Found Deceased SC - Brittanee Drexel, 17, Myrtle Beach, 25 April 2009 - #15

[Valen]

This is my first post on these forums and Brittanee's case is the one that got me here. It makes me sick to think that a young woman could just disappear from the streets like this never to be seen again.

It's hard for me to determine how she would have gotten into a vehicle(at least that is assumed since her phone was almost certainly traveling in one due to pings from nearby towers) because you don't think she would get into a vehicle willingly with a stranger. Since she was roughly 14 hours from home you wouldn't think she would get in with someone she knew since she was basically there alone other than her group of friends which she wasn't with that night. She may have been abducted but I just feel that would be really difficult to pull off. I know where she disappeared wasn't the busiest area but that person would still likely have to get out of their vehicle to abduct her and also subdue her as to not cause a commotion. I suppose it might be possible with a weapon but it just seems unlikely.

I also can't believe she was separated from her phone and that only the phone was taken in the vehicle or I think she would have been found rather quickly. Since she was traveling and not from the area I also can't believe that something like this could have been planned out - just that it was a spur of the moment thing by some sicko who saw a vulnerable young woman out late and alone.


I hope she is found, the circumstances just baffle me that nobody else could have seen or knows anything relating to how she disappeared.

I realize most of what I said is just rehash at this point.. but that is just how my mind works it out.

 

[Farmhand]

This is my first post on these forums and Brittanee's case is the one that got me here. It makes me sick to think that a young woman could just disappear from the streets like this never to be seen again.

It's hard for me to determine how she would have gotten into a vehicle(at least that is assumed since her phone was almost certainly traveling in one due to pings from nearby towers) because you don't think she would get into a vehicle willingly with a stranger. Since she was roughly 14 hours from home you wouldn't think she would get in with someone she knew since she was basically there alone other than her group of friends which she wasn't with that night. She may have been abducted but I just feel that would be really difficult to pull off. I know where she disappeared wasn't the busiest area but that person would still likely have to get out of their vehicle to abduct her and also subdue her as to not cause a commotion. I suppose it might be possible with a weapon but it just seems unlikely.

I also can't believe she was separated from her phone and that only the phone was taken in the vehicle or I think she would have been found rather quickly. Since she was traveling and not from the area I also can't believe that something like this could have been planned out - just that it was a spur of the moment thing by some sicko who saw a vulnerable young woman out late and alone.


I hope she is found, the circumstances just baffle me that nobody else could have seen or knows anything relating to how she disappeared.

I realize most of what I said is just rehash at this point.. but that is just how my mind works it out.

Yes you wouldn't think someone could be abducted without someone seeing something but this is what happened to Kelsey Smith in 2007 and Dru Sjodin in 2003. Both of them were abducted in store/mall parking lots by a single individual during daylight and nobody saw anything. Both were found by LE being able to track their cell phones. I think Kelsey was found within a couple of days and Dru was found a few months later when the snow melted. Both of the perps in these cases aren't physically imposing individuals. The perp in the Dru Sjodin case is actually rather small.

 

[amber1]

Thanks for your post, Valen!
I think Brittanee's case is one that represents how times have changed in our country...where you can't walk down the street by yourself due to the dangers...it is so sad.
I really do think Brittanee was taken by force, she was such a small girl, being caught off guard someone could easily pick her up in throw her in a vehicle.

 

[scorekeeper]

Was in Murrell's Inlet the first week of January and the little local restaurant had a donation and poster sitting out. I was glad to see it.

 

[justagirl247]

I just keep hoping that any day now they will get some new info and a good lead. I wish we knew more about what evidence they have found at the lodge where RM stayed , and why LE cant either charge him or rule him out does anyone know anything more on that situation?

 

[Farmhand]

I just keep hoping that any day now they will get some new info and a good lead. I wish we knew more about what evidence they have found at the lodge where RM stayed , and why LE cant either charge him or rule him out does anyone know anything more on that situation?

That is a good question. I suppose they aren't able to rule him out as a person of interest or suspect and probably don't have enough evidence in their minds to convict him. Maybe LE has let DD know what they found or what they didn't find and she is to keep quiet about it. Maybe LE needs just one more small piece of evidence to turn the tables in their favor?

 

[justagirl247]

thinking of Britt today praying there are answers soon

 

[LLLindsayy]

raying:

 

[Christina691]

Didn't her Mother say Brittanee put someone on the phone when Dawn requested to speak with a parent? When she called her on 4/25 to tell Brittanee she got the cleats or whatever, I think she said she asked to speak with a parent, and after she put whoever on the phone, she asked Brittanee what their plans were for that evening, and she told her mother they were just "going to go back to her friends house & watch movies". Brittanee thanked her Mother for letting her go to her 'friends house' & told her Mom she'd be back home the next day. By 4/25, Brittanee & her group of friends had already been arguing, and by this point she was walking alone everywhere. If she wasn't with the same group from Rochester, who did she put on the phone to be the pretend "parent" when Dawn called?

 

[Farmhand]

Didn't her Mother say Brittanee put someone on the phone when Dawn requested to speak with a parent? When she called her on 4/25 to tell Brittanee she got the cleats or whatever, I think she said she asked to speak with a parent, and after she put whoever on the phone, she asked Brittanee what their plans were for that evening, and she told her mother they were just "going to go back to her friends house & watch movies". Brittanee thanked her Mother for letting her go to her 'friends house' & told her Mom she'd be back home the next day. By 4/25, Brittanee & her group of friends had already been arguing, and by this point she was walking alone everywhere. If she wasn't with the same group from Rochester, who did she put on the phone to be the pretend "parent" when Dawn called?

I wonder if the pretend parent was male or female? I would assume it was female.

 

[amber1]

How well did her parents and family know her friends? I'm assuming this is a friend her parents may not know as well...perhaps this person was an older friend making not so good choices, influencing her to lie to her parents? (going a few states away on a trip w/ friends-that's a pretty big deal!) Maybe they did not know them for a reason...if it was one of her friends the family knew, I think the family may have rose suspicions..Just my thoughts

 

[Farmhand]

Didn't her Mother say Brittanee put someone on the phone when Dawn requested to speak with a parent? When she called her on 4/25 to tell Brittanee she got the cleats or whatever, I think she said she asked to speak with a parent, and after she put whoever on the phone, she asked Brittanee what their plans were for that evening, and she told her mother they were just "going to go back to her friends house & watch movies". Brittanee thanked her Mother for letting her go to her 'friends house' & told her Mom she'd be back home the next day. By 4/25, Brittanee & her group of friends had already been arguing, and by this point she was walking alone everywhere. If she wasn't with the same group from Rochester, who did she put on the phone to be the pretend "parent" when Dawn called?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVBMiNmpAdg



I just watched episode 1 of Disappeared (link above) and at 7:33 DD says she didn't know the people BD was traveling with which I guess could mean she knew who they were but just didn't know them very well. I don't know. At 13:38 the show reenacts the phone call which occurred on Saturday 4/25/2009 at around 2 pm according to the show. They show BD handing a phone to a male in the reenactment. It was my understanding she spent most of the day Saturday with Peter B. One must conclude that more than likely the pretend parent was Peter B or another male from his group.

 

[Christina691]

I noticed that too, the re-enactment showing a male getting on the phone. At first I thought the re-enactment showing a male may not have even had any significance, but Disappeared is normally on-point when it comes to stuff like that. My next concern: was this the same conversation between Brittanee & Dawn in which Brittanee told the younger sister she was at the beach, and they assumed she meant Charlot beach? Does this mean Dawn thought this parent was WITH them at Charlot Beach?? Since she did spend time with Peter and his friends earlier that afternoon, I figured it was most likely one of them that she put on the phone.. either that or another complete stranger she met while she was there.

On Dr. Phil, Peter says he asked Brittanee if she needed a ride back, because she had previously told him she was walking everywhere alone and he goes on to tell Dr. Phil that he "wouldn't even walk anywhere alone because the area is pretty bad". after Chad Drexel asks Peter how old Peter and his friends are, and how old Brittanee was, and then makes Peter aware of the fact he and his friends were "hanging out with a minor across state lines". Chad and Dawn both continue to question why he didn't just give her a ride if he knew the area was 'not safe' and he tells them "I'm not her babysitter. I don't know Brittanee LIKE that- she was with how many other friends?? She was at two other hotels, why am I singled out?"

First off, this is like the third or fourth time I've heard someone say Myrtle Beach isn't safe.... am I missing something?!? LE has already said that sex trafficking isn't an issue in South Carolina and that is rarely heard of- so what else is wrong? Drugs?

Second: "She was at two other hotels"- what?? He and his lawyer could have said "Two hotels", but "Two OTHER hotels"? Did she visit another friend at a different hotel location earlier that day or in the days prior to her disappearance?

 

[Strawberry Fields]

Just thinking about Brittanee today, as I have every day since she was reported missing and I started following her threads a little later. Never thought, as I'm sure no one did, that we'd still be here trying to find out what happened to this precious beautiful child who was only 17 years old at the time she went missing.

So much has been discussed and theories come and go, and hopes go up and then down, when things do not pan out. I always think to myself, if I feel so sad and frustrated and I do not personally know Brittanee, her friends or family, how bad has it been for them, especially DD and her little sister and little brother. It seems unbearable to even think what they have gone through.

I do remember wondering many times, why did those so called friends even take Brittanee with them to MB, since it has been reported many times that she was more of an acquaintance to them. It has always made me suspicious that they took her along for some reason that has never come out. One reason, I am suspicious is it seems she had no money to speak of (not sure if she even helped with expenses). Why would these older girls want her on this trip? That disappeared show makes it pretty clear that Brittanee felt like an outsider and ended up by herself the majority of her time there. What was it that made her want to go with these girls so badly as well? We know that her BF did not go. These are things that still come to mind when I try to figure out how or why she ended up there in the first place. Since no one in their 'group' is talking, guess those questions will remain a mystery, unless something else should turn up or someone decides to tell anything they know. In my mind also, even if this young girl was really just an acquaintance, I'd be talking to everyone I could to find out what happened to her, and if I was one of the older girls she rode with, I'd feel a sense of responsibility to watch out for her. Guess I am dreaming but in a perfect world she would be back with her loving family.

Sorry for rambling. We will never stop caring about you, Brittanee. We want justice for you and your family.

 

[amber1]

I also found it odd that these people would take her with them...it seems to me she wasn't very close with them..did they even notice her missing? Were they an older "cool crowd" Brittanee wanted to fit in with?
I find it odd they would want her to go, just to end up treating her with such unkindness...Disappeared mentioned Brittanee felt like an outcast because the other people were doing drugs and she did not like that stuff...well, why would they bring someone along who has no interest in doing drugs with them? In studying teens who are into drugs and other addictions, their circle of friends are usually just seen as someone to do the drugs with...take away the drugs and, well, many of those people wouldn't have even been friends with each other to start with.
I also find it odd the girl lended a pair of shorts to Brittanee only to ask for it back a short time later...there's something about this that is very odd to me, so many things don't make sense...and I'm not talking about after Brittanee disappeared, I'm talking about from the start of this trip...

 

[Farmhand]

I kind of get that feeling too that BD wanted to hang out with the older 'cool' kids. If I remember right the one girl AL was 18 and the other JO was 20. It seems to me that taking the trip to MB is something that the seniors did since none of the friends BD's age went. I don't think the girls borrowed the shorts to BD. I would guess that BD thought the girls were going to be out for the night and borrowed them. Christina691 has some photos in her album that shows JO wearing the same shirt so most likely she borrowed the shorts and the shirt. I think the other girls might have had their boyfriends with them and I am sure that made BD feel out of place along with them using drugs.

 

[lonetraveler]

I noticed that too, the re-enactment showing a male getting on the phone. At first I thought the re-enactment showing a male may not have even had any significance, but Disappeared is normally on-point when it comes to stuff like that. My next concern: was this the same conversation between Brittanee & Dawn in which Brittanee told the younger sister she was at the beach, and they assumed she meant Charlot beach? Does this mean Dawn thought this parent was WITH them at Charlot Beach?? Since she did spend time with Peter and his friends earlier that afternoon, I figured it was most likely one of them that she put on the phone.. either that or another complete stranger she met while she was there.

On Dr. Phil, Peter says he asked Brittanee if she needed a ride back, because she had previously told him she was walking everywhere alone and he goes on to tell Dr. Phil that he "wouldn't even walk anywhere alone because the area is pretty bad". after Chad Drexel asks Peter how old Peter and his friends are, and how old Brittanee was, and then makes Peter aware of the fact he and his friends were "hanging out with a minor across state lines". Chad and Dawn both continue to question why he didn't just give her a ride if he knew the area was 'not safe' and he tells them "I'm not her babysitter. I don't know Brittanee LIKE that- she was with how many other friends?? She was at two other hotels, why am I singled out?"

First off, this is like the third or fourth time I've heard someone say Myrtle Beach isn't safe.... am I missing something?!? LE has already said that sex trafficking isn't an issue in South Carolina and that is rarely heard of- so what else is wrong? Drugs?

Second: "She was at two other hotels"- what?? He and his lawyer could have said "Two hotels", but "Two OTHER hotels"? Did she visit another friend at a different hotel location earlier that day or in the days prior to her disappearance?

Some LE do not want to talk about anything that might impact tourism.
Some tell the truth.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...BarUeGXV8-QBl7g&bvm=bv.41524429,d.dmQ&cad=rja

 

[lizzybeth]

I live near Virginia Beach. While the city tries to keep the area safe it's not somewhere I would want my seventeen year old daughter hanging out at night. There are transients, runaways, drugs, night clubs, etc. I'm sure that might be what people are talking about when they say Myrtle Beach isn't safe. I haven't been there in a very long time and when I did go, I stayed at the less popular end of the beach.

Ironic, that today as I was looking at different threads I thought as much as I don't want to, I feel like giving up that we'll ever find Britt. Something made me check her thread anyway. Now I realize that I'll never give up on getting answers as to what happened to her.

 

[LLLindsayy]

It really is such a shame that it is now 2013 and we are still trying to figure out what happened to Brittanee. It has been nearly four years since this beautiful vanished and it seems like we have no more answers than we did four years ago.

I don't stop in much anymore...not because I don't think about Brittanee daily, but because I am just lost. I love reading everything everyone has to say, but I don't feel like I have anything substantial to add to the discussion. I wish I did. Even with topics that have been discussed multiple times, I see points being made that was washed over when discussed before. All of this is valuable. I really hope LE checks out some of your posts to give them ideas.

I've never met Brittanee. I don't know anyone in her family. But I do feel like I know her on some level. I have a connection to this girl that will exist, even when I have no content to contribute, forever.

Please keep talking about Britt and this case -- hopefully one of you will say something that will lead to a resolution.

<3

*p.s. I don't have time right now to scroll through the few pages I've missed, but has anyone posted the age progression picture that has been published recently? (I'm mad that she has been gone so long that this had to be done)*

 

[carbuff]

I also found it odd that these people would take her with them...it seems to me she wasn't very close with them..did they even notice her missing? Were they an older "cool crowd" Brittanee wanted to fit in with?
I find it odd they would want her to go, just to end up treating her with such unkindness...Disappeared mentioned Brittanee felt like an outcast because the other people were doing drugs and she did not like that stuff...well, why would they bring someone along who has no interest in doing drugs with them? In studying teens who are into drugs and other addictions, their circle of friends are usually just seen as someone to do the drugs with...take away the drugs and, well, many of those people wouldn't have even been friends with each other to start with.
I also find it odd the girl lended a pair of shorts to Brittanee only to ask for it back a short time later...there's something about this that is very odd to me, so many things don't make sense...and I'm not talking about after Brittanee disappeared, I'm talking about from the start of this trip...

I don't find it odd that she would want to go with them -- I find it odd that they would want her along.