Found Deceased SC - Brittanee Drexel, 17, Myrtle Beach, 25 April 2009 - #18

[Rochestergirl]

Thanks for the new thread. I'm continuing to browse all past threads. As anticipated, this is a lengthy undertaking. I'm hoping to find previously reported facts that we have forgotten about that, in hindsight, might reveal more answers. Often I am finding discussion of reported facts that later ends up being a dead end which is why you will sometimes see me refer to even earlier threads. I'm trying to read ahead and see how those leads pan out before I bring them forward. If I bring it forward and ask what the result was it is either because I haven't yet gotten to the resolution or because conversation on it dwindled down.

At this point I am finding A LOT of conflicting reports of timelines: when B arrived at hotel, how long she stayed, what time she left, and timeline/place of cell phone pings. It looks like there was a lot of confusion in the beginning and I'm wondering if there has been an official timeline released since?

Also I am at the place where people are discussing the fact that JO lived just south of MB in the past. I haven't forgotten this fact but I think it would be interested to explore the possibility that she may have known someone who knew the Ts when she lived there. Is it possible that B came in contact with any member of the Ts or their associates prior to her disappearance -- some sort of contact that would have made her willingly get into one of their vehicles? Having posed that question I would still like to mention that I do believe she was abducted from the street forcefully without having met them ever before. I'm just trying to be open-minded.

BBM. I believe JO lived in Lumberton, North Carolina was there another place she lived?

 

[ZooSleuth]

Pretty sure that was in the ID Discovery show. I am personally of the opinion that the Roch friends made some terrible decisions that cast suspicion on themselves, but I feel strongly that they responded to the situation like scared teens who were doing teenage things on spring break would do. Poor decision making and judgement, for sure! IMO, I chalk it up to the fact that drugs and alcohol were likely involved and they were covering their own butts, ultimately casting a ton of suspicion on themselves. I don't in any way think that Brittanee was acting as a drug runner. I don't dismiss the angle being necessary to consider but in my opinion, not likely.

Agreed on why the friends acted the way they did. I'd also add that it's likely that if the Rochester crew were using drugs in MB, they got them in Rochester and brought them to MB. When I was their age and into the party scene, if we were going on a trip and were planning on partaking in some extracurriculars, we would try to take care of that before we left. Nobody wants to spend their vacation trying to track that stuff down in a city where you know very few people. I also don't think the drugs that ppl like the Taylors would be selling (meth, crack, pcp) are not the same kind of drugs that the Rochester crew would have been using (cocaine, ecstasy).

Since another young woman (Randa Massey) was nearly abducted in pretty much the same spot, and it was clearly random, I'm convinced that the "friends" and BD had no prior interactions with BD's abductors.

 

[courtfollower89]

For some reason I can not find the link any more on the FBI's website for Britanee's missing flyer with the reward by the FBI . . .

Was going to print some off since I'm heading to MB for vacation and was going to pass around.

Court Follower

 

[otto]

Agreed on why the friends acted the way they did. I'd also add that it's likely that if the Rochester crew were using drugs in MB, they got them in Rochester and brought them to MB. When I was their age and into the party scene, if we were going on a trip and were planning on partaking in some extracurriculars, we would try to take care of that before we left. Nobody wants to spend their vacation trying to track that stuff down in a city where you know very few people. I also don't think the drugs that ppl like the Taylors would be selling (meth, crack, pcp) are the same kind of drugs that the Rochester crew would have been using (cocaine, ecstasy).

Since another young woman (Randa Massey) was nearly abducted in pretty much the same spot, and it was clearly random, I'm convinced that the "friends" and BD had no prior interactions with BD's abductors.

The attempted abduction less than a year later suggests that Brittanee was similarly grabbed off the street at dusk.

 

[otto]

For some reason I can not find the link any more on the FBI's website for Britanee's missing flyer with the reward by the FBI . . .

Was going to print some off since I'm heading to MB for vacation and was going to pass around.

Court Follower

I was unable to find an FBI $25,000 reward poster, but I did find the missing poster for Brittanee. Now that she is confirmed deceased, age progression drawings and photos that don't look like her seem less important than the reward money. I've added the reward info to her missing poster. It's formatted 8.5x11.

 

[south fishy]

Quote function from LLindsay's post at end of last thread not working, so I copied this portion:

'Thread 4 post 349 (that was you stillwater!): A broken link was quoted as saying -

"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."


I don't remember North Santee ever being brought up before. It is 12 miles from MClellanville. To me that can really narrow down the group involved if the phone "stopped" here before moving on.

I'm originally from Conway, 12 miles from Myrtle Beach, and although we hung at the beach 24/7 in high school, it was always known who mixed with MB kids and who those kids were.

In going down FB rabbit holes, I've come to recognize the common friends that seemed to hang with the Taylor boys. I found two in particular from North Santee. They were very obvious in their flashing of cash and drug dealings.
Way back in 2009 and again in 2012 they had a LOT of posts about the cops busting their 'gang' over "petty" stuff and getting everyone locked up. I wonder if the cops were trying to break someone or this is when they got the info they seem to have.

And eerily, one of them posted the news link about this latest BD case news conference the day it was announced, with the comment "Ain (sic) no way".

I think it's pretty clear that a group including more than just the Taylor boys knows exactly what went down.

 

[Kmiller7779]

Quote function from LLindsay's post at end of last thread not working, so I copied this portion:

'Thread 4 post 349 (that was you stillwater!): A broken link was quoted as saying -

"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."


I don't remember North Santee ever being brought up before. It is 12 miles from MClellanville. To me that can really narrow down the group involved if the phone "stopped" here before moving on.

I'm originally from Conway, 12 miles from Myrtle Beach, and although we hung at the beach 24/7 in high school, it was always known who mixed with MB kids and who those kids were.

In going down FB rabbit holes, I've come to recognize the common friends that seemed to hang with the Taylor boys. I found two in particular from North Santee. They were very obvious in their flashing of cash and drug dealings.
Way back in 2009 and again in 2012 they had a LOT of posts about the cops busting their 'gang' over "petty" stuff and getting everyone locked up. I wonder if the cops were trying to break someone or this is when they got the info they seem to have.

And eerily, one of them posted the news link about this latest BD case news conference the day it was announced, with the comment "Ain (sic) no way".

I think it's pretty clear that a group including more than just the Taylor boys knows exactly what went down.

That might be worth calling in as a tip. You are saying these people are friends of the T family?

 

[andalso]

south fishy..would you give initials of the fb rabbit hole you found with the ain no way post?

 

[RoChEsTeR Paul]

Quote function from LLindsay's post at end of last thread not working, so I copied this portion:

'Thread 4 post 349 (that was you stillwater!): A broken link was quoted as saying -

"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."


I don't remember North Santee ever being brought up before. It is 12 miles from MClellanville. To me that can really narrow down the group involved if the phone "stopped" here before moving on.

I'm originally from Conway, 12 miles from Myrtle Beach, and although we hung at the beach 24/7 in high school, it was always known who mixed with MB kids and who those kids were.

In going down FB rabbit holes, I've come to recognize the common friends that seemed to hang with the Taylor boys. I found two in particular from North Santee. They were very obvious in their flashing of cash and drug dealings.
Way back in 2009 and again in 2012 they had a LOT of posts about the cops busting their 'gang' over "petty" stuff and getting everyone locked up. I wonder if the cops were trying to break someone or this is when they got the info they seem to have.

And eerily, one of them posted the news link about this latest BD case news conference the day it was announced, with the comment "Ain (sic) no way".

I think it's pretty clear that a group including more than just the Taylor boys knows exactly what went down.

I'm not sure what his comment meant but you never know, it could be a lead. Don't post on his FB page, but perhaps look at his friends posts and see if you can find any other comments around the time of the press conference

 

[waltzingmatilda]

Is the cell tower near the North Santee community the same one as the one at Pole Yard Landing? Thanks!

 

[Dee10]

Is the cell tower near the North Santee community the same one as the one at Pole Yard Landing? Thanks!

Yes, cell tower #332 near the North Santee River around the Pole Yard Boat Landing. Some reports say South Santee River, some say 4 miles wide x 5 miles deep. In 2014 a report said Seven Mile Rd., which is in McClellanville. Have they been able to do more analysis in recent years? Maybe.

 

[LLLindsayy]

HI folks. I'm just catching up for the day. I see this thread has already reached page 3 and I'm so happy there is newfound interest in B's case. I've read all your posts but wanted to complete them all before responding. Expect a couple from me in a row before I proceed to catching up on thread 5!

 

[LLLindsayy]

Has anyone considered Brittanee and her Rochester friends were looking to score drugs, went to Club Kryptonite asking around and were referred to the T's in McClellenville? Maybe the phrase, "bring back my shorts" was code for drugs after Brittanee went to pick them up from PB and friends. Maybe the T's brought the drugs to the Blue Resort to PB and his buddies. They possibly left the hotel at same time as Brittanee or Brittanee was sent outside to get them. She didn't return, PB and friends freaked out and felt it best to get out of town quick and lawyer up. It would explain why they wouldn't help look for her or talk to police out of fear for their lives. And if this was over drugs, they would never admit it to authorities. This may not be a random abduction. I've followed this case from 2009.

Hi Marc. Thanks for stopping by. Your theory has been discussed and tossed around. It's pretty much the consensus that, yes, the ROC kids were involved with drugs to some degree. I know you've already gotten a couple responses to your post but I wanted to chime in as well. The theory can't be discounted -- I think it is important to explore if it's at all possible that B came in contact with the Ts prior to her abduction. It's possible, but we also knows the Ts are not the type of folk to only pick up girls they knew. They've clearly participated in random abductions before so, IMO, that's what this is.

 

[LLLindsayy]

Yes Marc, We have discussed that possibility. Brittannee was the only underage person with the two groups. She had very little money and was basically mooching off the so called friends, it wouldn't be out of the question that she was being used as a 'drug mule'. Being underage, she would not have had as harsh a sentence as someone over 18 if caught with drugs. I personally think this drug angle. is a very real possibility. Think about it. Britt walks down OB to the guys room to supposedly pick up a pair of sandals. We have no idea if it was just the Rochester guys or if locals were also there. Not long after, I cannot remember how long she was there but it wasn't very long until the girls call and one of them asks for her to reurn her shorts. (we looked up slang for 'shorts' in the urban dictionary but I don't recall any definition sounding nefarious) Brittanee leaves the guys and heads back to her hotel and disappears. The boys haul arse to a 'college party' and decide to head on home to NY that night to get a head start on their trip since they were checking out the following morning (basically in a few hours) PB didn't even bother to get his room deposit back. The girls move to a different hotel leaving Britt's belongings behind without knowing where the heck she is. Yet one of the gals found time to go to the PD and bailed out one of the guys for drunk driving or something.

Y'all feel free to help me fill in details because I need help in remembering these unusual people's names and antics that evening. All I know is that Brittanee was last seen with the Roc group of young male adults. They were watching a sports game on TV but IIRC it was over when Britt got there. Will try to check times. I don't think the Roc bunch killed Brittanee but I think they may know/suspect who took her due to all the shenaigans and shady behavior and the only reason I can conclude is that there was some illegal behavior that made their actions so peculiar that evening. I even wonder if the presser was a call for one of the Roc kids who knows something to come clean. They are older now and some are probably married and maybe even with kids.

My honest opinion. Glad you are still following along with us and hope you continue to participate in the thread.

Good morning wm. BBM. I just wanted to chime in on some of the points you mentioned here. Some details like these have escaped me over the years but I was able to dig them up. As I have refreshed my memory, I've found that PB & Company would not have gotten their room deposit back right away anyway. By all accounts, the room had to be inspected for damage and cleanliness and the deposit would be mailed back within 4 days. Additionally, I have learned that when the police came by Brittanee's room they asked the girls to switch rooms and leave B's belongings behind so that they could investigate the room as a possible crime scene. This is all just what I've come across so far. If I find anything to the contrary I will mention it.

 

[LLLindsayy]

It's hard to say for sure, but I tend to lean towards a forced abduction, but it certainly is possible she voluntarily went into a car. The lure definitely could have been drugs, a party or whatever.

However, one this is clear. When she got into that vehicle she was likely in danger almost immediately, hence the lack of texts or calls from her phone.

When I think of the idea she voluntarily went into a car I tend to imagine that would be a slow culmination of events...maybe driving in the opposite direction she expected, taking her to a place she wasn't promised. Either way, she likely would have texted someone in that situation.

BBM. Also my opinion.

 

[LLLindsayy]

LLLindsayy, I chose Topix because someone on Facebook suggested trying to find a local MCVL forum. I googled that and the only thing that came up was Topix. I decided to start a thread in hopes that some of the locals might see it. I live in Charleston, SC and I drive through MCVL fairly often. It is only about 45 minutes away from where I live. More than anything, I do not want to see this die down. I think they are so very close to making an arrest. We have to keep fighting for our girl. She went on this trip, but was miserable the entire time due to how her friends were treating her. On top of it all, this terrible thing happened to her. These people who did this must be held accountable for taking the life of a 17 year old girl who had her entire life ahead of her.

Thank you for providing these details. I hope it generates some interest in the community. Of course it sounds like nothing said on these is "credible" per say, however there might still be some truth to it. I'll check it out sometime. I, too, will not let this die down. Brittanee is all of our girl.

 

[LLLindsayy]

BBM. I believe JO lived in Lumberton, North Carolina was there another place she lived?

Rochestergirl, I thought that's what I remembered too. As you may know I've been reading every post from all of the past threads to bring forward any information or facts we possibly have forgotten about. Where I'm at (about thread 5) there has been no mention of JO actually living in NC and all mention has been of her in SC in and south of MB. If I see that corrected then I will mention that.

At this point there is a lot of talk of photos of JO living in MB and especially a lot of chatter of a photo of her wearing the same outfit B was wearing when she disappeared (taken before 4/25/09 but the same outfit nonetheless).

 

[LLLindsayy]

Quote function from LLindsay's post at end of last thread not working, so I copied this portion:

'Thread 4 post 349 (that was you stillwater!): A broken link was quoted as saying -

"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."


I don't remember North Santee ever being brought up before. It is 12 miles from MClellanville. To me that can really narrow down the group involved if the phone "stopped" here before moving on.

I'm originally from Conway, 12 miles from Myrtle Beach, and although we hung at the beach 24/7 in high school, it was always known who mixed with MB kids and who those kids were.

In going down FB rabbit holes, I've come to recognize the common friends that seemed to hang with the Taylor boys. I found two in particular from North Santee. They were very obvious in their flashing of cash and drug dealings.
Way back in 2009 and again in 2012 they had a LOT of posts about the cops busting their 'gang' over "petty" stuff and getting everyone locked up. I wonder if the cops were trying to break someone or this is when they got the info they seem to have.

And eerily, one of them posted the news link about this latest BD case news conference the day it was announced, with the comment "Ain (sic) no way".

I think it's pretty clear that a group including more than just the Taylor boys knows exactly what went down.

South fishy, as you may have gathered, we are very interested in this information. I'm curious to know who's page you found this on but I also know better that you cannot say here without going against TOS. That said I plan to start doing some digging myself in the coming days. We've heard lots of chatter of places in and around Georgetown and Charlestown counties (to include North and South Santee and McClellanville). I've asked if anyone has an OFFICIAL timeline of Brittanee's cell phone pings and locations. I'm still waiting on that because from what I can find everything is kind of confused. Reports differ depending on where you find them.

 

[stillwatersc]

Hey! Joined WS a while back to follow the Hannah Graham case but have been following this case (outside of WS) since it happened. I wanted to float an idea about the night of her 'abduction,' forgive me if it's already been suggested. I know she was texting with her BF at the time, and there was an extremely short interval between her last text and the BF threatening to tell her mom she was in MB. I would think under normal circumstances, a delay that short wouldn't be a big deal. Even if they had been texting rapid fire back and forth, it's not unusual for a pause in texting (going to the bathroom, getting a soda, whatever). So I think, and of course JMO, but that BD texted her boyfriend either that she was scared and in a "sketchy" place, and/or that she was being followed. The first would lend credence to the idea that she didn't take the main road to walk back to the hotel. As for the second, she could have been aware someone seemed to be following her but didn't feel sure enough to call police (or didn't have time), and instead just texted her boyfriend something like, "there is a van that might be following me, it's making me nervous." If I got a text like that from someone and then they didn't respond to my next text within a VERY short period, I would DEFINITELY freak out.

I think that is a possibility as well. All of them seemed to get worried very quickly, even before BD would have had time to get back to the room! Her phone battery could have died causing the text delay and she would have been upset to have her mom called. IMO there was some kind of exchange that cued them in other than no answer.

 

[lonetraveler]

Thanks for the new thread. I'm continuing to browse all past threads. As anticipated, this is a lengthy undertaking. I'm hoping to find previously reported facts that we have forgotten about that, in hindsight, might reveal more answers. Often I am finding discussion of reported facts that later ends up being a dead end which is why you will sometimes see me refer to even earlier threads. I'm trying to read ahead and see how those leads pan out before I bring them forward. If I bring it forward and ask what the result was it is either because I haven't yet gotten to the resolution or because conversation on it dwindled down.

At this point I am finding A LOT of conflicting reports of timelines: when B arrived at hotel, how long she stayed, what time she left, and timeline/place of cell phone pings. It looks like there was a lot of confusion in the beginning and I'm wondering if there has been an official timeline released since?

Also I am at the place where people are discussing the fact that JO lived just south of MB in the past. I haven't forgotten this fact but I think it would be interested to explore the possibility that she may have known someone who knew the Ts when she lived there. Is it possible that B came in contact with any member of the Ts or their associates prior to her disappearance -- some sort of contact that would have made her willingly get into one of their vehicles? Having posed that question I would still like to mention that I do believe she was abducted from the street forcefully without having met them ever before. I'm just trying to be open-minded.

Thanks, hard work I know. I've been looking for the info about JO living in the area. Knew I remembered reading it but didn't know where I read it. Do you mind sharing what # thread in the Brittanee section you found it? Thanks