Found Deceased SC - Brittanee Drexel, 17, Myrtle Beach, 25 April 2009 - #14

[RoseC]

i cant figure out how post link to shaw liquor store but heres name and address ,type it in goggle search it bring up a photo of store you see phone booth out on side but shaws store is on Martin Luther King Drive off hwy 41 (south morgan ave) heres addresss,,
Shaw liquor store
1002 Martin Luther King Dr
Andrews SC 29510

she called from that pay phone,if you leave from store you go west about i say 200 yards down road you hit county line road

 

[waltzingmatilda]

Just checking in for any updates.......

wm

 

[SeaNymph]

Nothing this morning or over the weekend, wm. I hope to catch the 12:00 news and if anything is there I will come back and share.

Praying for Mrs. Soles and Britt and her family too!

 

[mlatta]

I am sitting on the edge of my seat to hear more from mlatta's watercooler chats!

IIRC, there is a person in Gtown county jail since last May on charges of rape or sexual assault. The person was involved in the botched Shannon M case several years ago along with ST's brother. I think the person in Gtown jail is HR but cannot remember off the top of my head if that is correct as I am recalling all this from memory.
This person HR lived close to Shannon and ran with the so called T gang. I am thinking he's the one talking.

I wish I had time to go back to the previous thread to find the correct links but am fortunately working today.:woohoo:

I will check in from time to time. Maybe someone has the links saved and can post them for a memory refresher as mine isn''t what it used to be.:innocent:

I sure hope LE is watching the rest of these POI's movements at this time!

Hang on Britt, we are one day closer to finding you!

wm

wm

Actually you know about as much as I do now... WM, your information all seems to be correct. Certain people believe stongly that HR is the one who has given up this information...

I, personally, feel there is a major connection between the 1998 murder of Shannon McConaughey and Brittanee's disappearance.

Here is a timeline that reveals the Shannon M. story: (January 1998 - May 2001)

1) http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch98/0398/arc0304186916.shtml
"...Shannon McConaughey was last reported seen about 11 p.m. Jan. 29, leaving the Cracker Barrel restaurant on Ashley Phosphate Road..."

2) http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch98/0298/arc0219183860.shtml
"...On Friday, McConaughey's dark-blue 1984 Mercury Cougar was found burned on a remote road near McClellanville. The fire nearly destroyed the car, and investigators found only a cellular phone and some Amway notebooks that had not burned, said Berkeley County Sheriff's Capt. Butch Henerey...."

3) http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch98/0398/arc0310184640.shtml
"...For five weeks, relatives and friends of 19-year-old Shannon McConaughey anguished over her disappearance. On Monday, their worst fears were confirmed. A body found Friday in woods near Awendaw has been positively identified as that of the Berkeley County woman missing since Jan. 29..."

4) http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch01/0201/arc0209282315.shtml
"...Charged with murder are James Isaac Weston Jr., 24, of South Santee Road; Harry James Rivers, 29, of Society Road; Elijah J. Johnson, 26, of Old Germantown Road; and Randall Keith Taylor, 32, of Rainey Street in Georgetown. All four were denied bail..."

5) http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch01/0301/arc0328287296.shtml
"....One of five men charged in the 1998 murder of Shannon McConaughey told investigators she was raped and shot twice in the head after leaving a McClellanville-area bar with the suspects, a detective testified Tuesday. Suspect Elijah Johnson claimed the entire group intended to rape the 19-year-old St. Stephen woman, but the first man to attack her went "berserk" and killed her, Charleston County Sgt. David Robertson said. Robertson testified during a preliminary hearing for three of the men charged with McConaughey's murder - Randall Keith Taylor, 32, of Georgetown and McClellanville residents Harry James Rivers, 29, and James Isaac Weston Jr., 24. All three were arrested Feb. 8...."

"...The defense lawyers also raised questions about four written statements Rivers, one of the suspects, provided to deputies in 1998. Rivers first told investigators he saw McConaughey and Randall Taylor drive off together that night after asking him where they could buy drugs, Robertson testified. Rivers later said McConaughey was slumped over in the car and bleeding from her mouth and nose. He changed his story yet again before finally telling police he had been lying and knew nothing about her death, Robertson said. Taylor is accused of shooting McConaughey, and the others allegedly helped him dispose of her body and car, arrest affidavits state. Also charged in the crime are Johnson, 26, and Jacob Leon Taylor, 46, both of McClellanville...."

"....The assistant solicitor countered that only someone involved in the crime could have known the details Johnson provided, such as where the body was found, the nature of her wounds and that a red gas can was on the rear floorboard of her car. Investigators found traces of the can in the car, he said....."

6) http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch01/0201/arc0211281286.shtml
"...The fifth man accused in the 1998 murder of a St. Stephen woman was arrested Saturday aboard a tugboat in Georgia waters. The U.S. Coast Guard detained Jacob Leon Taylor, 46, of McClellanville. Charged with murder, he was being held Saturday night in Georgia, authorities said...."

7) http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch01/0501/arc0530292079.shtml
"....After nearly four months in jail, five men accused of a high- profile Lowcountry murder were set free Tuesday when the Charleston County Solicitor's Office dropped the charges, citing a lack of evidence...."

"...On Tuesday, Solicitor Ralph Hoisington and Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon said they had reviewed the case and determined there was not enough evidence to convict the men..."

"...Johnson was arrested in August 1998 on an unrelated breach of trust charge, deputies said. Deputies at the preliminary hearing said Johnson told them that when the group reached the woods, Randall Taylor suddenly appeared and shot McConaughey..."

8)http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch01/0501/arc0531291695.shtml
"....Authorities say the investigation continues, and they still think some people in the McClellanville area have information, but have not come forward, Lucas said. "We have to have cooperation from people who know about this," he said. "At this point, unless we find some more information, we are not going to be able to bring this case to trial, and we want to," he said...."

9)http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch05/1005/arc10092608321.shtml
"...Her cases ran from mundane defense and trial work to the high profile. One of her clients was Jacob Leon Taylor, one of a group of men charged with the shooting death of 19-year-old Shannon McConaughey of St. Stephen, in 1998. The charges against Taylor and some of the other defendants later were dropped for lack of evidence...."
"...Today, Thompson stands by her claim, adding that it was only the tip of the iceberg into illegal drug use by Charleston's legal community...."


I know most of this has already been read by most of you, but I saw some new members who can hopefully use these archived articles to get up to speed on this case.

RIP Shannon McConaughey

 

[waltzingmatilda]

Actually you know about as much as I do now... WM, your information all seems to be correct. Certain people believe stongly that HR is the one who has given up this information...

I, personally, feel there is a major connection between the 1998 murder of Shannon McConaughey and Brittanee's disappearance.

Here is a timeline that reveals the Shannon M. story: (January 1998 - May 2001)

1) http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch98/0398/arc0304186916.shtml
"...Shannon McConaughey was last reported seen about 11 p.m. Jan. 29, leaving the Cracker Barrel restaurant on Ashley Phosphate Road..."

2) http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch98/0298/arc0219183860.shtml
"...On Friday, McConaughey's dark-blue 1984 Mercury Cougar was found burned on a remote road near McClellanville. The fire nearly destroyed the car, and investigators found only a cellular phone and some Amway notebooks that had not burned, said Berkeley County Sheriff's Capt. Butch Henerey...."

3) http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch98/0398/arc0310184640.shtml
"...For five weeks, relatives and friends of 19-year-old Shannon McConaughey anguished over her disappearance. On Monday, their worst fears were confirmed. A body found Friday in woods near Awendaw has been positively identified as that of the Berkeley County woman missing since Jan. 29..."

4) http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch01/0201/arc0209282315.shtml
"...Charged with murder are James Isaac Weston Jr., 24, of South Santee Road; Harry James Rivers, 29, of Society Road; Elijah J. Johnson, 26, of Old Germantown Road; and Randall Keith Taylor, 32, of Rainey Street in Georgetown. All four were denied bail..."

5) http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch01/0301/arc0328287296.shtml
"....One of five men charged in the 1998 murder of Shannon McConaughey told investigators she was raped and shot twice in the head after leaving a McClellanville-area bar with the suspects, a detective testified Tuesday. Suspect Elijah Johnson claimed the entire group intended to rape the 19-year-old St. Stephen woman, but the first man to attack her went "berserk" and killed her, Charleston County Sgt. David Robertson said. Robertson testified during a preliminary hearing for three of the men charged with McConaughey's murder - Randall Keith Taylor, 32, of Georgetown and McClellanville residents Harry James Rivers, 29, and James Isaac Weston Jr., 24. All three were arrested Feb. 8...."

"...The defense lawyers also raised questions about four written statements Rivers, one of the suspects, provided to deputies in 1998. Rivers first told investigators he saw McConaughey and Randall Taylor drive off together that night after asking him where they could buy drugs, Robertson testified. Rivers later said McConaughey was slumped over in the car and bleeding from her mouth and nose. He changed his story yet again before finally telling police he had been lying and knew nothing about her death, Robertson said. Taylor is accused of shooting McConaughey, and the others allegedly helped him dispose of her body and car, arrest affidavits state. Also charged in the crime are Johnson, 26, and Jacob Leon Taylor, 46, both of McClellanville...."

"....The assistant solicitor countered that only someone involved in the crime could have known the details Johnson provided, such as where the body was found, the nature of her wounds and that a red gas can was on the rear floorboard of her car. Investigators found traces of the can in the car, he said....."

6) http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch01/0201/arc0211281286.shtml
"...The fifth man accused in the 1998 murder of a St. Stephen woman was arrested Saturday aboard a tugboat in Georgia waters. The U.S. Coast Guard detained Jacob Leon Taylor, 46, of McClellanville. Charged with murder, he was being held Saturday night in Georgia, authorities said...."

7) http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch01/0501/arc0530292079.shtml
"....After nearly four months in jail, five men accused of a high- profile Lowcountry murder were set free Tuesday when the Charleston County Solicitor's Office dropped the charges, citing a lack of evidence...."

"...On Tuesday, Solicitor Ralph Hoisington and Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon said they had reviewed the case and determined there was not enough evidence to convict the men..."

"...Johnson was arrested in August 1998 on an unrelated breach of trust charge, deputies said. Deputies at the preliminary hearing said Johnson told them that when the group reached the woods, Randall Taylor suddenly appeared and shot McConaughey..."

8)http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch01/0501/arc0531291695.shtml
"....Authorities say the investigation continues, and they still think some people in the McClellanville area have information, but have not come forward, Lucas said. "We have to have cooperation from people who know about this," he said. "At this point, unless we find some more information, we are not going to be able to bring this case to trial, and we want to," he said...."

9)http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch05/1005/arc10092608321.shtml
"...Her cases ran from mundane defense and trial work to the high profile. One of her clients was Jacob Leon Taylor, one of a group of men charged with the shooting death of 19-year-old Shannon McConaughey of St. Stephen, in 1998. The charges against Taylor and some of the other defendants later were dropped for lack of evidence...."
"...Today, Thompson stands by her claim, adding that it was only the tip of the iceberg into illegal drug use by Charleston's legal community...."


I know most of this has already been read by most of you, but I saw some new members who can hopefully use these archived articles to get up to speed on this case.

RIP Shannon McConaughey

mlatta, You ROCK:rocker:

Thanks much for bringing these links forward. It's helpful for me to revisit/reread and I know our new members are grateful too. It is very helpful for those new posters who join in the discussion to know details of our previous sleuthing from the previous threads. Believe me, I know. I have been lost a many a time when joining in late to a case!

RIP Shannon....

Where's Brittanee?
Message to perps....You may as well give up what you know right now....we will not stop searching and sleuthing until Brittanee is found! We gonna find you! Woe be unto you, evil person/people!

wm

 

[Soul125]

Thanks for the summary Mlatta. The Shannon McConaughey murder still burns me up when I read about it. I just can't believe that a group of people can get away with raping and shooting a young girl and leaving her body in the woods without being punished. That is just beyond belief. Nobody should be able to get away with such an act of violence. :maddening: This case is just as sad at times, but I still hold out hope that the guilty will be caught and punished.

 

[waltzingmatilda]

Thanks for the summary Mlatta. The Shannon McConaughey murder still burns me up when I read about it. I just can't believe that a group of people can get away with raping and shooting a young girl and leaving her body in the woods without being punished. That is just beyond belief. Nobody should be able to get away with such an act of violence. :maddening: This case is just as sad at times, but I still hold out hope that the guilty will be caught and punished.

It burns me up too Soul125! What a botched case that was! I can't imagine how Shannon's family must feel...,

And to think these poi's are possibly withholding information about Brittanee's whereabouts burns me even more.

Keeping the faith!

wm

 

[LLLindsayy]

bumps for Britt! raying:

 

[LLLindsayy]

feeling very depressed today seeing my google alerts reminding me that it has been almost two years since pretty Brittanee went missing. i hate the thought that she has been somewhere that she shouldn't be for this long.

anyways, check out a couple of the places covering upcoming fundraisers for Britt:

Group to hold fundraiser in honor of Brittanee Drexel
Posted: Mar 10, 2011 3:20 PM EST Updated: Mar 10, 2011 3:31 PM EST

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WCIV) -- A coastal organization will be hosting a fundraiser in April -- all proceeds going to The Cue Center for Missing People.

Organizers say the April 23 event at the Myrtle Beach Harley Davidson will be in honor of Brittanee Drexel -- missing from Myrtle Beach since April 25, 2009.

More at link:
http://www.abcnews4.com/Global/story.asp?S=14227473
______________________________________________________

Brittanee Drexel's family returns to MB for 2 year anniversary
Posted: Mar 10, 2011 2:22 PM EST Updated: Mar 10, 2011 3:02 PM EST

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – It's been almost two years since New York teen Brittanee Drexel went missing along the Grand Strand, and now her family has returned to Myrtle Beach.

Drexel's Grandparents, Carol and Al Wagner are in the Myrtle Beach area to get plans in place for two fundraising events in April, to mark the two year anniversary of Drexel's disappearance.

More <u>and video</u> at link:
http://www.live5news.com/Global/story.asp?S=14226971
______________________________________________________

Fundraisers to be held marking 2-year anniversary of Brittanee Drexel's disappearance
Thursday, Mar. 10, 2011

Two fundraisers are planned for next month in the Myrtle Beach area marking the two years since a New York teen was last seen in the area while on spring break.

Brittanee Drexel was last seen leaving the Blue Water Hotel on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach April 25, 2009.

&#8220;We always got to keep Brittanee&#8217;s face out there. No one knows where she is,&#8221; said Brittanee&#8217;s grandmother, Carol Wagner, who is in Myrtle Beach with her husband and Brittanee&#8217;s grandfather, Al Wagner, until April 25. &#8220;You can never give up hope on a child missing. You always got to have hope that you will find them.&#8221;

More at link:
http://www.thesunnews.com/2011/03/10/2031458/fundraisers-to-be-held-marking.html

 

[LLLindsayy]

The press surrounding Britt's upcoming two year memorial benefit is overwhelming and it's still more than a month away.

Because of the crazy amount of new outlets covering the story, I'll post the link to where you can find them all as opposed to posting them all individually:

http://interceder.net/news/brittanee-drexel

I'm hoping that as the date gets even closer, more and more news agencies will be on top of this story and hopefully word will spread to the right people -- the people who will come forward with answers that LE needs to solve this case.

Praying for Britt today.

 

[lizzybeth]

thank you LLLindsayy. We can only hope.

 

[Rochestergirl]

Bumping you back to front page news

 

[krista]

Hi Britt!! So happy to see you in the number one spot. I really hope this new discovery leads to closure for someone's family.
Even if Crystal and Britt's cases aren't in any way connected, I can't help but be happy that people are still looking in this area, that people are still stumbling across AND REPORTING suspicious findings.
Honestly, I hope and pray that Shannon, Crystal, and Britt.....and all of the others....are connected to the same person/people. I don't want to believe that this tiny little area has produced more than one group of horrible killers.

 

[Walker007]

Prayers for Brittanee that 2011 will be it.

 

[Strawberry Fields]

Thinking of Brittanee even more this week. My husband and I just got home Monday evening, having spent Saturday and Sunday nights in Myrtle Beach. We were actually on the way back from a 2 week vacation, having been in Florida, (attending the Strawberry Festival in Plant City, visiting a high school friend, and then coming back up the coast). We have never actually "entered" Myrtle Beach from the south, as we live in VA, so it struck me just how many different routes there are leading out of that beach area that I have never even considered in my whole life of summer vacationing in MB.

Well, like most of the WSers who have visited MB since Brittanee's disappearance, I was keeping an eye out for any fliers, posters, billboards, etc. I sadly saw not one. We did not, however, venture out into places like Georgetown or McClellanville, etc.

It was actually dark and cold when we went out to find a place for dinner on Saturday night. I never expected to feel as low as I did that evening. I just could not grasp the whole situation of how little Brittanee was gone in a split second and no traces of her anywhere. We only ate dinner and the "boulevard" was blocked off for some sort of celebration (either Canadian week or St Patrick's celebration or something like that) around the area of "Peaches Corner" (a wonderful "greasy spoon restaurant") and the "Gay Dolphin" (a famous gift store for anyone who is not familiar with MB) (anyone familiar with MB knows where it is). We came directly back to our hotel.

It was also surprising to me just how far the BH hotel is from the BW Resort. I had seen it discussed online and videos, etc but to drive it and get to see it first hand was eye opening in so many ways. We saw a lot of young girls (always at least in pairs fortunately) and I always found myself doing double takes to see their faces if I could. Did see some people who looked sort of "spacy" (trying to put it mildly) sort of wandering around aimlessly and that was scary for me to see. Guess maybe they have always been there, but I personally never looked at those kinds of people before, just avoided them, but with BD missing and knowing what "possibly" happened to her, it really makes you sort of leary of strangers I guess. (Of course this is all my opinion and thoughts and I felt a lot differently as the sun came up on Sunday morning, but sad too that for BD and her family and so many other missing, the sun may not ever come up.

Now praying even harder for something to break in ALL of these cases. Sorry to be so gloomy today. Would have posted earlier, but my mom was ill and we had to be in the ER with her all night Monday and just now getting to collecting my thoughts so to speak.

One last thing (sorry for the lengthy post). As we went out to dinner on Sunday night, we took a wrong turn off of Rte 501 around a bridge near where the old "Waccamaw Outlets" used to be and there is an old drawbridge and we had to turn around there. I felt a chill and was so anxious and just felt a sense of dread there until we got back onto that main road. I guess in the back of my mind I was letting myself think of how BD could have felt that dreadful night of her disappearance. There was actually a couple across the other side of the river actually standing on that bridge. Also, I tried to take special notice of how well lit or not so well lit the street was near the BWR and even my husband noticed spots where it may not be so difficult for someone to grab a young girl without being noticed. However, after all of this, I personally do feel, as we have discussed so many, many times here, either the perp was someone she knew and willingly at first went with, or it was more than one person. I just do not think it would be that easy for one individual to grab even a girl as small as Brittanee in that area without someone seeing something. Again, I apologize for this lengthy post and the sad undertones. I am at least happy to know there is so much activity and attention being brought to her case and the other girls who disappeared down there. Respectfully posted from my heart, FWIW.

 

[LLLindsayy]

Thanks for your post Strawberry. Have you looked at the Forensic Astrology Forum here on WS before? I'm still quite leery about whether or not I have faith in these things, but I do remember glancing at it once and them specifically saying something about a bridge. I do wonder what your intuition may have been telling you when you saw the old drawbridge.

 

[January.]

I'm so glad to see this thread staying alive. I really hope this year brings some kind of closure for Britt's family. I have to wonder, how her friends (and I use that term loosely) are going on living their lives right now. Do they still think about her or is she a memory they shove way to the back of their minds? Are any of them involved at all in the search/vigil efforts?

 

[Strawberry Fields]

Thanks for your post Strawberry. Have you looked at the Forensic Astrology Forum here on WS before? I'm still quite leery about whether or not I have faith in these things, but I do remember glancing at it once and them specifically saying something about a bridge. I do wonder what your intuition may have been telling you when you saw the old drawbridge.

Actually it has been a very long time since I looked over into that forum and do not remember much about it, if anything. I have never felt like I felt that evening when we were turning around. I told my husband to please get us out of there ASAP. Not sure why I felt this way as there is actually a rather nice looking subdivision with little "patio homes" very close by. But it felt terribly scary. I did tell my husband that I would never want to live that close to that bridge and really don't know why. I never really considered it an intuition, but now that you bring that up, I will look on over there on that forum.

 

[Hucklepie]

They found some skeletal remains in Charlotte, NC this morning - no word yet on whether they're male or female. My mind went to Kyle Fleischmann first, who's been missing since 2007 or 2008, but this wouldn't be far for it to be Brittanee either.

 

[kwatmac]

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/27229919/detail.html

Here is the story - the reporter in the video says that a source told them that this is not related to the Kyle Fleischmann case and states to watch the 6pm news to see why...there hasn't been an update to the new story. I am interested to hear about this source!

Looking at the distance between Charlotte and MB I doubt this is Brittanee - however, hoping maybe it is and closure can be brought to this case along with swift justice against those responsible!!