Found Deceased SC - Brittanee Drexel, 17, Myrtle Beach, 25 April 2009 - #16

[cherrydocs]

Fairly new to websleuths and so have been looking in on this case also. It seems more likely that someone took the opportunity of her being alone, walking some distance, to pick her up. Being from SC, I remember walking that area at her age, 30 years ago even, and having guys (any age) trying to pick a girl up with promise of drugs and a good time, even when walking with friends. Pretty much, girls with no guys along are going to have someone try to get them to go with them walking that blvd. I also remember at her age, being in a frame of mind at times that I would take chances that I would not generally take. An opportunist would have spotted her vulnerable state easily. A girl walking alone there for anytime at all is likley to have someone attempt to coax her into the car.

I think this is something that people are overlooking. They don't believe brittanee would of jumped into a car willingly with a stranger. I was very stupid when I was that age. If I had been her and was having a ****** time I would have wanted to make the most of it so if a good looking boy drove by in a nice car I would have jumped in even if I didn't know him. Its definitely a possibility that's how Ted Bundy lured his victims. I honestly think she ignorantly jumped into a car with the wrong people. The question isn't so much what happened as it is who did it?

 

[reedus23]

The cell phone records still is taken from the Disappeared episode. The cell tower addresses I put on a map using Google Earth. The response of 'I'm going to call your mom' occurred at 10 pm. You can see from the location of the cell towers the phone is headed south.

You're right. No time to dawdle in Surfside. The ping in Surfside and on Firehouse St. are just over 25 minutes apart, about the same length of time it takes to drive that distance. So the unaccounted for time occurred further south. Thanks Farmhand.

 

[reedus23]

I think this is something that people are overlooking. They don't believe brittanee would of jumped into a car willingly with a stranger. I was very stupid when I was that age. If I had been her and was having a ****** time I would have wanted to make the most of it so if a good looking boy drove by in a nice car I would have jumped in even if I didn't know him. Its definitely a possibility that's how Ted Bundy lured his victims. I honestly think she ignorantly jumped into a car with the wrong people. The question isn't so much what happened as it is who did it?

True. She did go into some guys hotel room that she didn't know after all.

 

[Vinny]

True. She did go into some guys hotel room that she didn't know after all.

Yea she was upset with her "friends" and probably feeling lonely. In that kind of mental state you become more vulnerable.

When I look at that street on Google maps it's hard to imagine someone just being snatched up there randomly without a sign of struggle, a scream etc. Then of course there's the phone. How does one person snatch someone up, put them in a vehicle in a way that they'd be restrained and drive off? Just trying to come up with ways this could've been a solo abduction and none of it adds up for me, not with that phone on for so long.

I'd think she was restrained after getting into the vehicle. One keeping her under control while the other drives. In that scenario they wouldn't have time to think about the phone if it was tucked away in her purse or something. Just trying to brainstorm some possible scenarios.

 

[reedus23]

Yea she was upset with her "friends" and probably feeling lonely. In that kind of mental state you become more vulnerable.

When I look at that street on Google maps it's hard to imagine someone just being snatched up there randomly without a sign of struggle, a scream etc. Then of course there's the phone. How does one person snatch someone up, put them in a vehicle in a way that they'd be restrained and drive off? Just trying to come up with ways this could've been a solo abduction and none of it adds up for me, not with that phone on for so long.

I'd think she was restrained after getting into the vehicle. One keeping her under control while the other drives. In that scenario they wouldn't have time to think about the phone if it was tucked away in her purse or something. Just trying to brainstorm some possible scenarios.

I don't know if any restraining was necessary. If I swung at 50% I'd bet it would knock someone that petite out. Unconscious there is no need to restrain, at least until the perp gets to an area of "safety". That is why I don't rule out the possibility of a stranger abduction. It would have absolutely been a crime of opportunity. Just the right girl at just the right place at just the right time when there was a gap in traffic. I'd bet one punch knocking her out and getting her in the car would take just seconds and there'd be no fight, no struggle, no chance to scream. I hate to talk like that but I just think being abducted by a stranger unfortunately is a lot easier than we might like to think.

 

[Vinny]

I don't know if any restraining was necessary. If I swung at 50% I'd bet it would knock someone that petite out. Unconscious there is no need to restrain, at least until the perp gets to an area of "safety". That is why I don't rule out the possibility of a stranger abduction. It would have absolutely been a crime of opportunity. Just the right girl at just the right place at just the right time when there was a gap in traffic. I'd bet one punch knocking her out and getting her in the car would take just seconds and there'd be no fight, no struggle, no chance to scream. I hate to talk like that but I just think being abducted by a stranger unfortunately is a lot easier than we might like to think.

Perhaps the perp pulled into a parking lot ahead of her and waited for her to pass by and she was ambushed. If he pulled her into the back seat it's possible that she could've been tied up almost right away. There also could've been enough time for the perp to drive to another location to do this as the best guess of her being abducted around 9:00 leaves time in between with the first ping being at 9:27 which is about a 15 minute drive from that area.

Of course BD didn't seem like she was hanging out with people of good character, so who knows what kind of unwanted attention she may have brought upon herself during her stay up there. It's a busy place at that time of year from what I understand. Someone coaxing her into a vehicle and driving off is a very possible scenario as well.

I know people have also brought up the possibility of sex trafficking but I'd have to say I find that scenario the most unlikely. All my opinion of course.

 

[reedus23]

Perhaps the perp pulled into a parking lot ahead of her and waited for her to pass by and she was ambushed. If he pulled her into the back seat it's possible that she could've been tied up almost right away. There also could've been enough time for the perp to drive to another location to do this as the best guess of her being abducted around 9:00 leaves time in between with the first ping being at 9:27 which is about a 15 minute drive from that area.

Of course BD didn't seem like she was hanging out with people of good character, so who knows what kind of unwanted attention she may have brought upon herself during her stay up there. It's a busy place at that time of year from what I understand. Someone coaxing her into a vehicle and driving off is a very possible scenario as well.

I know people have also brought up the possibility of sex trafficking but I'd have to say I find that scenario the most unlikely. All my opinion of course.

All good points. I noticed plenty of parking lots and lots where someone could park so that they are obscured for the most part for street traffic. Some with blind corner as one walks up the street as well.

The other thing that got my attention is that, if her last text was at 8:58 and her phone pinged in Surfside at 8:27, that's 29 minutes for a 15 minute drive roughly. That's an additional 10 minutes unaccounted far somewhere between MB and Surfside. Maybe traffic can account for why it took that much longer. Maybe quickly getting out of the immediate area (parking lot) and restraining her at that point.

I agree with you about the sex trafficking angle. It's raised in nearly every missing persons case and I suppose it's a possibility in nearly every case but it seems to rarely be the case in the those cases that are solved.

 

[CanManEh]

she was not forceablly taken off that street in broad daylight there are so many people walking someone would have seen something .Someone she and we can argue about what KNEW means but someone she KNEW offered her a ride ...

 

[mmiles1003]

she was not forceablly taken off that street in broad daylight there are so many people walking someone would have seen something .Someone she and we can argue about what KNEW means but someone she KNEW offered her a ride ...

I agree with this, in the sense that she was not forcibly taken. I think that someone drove up next to her & offered her a ride. As others have said, she was probably feeling down about how awful the trip was going because she was feeling left out. The fact that she went to a boys hotel room that she didnt know at all leaves me to assume she'd also accept a ride from someone she didnt know. Unfortuntely, I feel like it all escalated quickly from that point. Someone saw her at the wrong place at the wrong time & took advantage of a young & beautiful girl, IMO.

 

[VeryVeritas]

I agree with this, in the sense that she was not forcibly taken. I think that someone drove up next to her & offered her a ride. As others have said, she was probably feeling down about how awful the trip was going because she was feeling left out. The fact that she went to a boys hotel room that she didnt know at all leaves me to assume she'd also accept a ride from someone she didnt know. Unfortuntely, I feel like it all escalated quickly from that point. Someone saw her at the wrong place at the wrong time & took advantage of a young & beautiful girl, IMO.

The problem with this scenario is that she was already 2/3 of the way back to her hotel AND was on a mission to return the shorts. (else she might have stayed with the other boys longer!)

The part that does make sense is that there is a strong chance that if she got into the vehicle voluntarily that she knew (somehow) the perp. I strongly feel it was someone connected to her roommates, second to that someone she met down there in another way.

Next most likely is that someone at either hotel that she knew was directly involved.

Finally, total stranger / stalker abduction remains possible but the least likely statistically.

Maybe that isn't the last possibility either. There have been bad cops, and people posing as LE too. Would she get in the car with them? Most people would. Who dare question if someone is a real cop? This is yet another plausible reason why she would get into a vehicle so close to her hotel when she was purposefully irritated and intent on returning the shorts.

 

[VeryVeritas]

The cell phone records still is taken from the Disappeared episode. The cell tower addresses I put on a map using Google Earth. The response of 'I'm going to call your mom' occurred at 10 pm. You can see from the location of the cell towers the phone is headed south.

Couldn't help but notice the Airport in the path south of Georgetown as well.

I'm still very interested to know if her cell phone pings could be paired with another phone or phones traveling the same route(from her point of disappearance) at the same times(within a few minutes I would think). I don't think that such a list of phones would be very long to have followed that exact route at roughly the same times.
Then crosschecking that list of people against tips, POI's etc...

Being able to narrow down time frames to a more specific geographic area also means looking at cams or videos that may have been on within a geographic range and time frame. Any capture of vehicles / license plates / people in scope should be heavily scrutinized. Cross that with the phone data too. I would also want cam / video from the airport and any flights that may have gone out in that time window or within the following 24 hrs. These are all small lists...

Even just from the phone pairings you might find someone who drove that same route and may recall seeing another vehicle that caught their eye.

I only know about the route and specific times because I'm here on WS's looking at this thread interested in this case and you made it so clear.
But someone passing through, may have heard of BD, and realized they were in SC at the same time, but may not have realized their car was pacing the one that her phone was in... It's possible that by tracking them down they might remember something.

 

[Farmhand]

Don't think as much was known then as is known now. Go back and read some early threads here. Not even us here on WS understood pings and I like to think we are all a pretty smart bunch. Many confused pings with GPS in fact or thought pings only occur if texting/calling. Having said that, I still wouldn't be surprised if the phone was taken on a journey to throw off LE from the direction of where Brittanee is, though I'd imagine she is in the same "general" direction.

To be honest with you I've never owned a cell phone. I'm not one for chit chatting on a phone. I had no idea what a ping was until I got on this forum and starting reading the threads on BD.

 

[ZooSleuth]

Couldn't help but notice the Airport in the path south of Georgetown as well.

I'm still very interested to know if her cell phone pings could be paired with another phone or phones traveling the same route(from her point of disappearance) at the same times(within a few minutes I would think). I don't think that such a list of phones would be very long to have followed that exact route at roughly the same times.
Then crosschecking that list of people against tips, POI's etc...

Being able to narrow down time frames to a more specific geographic area also means looking at cams or videos that may have been on within a geographic range and time frame. Any capture of vehicles / license plates / people in scope should be heavily scrutinized. Cross that with the phone data too. I would also want cam / video from the airport and any flights that may have gone out in that time window or within the following 24 hrs. These are all small lists...

Even just from the phone pairings you might find someone who drove that same route and may recall seeing another vehicle that caught their eye.

I only know about the route and specific times because I'm here on WS's looking at this thread interested in this case and you made it so clear.
But someone passing through, may have heard of BD, and realized they were in SC at the same time, but may not have realized their car was pacing the one that her phone was in... It's possible that by tracking them down they might remember something.

Not trying to burst your bubble but I think it's highly unlikely that they will be able to get any sort of ping data from POI's they haven't already checked out at this point in time. The window that they keep that data is pretty small. If any of the ping data they already had matched up with BD's, they would have been all over that person and we'd likely know about it.

 

[reedus23]

she was not forceablly taken off that street in broad daylight there are so many people walking someone would have seen something .Someone she and we can argue about what KNEW means but someone she KNEW offered her a ride ...

You could be right, but it has and does happen. It's just not the difficult unfortunately. It also wasn't broad daylight at the time. It obviously would require a lot of stars lining up just right to create an opportunity, but many times, that's just all it boils down to.

 

[reedus23]

I might have asked before, but does anyone know how to look up the RSO's in the area AT THE TIME? When I was reading through, I never saw it laid out or discussed. I'm curious to know if there's a way to go back in time and find out. TIA

 

[Farmhand]

I might have asked before, but does anyone know how to look up the RSO's in the area AT THE TIME? When I was reading through, I never saw it laid out or discussed. I'm curious to know if there's a way to go back in time and find out. TIA

I've been looking but haven't had much luck.

 

[reedus23]

I just can't get past the fact that Moody flat out refuses to talk to police. It's not like he gave some alibi for the day in question. As far as I know, he's flat out refused to answer anything.

I'm trying to remember. Did he serve his full sentence or was he released early? If released early, there's usually all kinds of conditions attached and typically it includes the fact that they can't refuse to cooperate with LE. If they don't want to cooperate, they can choose to just serve the remainder of their sentence. I suppose my next question is a complete long shot and likely impossible, but I wonder if those records are accessible, short of going down to the courthouse and looking at the physical court file.

 

[Farmhand]

I just can't get past the fact that Moody flat out refuses to talk to police. It's not like he gave some alibi for the day in question. As far as I know, he's flat out refused to answer anything.

I'm trying to remember. Did he serve his full sentence or was he released early? If released early, there's usually all kinds of conditions attached and typically it includes the fact that they can't refuse to cooperate with LE. If they don't want to cooperate, they can choose to just serve the remainder of their sentence. I suppose my next question is a complete long shot and likely impossible, but I wonder if those records are accessible, short of going down to the courthouse and looking at the physical court file.

He served a little over half of his sentence. 21 years of a 40 year sentence.

 

[reedus23]

Thanks Farmhand. I can't believe that part of his release didn't include the fact that he waived his right to refuse to cooperate with LE.

 

[Farmhand]

Thanks Farmhand. I can't believe that part of his release didn't include the fact that he waived his right to refuse to cooperate with LE.

I'm not sure how all of that works. I suppose it is something you could check into if you wanted to.