onto a belief that she will find her soon...and bring her home.

"You know, I'm very hopeful that she's going to come back," she said. "We still have a lot of hope."

Drexel says she's heading back to South Carolina on Sunday, where she says the
search is moving south of Myrtle Beach to Georgetown and McLellanville.

Saturday night, there will be a candlelight vigil for Brittanee at Gates-Chili High School, where Brittanee is a junior.

Chili, NY -- Friends and family of Brittanee Drexel gathered Saturday night to pray for her.

The
17-year old disappeared in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina three weeks
ago. There was vigil at Gates Chili High School where Brittanee is a
Junior.

Her mother, Dawn Drexel, is home this weekend for the
first time since her daughter disappeared. She is home for her daughter
Myrissa's birthday. Dawn Drexel will go back to Myrtle Beach tomorrow
to continue looking for Brittanee.

This weekend marks three weeks since a New York teen vanished
while on spring in Myrtle Beach. While the massive search has ended,
investigators and the girl's family press on.17-year-old Brittanee Drexel was last seen leaving the Blue Water Resort on Ocean Boulevard around 8:45 p.m. Saturday - April 25.Myrtle Beach police say her cell phone beamed a signal about an hour later to a cell tower near the North Santee community in Georgetown County. The cell sat still for the next few hours while it beamed signals before going dead. An exhaustive search of that area turned up nothing.Detectives say they continue to track leads daily. Brittanee's family will be back in town this week to continue their search.

Georgetown, SC - The search for a missing teenager could be heading to
the heart of the Lowcountry. For three weeks now, the family of
Brittanee Drexel has been on a desperate search to find her. On
Tuesday, they plan to move their effort to the Mount Pleasant
Charleston area.

At this point, the family is
basically starting from scratch, police have very little new
information and the family says the search gets harder and harder with
every passing day.

They covered 50 miles from North
Myrtle Beach into Georgetown County, a flyer in every store and a card
in everyone’s hand, hoping someone will recognize the face of
17-year-old Brittanee Drexel.

“We don’t care what car she got in, who picked her up we just want her
back, we want to bring our baby back home,” Dawn Drexel said.

The
situation is difficult and emotional for everyone involved, especially
hard for Brittanee’s grandmother Carol Wagner, who turned 59 on Monday.
The pain of a missing child is almost too much to take.

“Every
time we get a sighting we just get a cringe and we are just hoping and
praying it’s her, there has to be some closure, we have to find her,”
Brittanee’s grandmother Carol Wagner said.

This all started back on April 25, Brittanee last spotted leaving a Myrtle Beach hotel.

A
week later, the teen’s cell phone led investigators to Georgetown but a
massive search came up empty. Still, hope remains, just last week, some
though they saw Drexel at a gas station in Horry County, but that
turned into a false alarm.

“Its just breaks our heart somebody would just take her away from us and she is very close to us,” Dawn Drexel said.

As time passes, more and more friends and family join the search, each looking to find some answers to this mystery.

By Aisha Khan
WBTW Reporter

Published: May 18, 2009

Family
of Brittanee Drexel hit the area of Georgetown again today near Front
Street. Drexel’s grandmother Carol Wagner tells News 13 that they are
concentrating on the same area again because that’s where her grand
daughter’s cell phone signal was picked up more than two weeks ago.

Wagner continued by saying that the family plans to hand out flyers
and business cards with Drexel’s information to truckers coming into
and going out of the state.

Wagner also added that family and friends have so far passed out
hundreds of business cards to bikers at several stops in North Myrtle
Beach, Surfside and Murrell’s Inlet.

One Harley Davidson customer said Wagner even added information about Drexel on a biker website.

Drexel was last seen on April 25th leaving the Blue Water Hotel on Ocean Blvd.

Several search crews from Georgetown Sheriff’s office, Myrtle Beach
Police and Charleston County including Community United Effort or CUE
scoured parts of Georgetown, McClellanville and Charleston County for
eleven days before calling off the search on May 9th.

Last week Myrtle Beach Police were working off of a tip, with another possible sighting of the missing New York teenager
According to Capt. David Knipes, someone called police to report seeing
a girl matching Drexel’s description getting into a car at the
Scotchman store at the corner of Old Highway 544 and Socastee Boulevard
around 8:30 a.m.

Police investigation turned up no results.

Drexel’s family will be going back out on Tuesday to McClenllanville and Charleston County to continue with the search efforts.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Myrtle Beach Police Department at 918-1382.
Count on News 13 to keep you updated with any new developments with this story.

(Charleston, S.C.) -- The search for Brittanee Drexel has moved to Charleston, South Carolina. The teen from Chili disappeared more than three weeks ago in Myrtle Beach.As the active search is off there for now, so the family plans to take their effort further south. The
trail is running cold as any new leads or tips in the search are coming
up empty. But, her family remains determined, willing to walk the
streets for as long as it takes to find her.Drexel’s
grandmother, Carol Wagner, said, “Every time we get a sighting we just
get a cringe, we are just hoping and praying it’s her. There has to be
some closure, we have to find her.”Brittanee’s mother, Dawn Drexel, came back to South Carolina after spending the weekend home with her other two children.“It’s
hard to leave my children back home. They want me to find Brittanee
too, and it just brings tears to your eyes. Everyone back home misses
Brittanee; we just want her home safe,” she said.Brittanee was
last spotted leaving a Myrtle Beach hotel on April 25, her cell phone
signal led police to Georgetown, but a three day search ended with
nothing, the family says moving deeper into the low country could take
them one step closer to bringing her home.Police hold meetings
with the family every other day to keep them up to date but,
recently, there has been very little information.

Fundraising dinner helps the search for Brittanee Drexel
A community continues to reach out to help a Chili family find their missing teenager, nearly a month after her disappearance.

Brittanee Drexel went missing on April 25 while on spring break in Myrtle Beach,
S.C. Since then, her mother Dawn Drexel has spent weeks in South
Carolina with other family members and friends, searching for the
17-year-old.
"She's in Myrtle Beach, desperately looking for her daughter, and needs funds to continue that search," JenniferDiMaggio, Dawn Drexel's co-worker, said.
More than 200 friends and supporters of the Drexel family showed up Friday night for a fundraiser dinner.
It raised more than three thousand dollars to help the family continue looking for their daughter.
Friends and family say it's more important now than ever to keep the search alive.
"We don't want the community, we don't want anybody to forget that there's
a 17-year-old that isn't home with her parents," DiMaggio said.
Drexel is currently searching in Charleston, S.C., which is about 100 miles south of where Brittanee was last seen. "Dawn will not give up," DiMaggio said of her co-worker. "Dawn will stay down there until they find Brittanee." DiMaggio says everything-- from the food to raffle prizes-- was donated by local businesses.
Dawn Drexel's cousin, Renee Tomasso, says the outpouring of support means a lot to Brittanee's mother.
"She would probably be crying-- tears of happiness, of course," Tomasso
said. "She's very overwhelmed at the support she's getting."
It touches the rest of the family too--like Brittanee's cousin Christopher Tomasso.
"It makes me happy because they're supporting what we are trying to do for
her, trying to get her to come home," Christopher Tomasso said. "It's
kind of hard too, because I miss her, so I just want her to come home."
As the weeks turn into a month-- with still no sign of Brittanee's
whereabouts-- DiMaggio says events like these remind the community that
one of their own is still missing... and that she needs to be found.
"If we can continue to keep the word out there that Brittanee's still not
home," DiMaggio said, "and that this family still needs help, whether
it be through prayer, through monetary donation, just through thoughts...we need to continue to just keep the community updated that Brittanee's still not home."
DiMaggio says all the proceeds from the dinner will help cover the costs of the search, such as rental cars, gas, hotel rooms, and printing flyers with Brittanee's photo and information on them.

ASTROLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF DREXEL CASE

At about 8 p.m. on April 25, Brittanee left the Bar Harbor Hotel,
where she was staying with some girl friends, and headed to the nearby
Blue Resort Hotel to see friend Peter Broswick.
Surveillance camera footage captured 17-year-old Brittanee entering and leaving the Blue Resort lobby.
Hours later, at about 1 a.m., Broswick left Myrtle Beach to return
home to Rochester. Authorities there and in Myrtle Beach have
questioned him several times, but say he isn’t a suspect.
Detectives believe Broswick may have been the last person to see
Brittanee, a student at Gates-Chili High School in Rochester, alive.
Dawn Drexel has said her daughter suffers from depression and may
have been upset because she and her husband are getting divorced. But
she insists the girl would never run away.
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).
******
This is a big case in the news right now. This girl just disappeared
and there is no known reason for it, although the police seem to think
she ran off on her own. The Rochester police are not involved in the
search but the Myrtle Beach Police are doing their best to find her. I
guess because he has left Myrtle Beach and is out of their
jurisdiction, the young boy who last saw her cannot be forced to talk
to the Myrtle Beach Police. In order to force him to return there, they
have to bring charges. So remember that when you are putting your
thoughts to this case.

I have no idea what happened to this girl and I do not have any
suspects in my mind. I know the boy looks hinky and most everybody has
gone there in their minds but I am going to try to read this chart
without prejudice. So the first chart I draw up is for the time this
girl was last seen leaving the hotel. This time was on a videotape so
we can assume it’s accurate. In this chart, Scorpio is rising and
Taurus is falling. Mars is in the fifth house with Pluto in the second
house. Notice also that Venus is in the fifth, too. This shows
Brittanee and the person she is next to meet are both either
romantically involved or looking to party. The fifth house can mean
many things but we know she is on spring break and not babysitting or
at a casino. She is a minor so she is not in a bar. But I think she
wants to party and she has a bit of a thing for the boy she is next to
meet, which we know from reports is the boy who later went home early.
Either that or he has a thing for her or, ideally, they both have a
thing for each other. However this evolves, they are both connected in
the fifth, showing mutual involvement. Combine this with Pluto in the
second, with Pluto squaring both Venus and Mars and you can see that
they didn’t have any money and this was a problem. They wanted to have
fun but were really short on funds.
Uranus rules the fourth house and it is placed in an out of sign
conjunction with Venus and Mars. Uranus is in Pisces. Uranus is in
mutual reception with Neptune in the fourth, which hints that she might
have surprised him by dropping by. There is certainly something
surprising in this meeting, something unexpected. Neptune conjunct
Jupiter in the fourth house with both planets square with the Moon and
Mercury in the seventh, Brittanee may have come into something she
didn’t expect. Perhaps he had been hiding something from her, that she
came to discover in his hotel room, and it wasn’t a good thing? The co
ruler Moon in the seventh shows me that her intentions involved him
directly; she went there expressly to see him and nothing more. He was
the purpose of her visit. But there may have been a person or persons
there that she did not expect to see. I think her age was a question;
Mercury is involved in the square. Either that or there was another
young person present; perhaps even younger than Brittanee.

The next chart I see is for 9 pm. Scorpio is still rising with
Taurus falling and Venus and Mars are still in the fifth. The
conjunction between Venus and Mars just tells me over and over again
that these two came to Myrtle Beach for each other. Perhaps Brittanee’s
mother did not know about her relationship with this boy, but there was
something going on here. He is referred to as “a friend” but the charts
show a “tightness” that says more. These two planets are still square
Pluto in the second, reiterating the fact that they were short on money
and this was a problem. The Moon has slipped into the sixth, showing
that Brittanee is in some danger. Notice how the Moon is disposed of by
Venus? Again, I come back to this “friend” of hers. Did she go there
for him? It looks like she did. Did they have a plan to run off
together? Was her parents pending divorce a reason for Brittanee to
throw herself at Peter? Did she want out of her home that badly? The
Node in the third house tells me that she planned this trip for a long
time and that she had help getting there. She also had a definite plan.


Moon in the sixth house trine to Saturn in the tenth shows me that
Brittanee was depressed about something and it seemed to involve her
father. She was seeking male company and comfort so she went to see her
friend. There are also a few other factors that leap out at me. Aries
rules the fifth and Mars rules both the first and the fifth with Mars
placed in the fifth. Mercury in the seventh keeps talking about a young
child. Is there a chance that Brittanee was pregnant? Is this the
reason she went to see her friend?



At
sometime around 10 pm, Brittanee got into a car. This would be with
someone she did not know. The chart now has Sagittarius rising with
Gemini on the seventh. Jupiter is in the third house, conjoined
Neptune. Moon and Mercury are together now in the sixth. It looks more
and more like she might be pregnant and afraid and not feeling good
about it. Even if not, she is not pregnant and I am reading this wrong,
then the sixth house does show danger and fear. Mercury and the Moon
are close to the Plieades and these are seven fixed stars that show
tears and sadness. The Moon has been under the Sun’s beams this evening
and still is, although moving away over time. This shows great fear and
a troubled heart. Brittanee had loving feelings towards her friend but
the surprises this night did not turn out well. She has a heavy heart
and is troubled by hard choices. She has left in the car (Jupiter in
the third) but she is doing it for him, as shown by the Moon with
Mercury in the sixth as Mercury rules the seventh.
Let’s just say she is pregnant and she went there to tell her
friend. Let’s say he’s the father and not happy about it. Let’s say the
money problem was that he wanted her to have an abortion and the funds
were lacking. Let’s just say. Mercury, at this point, is disposed of by
Venus, which is in the fourth. Was he frightened of his parents? Or of
being a parent? These are all questions that the chart is suggesting.
And when you see that their current rulers, Jupiter and Mercury are
closely squared to each other, when they had been conjoined not but an
hour ago, you see that they have come to a disagreement over something.
Could this something be a pregnancy? Could she have wanted a family and
he did not? Again, this is just a suggestion of what the chart seems to
be saying. I may have it right and I may not. The chart never lies but
the reader can be an idiot. I am often an idiot. None the less, my next
question is: where is Brittanee going when she leaves in this car at 10
pm?

The charts have the ruler, Jupiter in the third with Neptune.
Interestingly enough, Jupiter is disposed of by Uranus in the fourth,
which in turn is in mutual reception with Neptune. They are going to
someone’s home. Brittanee is with this stranger going to someone’s
home? Strange. Neptune rules the fourth house which I find rather odd.
Is she with someone’s mother? I doubt it. Is she visiting a family? I
doubt it. But the fourth house does rule motherhood, so perhaps if we
go back to the thought that she might be pregnant, this trip she is
making is about that. Getting advice? Checking into an abortion? At
10:30 at night? This is all very weird and I am not sure what to make
of it. I will leave this part of the story to the other Astrologers who
view this blog and see if they can make sense of what is happening now.
I will say, however, that at 10:30 pm, Brittanee was alive and well.
She was in a car going to someone’s home over something. She had had a
disagreement with her friend, the person for whom she had come to
Myrtle Beach. But then at 11:30, the planets start to form new aspects
that concern me. I am watching Saturn moving along the midheaven and
predicting that when Capricorn rises, Saturn will fall into the eighth.
At that point, Pluto will be at the first house cusp. Pluto is disposed
of by Saturn, creating an aura of influence that looks dangerous and
scary to me. So I move the charts forward until I see this happen… or
not. And then, just before 12:30 am on April 26th, this configuration
falls into place. It is curious to me because this is only a half hour
before her friend Peter leaves Myrtle Beach suddenly without taking his
clothes or money. What scared the boy so bad? I think it was that
Brittanee was killed somehow. I think it was unexpected and happened
too easily. Notice in the chart for 12:30 am, a grand trine emerges
involving Saturn in Virgo, Pluto in Capricorn and the Moon in Taurus.
Don’t forget that Saturn and the Moon are the current rulers of our
subject, Brittanee Drexel.



I
hate to point fingers at people. I watch the TV news people do it every
day and most of the time, it turns out that they are right. But I still
hate to do it, even if I am right. I feel sorry for everybody in these
cases and it pains me to say bad things about people. But it looks an
awful lot like this boy knows more than he is saying. She was taken
somewhere on a ruse and after awhile, was dumped from the car. She went
with a stranger, for some purpose, which is even weirder. I have no
idea how adventurous Brittanee is, but considering her feelings for her
friend, even with their disagreement, she would do as he asked. Or
perhaps she went with him and not a stranger at all, with the dumb
Astrologer reading it wrong. Perhaps Neptune is a secret and not a
person at all. Perhaps the secret was that he was going to kill her. I
mean, stranger things have happened, have they not? She went along,
arguing with him all the way, and then he snuffed her. And dumped her.
And ran for the hills.
As always, I am going to concede that I may be wrong. Heck, even the
almighty cops are wrong some of the time. And if I am, Brittanee is
alive somewhere, doing her thing. I doubt it, but I will concede it
might be possible. So if it is, then I must implore you to look at her
picture. She is a beautiful girl. And if you see her, have any idea
what happened to her, or have any information about the night she went
missing in Myrtle Beach, then call the cops at the number given above.
And thanks for reading my blog.

Day 33: Where's Brittanee Marie Drexel?
May 27, 2009


Thirty-three days have passed, and there still has been no sign of Brittanee Marie
Drexel, a 17-year-old girl from Rochester, N.Y., who disappeared after
a spring break trip to Myrtle Beach last month.
"At this point in the investigation, we continue to devote our
utmost attention to this case in hopes of a timely conclusion," reads a
recent statement released to the "Dr. Phil" show by Myrtle Beach police. "While we have not named any persons of interest or suspects, we have not ruled anyone out. It would not be
feasible on our part to do this, because we don't know what happened."
Despite the fact that police say there have been no new leads,
Brittanee's family is not yet ready to give up. Brittanee's mother,
Dawn Drexel, along with several other friends and family members
continue to search for Brittanee in both the Myrtle Beach and
Charleston areas.
"We can't lose hope," Brittanee's grandmother, Carol Wagner, said in an interview with wmbfnews.com. "She's got to be out there somewhere. Somebody has to know where she is. I can't lose hope. She's our pride and joy."
A series of fundraisers that have been held in Brittanee's hometown
of Rochester have helped cover the search expenses. The most recent
event, a dinner held on May 22, raised more than three thousand dollars.
"Dawn will not give up," family friend, Jennifer DiMaggio, said in an interview with whec.com. "Dawn will stay down there until they find Brittanee."
Meanwhile, members of 3 View Search Services,
an Indiana-based search and recovery group, continue to digitally
enhance and filter thousands of aerial photos that were taken earlier
this month, in an effort to identify anything that looks out of place,
such as shapes that might be a body or a new dig site.
Aerial imaging has been successful in other missing person cases, including the search for 36-year-old Charles Rickey-- a man who went missing in Carmel, Ind., two years ago. In that case,
the search team knew that Rickey was wearing a blue jacket and blue
jeans, so they were able to use a computerized photo imaging system to
make the color blue in the pictures show up as red. As a result, they
were able to locate Rickey's remains in a quarry near 96th St. and the
Hazel Dell Pkwy.
It remains unknown whether the same technology can be used to locate
Brittanee; however, the fact that people are still looking should bring
some comfort to her family.

Day 33: Where's Brittanee Marie Drexel?

May 27, 2009

Excerpt: Thirty-three days have passed, and there still has been no sign of Brittanee Marie Drexel, a 17-year-old girl from Rochester, N.Y., who disappeared after a spring break trip to Myrtle Beach last month.

"At this point in the investigation, we continue to devote our utmost attention to this case in hopes of a timely conclusion," reads a recent statement released to the "Dr. Phil" show by Myrtle Beach police. "While we have not named any persons of interest or suspects, we have not ruled anyone out. It would not be feasible on our part to do this, because we don't know what happened."

Read more here: http://blogs.discovery.com/criminal_report/2009/05/missing-brittanee-drexel.html

Georgetown, SC - The family of Brittanee Drexel has spent 1000's of hours and $1000's of dollars searching for the missing 17 year old.
"We go to bed late at night and get up early in the morning an all you
do is think and think and think but you have to keep going and think
positive that she's ok," Carol Wagner Brittanee’s grandmother..
Though spirits are up, the resources are running low. Brittanee's grandparents
are collecting cash outside a Georgetown Wal-Mart, money to fund their
unwavering search.
"I don’t care how much money it takes, it's Brittanee we want back home, I
don’t care how much money it takes as long as we get her back to us,"
Wagner said.
Last seen on April 25th at a Myrtle Beach Hotel, Brittanee's family has searched high and low from the
Grand Strand to the Lowcountry. Their story touching is touching others
who give to help.
"It tears me up, it really does I love kids and it's really hard," said Wanda Buckner, a mother.
"I've seen it on the news and other channels and prayed for the family and hope she comes home,” another mother said.
While so many questions still remain the family won't stop their efforts.
"I know somebody’s got her I know somebody knows something but they're not coming forward,” Wagner told ABC
Anyone with information should contact the Myrtle Beach Police Department 843-918-1300

In five weeks of searching, there has been no sign of Brittanee
Drexel. There have been dozens of leads and sightings. None have panned out.
Brittanee’s mother, Dawn Drexel, has been in South Carolina since
the beginning. She is determined as ever, but she told News 10NBC by
phone Wednesday she’s emotionally spent.
“This is very, very difficult because you don’t know, you just don’t
know if she’s still here with us…or she’s not….But we’re trying to keep
hopeful that we can find her still,” Drexel said.
Drexel has traveled to Charleston and points in between, talking to
people, handing out flyers. This weekend, Brittanee’s story will air on
“America’s Most Wanted.” That gives Dawn Drexel hope.
“I’m trying to get her on national television and keep her face out
there so if somebody did see something or heard something, that they
would come forward.”
Drexel hopes to stay in South Carolina until she finds Brittanee,
but that may be dependent on the generosity of others. That’s what has
kept her there this long.
She says the police are still actively involved in this case. She
says some leads are coming in, they’re just not turning up anything.
She’s pinning big hopes on the “America’s Most Wanted” broadcast.
While the search continues in South Carolina, work is going on here in Rochester.
“I’m continuing at the pace that I was five weeks ago,” Brittanee’s boyfriend John Grieco said.
Grieco had to come home after weeks of searching. He’s working to
make enough money to go back. He’s also put together a major fundraiser
for June 26. It’s three parties in three locations at the Dome Arena
that he hopes will raise money and keep Brittanee’s story alive.
“If people stop searching, I’m going to continue to search for the rest of my life, honestly,” Grieco said.
Grieco’s fundraiser is called, “Fill the Dome and Bring Brittanee
Home.” Again, it’s at the Dome Arena in Henrietta on June 26. It will
feature celebrity guests from some of your favorite television shows.
Grieco says he’s looking for more sponsors and people to rent booths.
For more information or for tickets, you can call 453-0282.

Local missing teen to be
on national TV


Updated: Friday, 05 Jun 2009, 7:50 AM EDT
Published : Friday, 05 Jun 2009, 7:50 AM EDT

• Kelly Hayes
  
• Posted by Emma Orn
  

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WIVB) - A Rochester teenager missing down south will be featured on national television this weekend.

America's Most Wanted will present the case of 17-year old Brittanee Drexel on Saturday night.

Drexel was last seen on April 25 leaving a hotel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where she was on spring break with her friends.

The father of a missing Chili teenager says he felt numb watching his daughter on the TV show "America's Most Wanted".
The Brittanee Drexel case was featured on a segment this weekend.
"Not us, not our family," said Chad Drexel. "It's hard to put it in
words it's a feeling that I would never want any parent to feel."
Brittanee disappeared 6 weeks ago on Spring Break. The 17-year-old
was last seen leaving a hotel in Myrtle Beach. Surveillance video
captured Brittanee walking down the main strip. However, police say
she didn't get far. In fact, News 10NBC has learned police believe
something happened to her within 7 minutes of leaving that hotel.
Police say there are several cameras further along the route she was
walking, but Brittanee was never seen.
Chad Drexel says he no longer believes his daughter ran away.
"I just don’t see that happening I just think there might have been foul play somewhere," said Drexel.
Brittanee's mother, Dawn, was interviewed on "America’s Most Wanted".
"As the time goes on its just getting more and more heartbreaking," said Dawn Drexel.
She has been in South Carolina for over a month handing out flyers
and knocking on doors. She has only taken short breaks to come home to
see her other children. Although police have called off the search
Dawn Drexel says she will keep looking, "I’m not leaving here until I
have my daughter."

Two months since her 17-year-old daughter went missing in a South
Carolina beach town, Dawn Drexel cautiously holds on to hope. But each
day it gets harder.There
have been few leads in the disappearnce of Brittanee Drexel, 17, who
was last seen April 25 while on spring break in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Her
family and friends say they fear the worst.
(Courtesy National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)

"This is a nightmare, and you don't wake up out of it," said the
Rochester, N.Y., mother who has lived in a donated condo in Myrtle
Beach, S.C., since her daughter Brittanee disappeared April 25.
Brittanee Drexel was last seen
on a surveillance video leaving the Bluewater Resort where she had gone
on spring break with friends, against her mother's will, friends she
later left.
"I will never stop looking for my daughter," said Drexel. "So many children go missing each day. This is part of my life now. I am not going to quit."
Parents of missing children
say that the pain is excruciating, and psychologists confirm that the
loss can be even greater than when a child dies. Deciding when to give
up the search is different for each.
"For those of us who will never experience such a horrible crime, it's
hard to imagine how they get up every day, go to jobs, get their other
children ready for school," said Marsha Gilmer-Tullis, director of its
family advocacy division for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
But
Drexel has set a deadline for herself -- the end of June -- when she
will return home to her husband, from who she recently divorced, and
her two other children.
"It's been very difficult," she told ABCNews.com. "I wake up in
the morning, and I think about Brittanee. At this point, I just want
some closure. I need to know where she is -- and if she's not alive, I
need to know."
"But I am missing my other children," she said of her
12-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son, whom she talks to daily. "My
daughter Marissa says she wants her Mommy home."
The U.S. Department of Justice reports that 797,500 children
under the age of 18 were reported missing in 2008. An average of 2,185
children are reported missing each day. Most are family, not stranger,
abductions.
Coping with a missing child -- be it months or years -- is an
excruciating ordeal for families. Many couples split apart, commit
suicide or suffer physical or mental health consequences. Some turn to
drug and alcohol.
Siblings, in particular, are affected by the unresolved loss. Drexel's
daughter doesn't want to sleep in her own bed because her sister's room
empty room is next door.
"She needs to feel safe," said Drexel. "She says, 'Mommy, you need to come home.'"
At the same time, her daughter says, "You can't leave without Brittanee," said Drexel.
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Brittanee Drexel, please contact the Myrtle Beach Police Department at (843) 918-1000.

The mother of a missing Chili teenager is pointing fingers.
Brittanee Drexel has been missing for nearly two months. Her mother has
some harsh words for her daughter's friends.
Dawn Drexel is, once again, in Myrtle Beach searching for Brittanee.
However, the family is running out of time and money. Dawn Drexel
plans to return home at the end of the month.
Drexel says she is certain there are several people who know exactly
what happened to Brittanee. "Since Brittanee disappeared, I have felt
that her friends know something. I know they know something!" said
Drexel. Police interviewed the girls who went on spring break with
Brittanee, but they are not suspects.

Brittanee was last
seen leaving a hotel in Myrtle Beach. Police believe she disappeared
within 7 minutes of leaving that hotel. There were several cameras
along the route she was walking, but Brittanee never went by.
Dawn Drexel believes the most important clues could come from her
daughter's friends. "The other day I broke down you know I just can't
do this anymore," sad Drexel. " I have to keep Brittanee's name out
there, keep her face out there, somebody needs to talk."
Police have few leads in this case.

The mother of a missing teen from Rochester, N.Y has spent the weekend trying to raise money to search for her daughter. Dawn
Drexel spent Saturday and Sunday outside of a Wal-mart in Surfside
Beach collecting donations and giving bracelets to donors who gave $5
or more. The bracelets say "We love you Brittanee ''. It's been about
eight weeks since Brittanee Drexel disappeared."I need
closure,'' said Dawn Drexel, who arrived in the area Tuesday. "You have
to hope for the best, but you have to consider the worst case scenario.
It's hard to leave without knowing."
The teen from Rochester, N.Y. was last seen leaving the Blue Water
Hotel on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach on April 25. A family friend
from Camp Lejeune, N.C., reported Drexel missing around 5 a.m. April 26.The
money that was collected will go towards helping to print fliers,
hotel, gas and meal expenses for the team of people searching for
Drexel. Anyone with information is asked to call the Myrtle Beach Police Department at 918-1382 or 918-1952. Crime
Stoppers of the Lowcountry is also offering a reward for information
that leads to finding Brittanee Drexel. You can call Crime Stoppers at
1-888-274-6372 or 1-888-CRIME-SC.

It's been eight weeks since Brittanee Drexel of Chili was reported
missing in Myrtle Beach. Her mother Dawn Drexel has been in South
Carolina ever since searching for her.
Over the weekend, Drexel pointed the finger at the friends who were
with Brittanee. She thinks they know what happened to her daughter.
Reached by phone again today, Dawn repeated her theory that the friends
that Brittanee was hanging out with in Myrtle Beach have information
they are withholding from police.
Myrtle Beach Police say they have questioned all of the people that
were with Brittanee. News 10NBC is told none of them have been cleared
nor have they been charged.
Drexel is referring to the two young women Brittanee was staying
with. Allana Lippa, an 18-year-old from Rochester and Jennifer Oberer,
who is 20 and lives in Chili.
Drexel says she has no evidence of wrong doing and is basing her
theory on the way these people have behaved since Brittanee’s
disappearance.
She says not one of them has called or offered to help in any way
not even to express their sorrow. Drexel is also talking about a group
of young men Brittanee partied with. Including Webster resident Peter
Brozowitz who a month ago defended his actions on the Dr. Phil Show.
Brozowitz said, “I can't comment on her feelings, her motherly
feelings. That can be a gut instinct that she has and she's more than
entitled to have those feelings, but as of right now from a police
stand point we don't have anything that shows anybody is involved or
anybody is being deceptive to us.”
Dawn Drexel said, “Since day one, since Brittanee disappeared, I
have felt her friends know something. I know they know something.”
Reporter Lynette Adams spoke with Lippa by phone, she refused to
talk with us. Another man interviewed by police - Anthony Schimizzi –
also refused an interview. The 22-year-old said he's only going to talk
with the police and has since moved from the Rochester area.