SC BRITTANEE DREXEL: Missing from Myrtle Beach, SC - 25 April 2009 - Age 17 *Found Deceased*

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Both photos shown are of Brittanee. Her ears and nose are pierced. Brittanee has blonde highlights in her hair. She was last seen wearing a white, black, teal, and gray top, along with black shorts, similar to the outfit pictured above. Brittanee was also wearing white flip flops. When she was last seen, she was wearing blue colored contacts.
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In April 2009, Brittanee asked for her mother's permission to travel to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for spring break with her friends and longtime boyfriend. Her mother said no, they argued about it, and Brittanee got permission to go to a friend's home. She went to Myrtle Beach in spite of what her mother said.

Her mother was unaware of this; she thought Brittanee was staying with a friend locally. They spoke several times on the telephone after she arrived in South Carolina. Brittanee's mother didn't find out where her daughter really was until she was notified that Brittanee had disappeared.

Brittanee's friends last saw her Bar Harbor Hotel in Myrtle Beach at 8:00 p.m. on April 25, 2009. Brittanee walked more than a mile to the Blue Water Resort on Ocean Boulevard, where other friends were staying. Surveillance cameras there show her going into the resort, then leaving sometime after 8:30 p.m. At 9:15 p.m., she sent a text message to one of her friends saying she was going to see a friend who was staying at another hotel. She has never been heard from again.

She left all her clothes behind at her hotel room. Her beige purse and pink cellular phone disappeared with her. The phone's last signal was near U.S. 17 and the Charleston County line the night Brittanee went missing. Since then its battery has died.

In the summer of 2016, investigators announced they believe they know what happened to Brittanee, and named a suspect in her case. They believe she was held against her will for four days before being murdered. A witness, Taquan Brown, testified he'd seen T.D.T. and several other people sexually assaulting Brittanee at a drug dealer's "stash house" in McClellanville, South Carolina, a small town about sixty miles south of Myrtle Beach. T's father, ST, was also present.

Police believe T planned to force Brittanee into prostitution, but after her disappearance received widespread publicity, he decided to kill her. At one point, Brittanee tried to escape and ran from the house, but she was caught, pistol-whipped and taken back inside. Brown says he later heard two gunshots and later saw Brittanee's cloth-wrapped body carried out of the house. It was supposedly dumped in one of the many local alligator pits.

NCMEC - NamUs - Charley Project -
edited by staff to add media link
 
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Authorities look for link between missing woman cases
By Andrew Knapp,
Aug 28, 2016

July 30, 2010 at 11:54 AM EDT - Updated June 20 at 5:25 PM

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - Investigators with the Charleston County sheriff's office are looking at possible connections between three cases.

The disappearance of a New York teen who disappeared on a spring break trip to Myrtle Beach more than a year ago, the attempted abduction of a young woman in Myrtle Beach last week and the unsolved murder of a Charleston teen 12 years ago. Charleston murder could all be connected.

This week, police in Myrtle Beach arrested 37-year-old TT of the McClellanville area and charged him with attempted kidnapping. Randa Massey, 20, claims T and another man jumped out of a van and tried to grab her last week in Myrtle Beach.

Investigators are looking at three cases, the disappearance of Brittanee Drexel, which happened in April of last year, the attempted abduction of Massey last week and the unsolved murder of Charleston teen Shannon McConaughey more than a decade ago.

TT is the brother of Randall Taylor who was one of five men once charged in McConaughey's death.

On Jan. 29 1998, 19-year-old McConaughey was last seen leaving a Cracker Barrel in North Charleston after eating with friends. A couple weeks later her car was found burned and dumped in the woods near McClellanville. Her body was found about a month after that.

All suspects in the case were later released for lack of evidence.

But investigators now say McConaughey's body was dumped within 10 miles of where they last got a signal from Brittanee Drexel's cell phone.

Investigators also say the attempted abduction of Massey is similar to the way Drexel disappeared.

People in McClellanville are hoping for closure soon. "I'd just like to see something clear up with the case," said restaurant owner Pete Kornack. "Everybody around here is holding their breath, hoping that we get some solid information, because McClellanville is a good, little community and this is not a very pretty aspect of it."

No official link has been found in these three cases, but police are still investigating.
 
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Shannon McConaughey was abducted on January 29, 1998 as she left the Cracker Barrel in North Charleston after eating with friends. A couple weeks later her vehicle was found burned out on a remote road near McClellanville, SC. A month later Shannon's body was found in the woods near Awendaw, SC.


A Timeline of Shannon's murder and the trial that followed.

1) http://archives.postandcourier.com/a...04186916.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/a...19183860.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/a...10184640.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/a...09282315.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/a...28287296.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/a...11281286.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/a...30292079.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/a...31291695.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...."
 

Bond set at $70,000 for attempted abduction suspect

July 28, 2010 at 4:25 PM EDT - Updated June 15 at 7:11 PM

Myrtle Beach, SC - MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - Bond has been set at $70,000 for the McClellanville man arrested Wednesday in connection to the attempted abduction of a 20-year-old woman along South Ocean Boulevard on July 21.

Myrtle Beach Police spokesman Capt. David Knipes said T.S.T., 37, of McClellanville, SC, turned himself into police Wednesday morning.

Police charged T with attempted kidnapping and first degree assault and battery for his alleged role in the July 21 attempted abduction. A judge issued T a $50,000 bond for the attempted kidnapping charge and a $20,000 bond for the first degree assault and battery charge.

If convicted, officials said T could face a maximum of 40 years in prison.

The victim, identified as Randa Massey, told police she was walking to a nearby mini-mart when a pale blue van approached her from behind. Two men inside of the vehicle, Massey said, grabbed her by the waist and arms in an attempt to pull her inside of an open van door.

The 20-year-old managed to successfully escape her potential abductors, after throwing an elbow at one of the suspects and hitting him in the face. After injuring the man, he and two others fled the area by van.


Massey was not in court Thursday, but did provide the Clerk's Office a statement to be read on her behalf.

In a statement to the judge, T said he has been married for 19 years, has kids and is not the man police are looking for. T also noted that while he as a criminal history, it is not a violent one.

Judge J. Scott Long told T he appreciated the fact T turned himself in to police, but the gravity of the charges required bond to be set at a high amount. T was transported to the J. Reuben Long Detention Center where his next opportunity to bond out will be 8 a.m. Friday.

T will face a judge again on Sept. 3, 2010.

Massey's brush with danger has sparked the curiosity of many who are familiar with the 2009 disappearance of Brittanee Drexel.

Drexel, who was 17 years old at the time, vanished while on Spring Break in Myrtle Beach. The teen, according to investigators, was in the Grand Strand against the will of her mother.

Police said Drexel was last seen in the area of 11th Avenue South and 20th Avenue South, in close proximity to the latest attempted abduction on July 21.

Contact was lost between Drexel and her family in New York on April 25, 2009, the same night authorities say she disappeared. The last signal from her cell phone came the next night near the South Santee River.
 
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Charges dropped for T.S.T.

MYRTLE BEACH - Charges have been dropped for the man accused of attempting to kidnap a 20-year-old female along Ocean Boulevard back in June.

In a press release from the Horry County Solicitor’s Office, the Myrtle Beach Police Department requested the charges be dropped against T.S.T. Senior assistant Solicitor, Donne Elder said after thoroughly reviewing the investigation, she agreed with the decision to drop the charges.

T, 37, was accused of attempted kidnapping and assault and battery in the first degree from the incident in July. The victim told police that two men tried forcing her into a van while she walked along Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach. The woman said she was able to fight back and get away.

T is from McClellanville and turned himself into police days following the incident, after police issued a warrant for his arrest. A judge set his bond at $50,000 for the attempted kidnapping charge and $20,000 for the assault charge. The solicitor’s office said although at the time there was sufficient reason to serve T with arrest warrants, a further investigation by the Myrtle Beach police department after T's arrest showed he was elsewhere during the time of the attempted kidnapping.

The solicitor’s office said police were able to confirm T's whereabouts on the day of the incident on businesses’ video surveillance. T was also questioned during that time about the disappearance of Brittanee Drexel, the New York teenager who disappeared from the same general area the year before. She remains missing a year and a half later.

He has said he is innocent and had nothing to do with either case.

Captain David Knipes said there is no link between the Drexel case and the alleged attempted abduction. Both cases are still under investigation.
 
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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl8yFGkGSTI
Randa Massey who was the victim of the attempted abduction along Ocean Boulevard back in June 2010 tells of her ordeal in the video above. She was walking down the strip when she heard a van creep up behind her, two men jumped out and attempted to pull her into the van, she managed to fight back and get away.

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Sketch of abductor

Massey was able to assist investigators in creating a sketch of one of the abductors, she identified S.T. as being the abductor but it is now believed that she identified the wrong T brother.
 
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Sources on the Drexel case have also raised eyebrows at the mention of a fourth woman, Crystal Gail Soles, who vanished just miles from the McClellanville area in 2005. Soles was last seen leaving Shaw's Corner store near Andrews, and officials think she was abducted.

"There are just too many young, white girls going missing (with a connection to that area)," one source close to the case said.

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Crystal Soles
 
https://www.live5news.com/2019/05/26/emergency-crews-working-structure-fire-mcclellanville/

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Officials with the Awendaw-McClellanville Fire District say it’s happening on 1819 Old Collins Creek Road.
May 25, 2019 at 10:18 PM EDT - Updated May 26 at 4:34 AM

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Emergency crews responded Saturday night to a fire at an abandoned building in the McClellanville area.

Officials with the Awendaw-McClellanville Fire District say the fire happened on 1819 Old Collins Creek Road.

Within minutes of the agency’s first post, firefighters said the fire was mostly contained.

The building was unoccupied and there were no reports of injuries.

Bulk of the fire is contained at 1819 Old Collins Creek Road, off of South Santee Road. pic.twitter.com/AumbiHO6Cm
Akoya, May 30, 2019
 
https://www.mpnnow.com/news/20190227/fbi-informant-says-he-witnessed-chili-girls-murder

FBI informant says he witnessed Chili girl’s murder

By Daily Messenger news partner, News 10NBC
Posted Feb 27, 2019

In April, it will be 10 years since 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel of Chili disappeared while on spring break in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

A jailhouse informant claims he witnessed Drexel’s murder. Taquan Brown is in the McCormick Correctional Institution in South Carolina, serving 25 years for an unrelated manslaughter conviction. But before he was locked up, he says he saw Drexel on four different occasions over the course of a month in 2009.

Over the course of five recent phone calls, Brown provided News 10NBC what he claims is his first-hand account. Brown says he first saw Brittanee Drexel at an abandoned house in McClellanville, South Carolina in April 2009 — two days after Drexel had disappeared — in a “stash house.” He said, “There were about eight to 12 guys in there” and that Drexel had a black eye and was being sexually assaulted.

He says he returned to the house a few days after the first visit. “We was in the front yard and the girl ran out the back door and four other guys ran behind her and they hit her and brought her back inside,” Brown recounted. Brown says he then heard gunshots and assumed Drexel had been killed. “As I get in my car, I see two gentlemen come out the house with a rug and they put it in back of his truck. And I left,” he said.

But Brown says, five days later, he went to visit his cousin Herman at his house in rural Jacksonboro, South Carolina to show him a car he had just bought. She was there, alive, at Herman’s house.

Taquan Brown’s name first surfaced in 2016 during a detention hearing in federal court involving a man named Timothy De’Shaun Taylor.

An FBI agent testified that they had received information from Brown who said Taylor had direct involvement in Drexel’s kidnapping.

News 10NBC spoke with Taylor in 2016. He denied ever meeting Brittanee Drexel. He also claimed he had never seen Taquan Brown before. But court records show Taylor failed a polygraph about the Drexel case.

As for the murder, Brown says he and a friend witnessed it while walking to his cousin Herman’s house in late May 2009. Brown says he saw a group of men with Drexel -- including a man he only identified as “Nate.”


“There’s a wooded area on the property line. So we were walking through the path and the shooting took place,” Brown said. “Nate shot her with a double-barrel shotgun two times.”


Brown says they turned around and left, so as not to be implicated.

Much of Brown’s account is consistent with, and even more detailed than, what the FBI has stated publicly. However, there are major parts of what Brown told News 10NBC that it has been unable to corroborate.

For instance, News 10NBC was unable to track down the man Brown was walking with when he says he witnessed the shooting. His cousin Herman has since died of a heart attack. A third person Brown identified as an eyewitness was murdered in 2016.

Still, he says there are many who witnessed Drexel’s captivity.

De’Shaun Taylor has not been charged in connection with Drexel’s disappearance. His new attorney had no comment about Brown’s statements.

An FBI spokesperson would not say whether they consider Brown a credible witness. However, he did confirm that agents met with Brown in prison just last month.

Brown says he was not promised any deals in exchange for his cooperation. He says he came forward after he and his mother received death threats. He says he agreed to speak with authorities in return for his mother’s protection as well as his own.

But Brown says he’s also frustrated that nothing came from his cooperation, and last week, he filed a lawsuit against several investigators, claiming they put him in danger by releasing his name to the public.
Akoya, May 30, 2019
#402
 
https://www.facebook.com/MissingPer...els-disappearance-news10nbc-/353631852163662/

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As for Drexel's death, Brown says he and a friend witnessed it while walking to Herman's house in late May 2009.

Brown says he saw a group of men with Drexel outside including a man he only identified as "Nate."

Brown: "Nate shot her with a double-barrel shotgun two times."

Brown says they turned around and left so as not to be implicated but claims he knows what they did with her body.

Brown: "After she was killed, some of her remains were buried in a garden area and after some time went by, they removed it from the garden area."

Brown says he was there when her remains were dug up. He says some of them were taken to a gator-infested pond, others placed in a stolen RV and taken to a scrapyard.

News10NBC has confirmed through police reports that a neighbor's RV was stolen around that time period.

Davidsen: "Hypothetically, if she were to have been buried in a place 10 years ago and then the body removed, would it be still conceivable that you could find DNA evidence from a scene like that?"

Wood: "It's conceivable."

So is Taquan Brown to be believed?

In 2016, the FBI said it had witnesses that would back up Brown's account of what happened.

But that was before we first reported about the Jacksonboro, South Carolina, property in February.

Davidsen: "Do you know why that location wasn't searched sooner?"

Wood: "Probably just a matter of knowledge."

But Brown says he tried to alert authorities to the Jacksonboro site in 2016. His cousin Herman died of a heart attack the same year. Now, his property, which has remained vacant since his death, could provide important answers although agents remain guarded in their optimism after a preliminary search of the property.

Davidsen: "How important now is Jacksonboro to your investigation?"

Wood: "That remains to be seen."

Brown told News10NBC that he has taken, and passed, a polygraph. The FBI would neither confirm nor deny that.

https://www.whec.com/…/brittanee-drexel-fbi-searc…/5330517/…
Akoya, May 30, 2019
#403
 
https://www.live5news.com/2019/04/2...l-not-forgotten-decade-after-she-disappeared/

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In a conversation with the NBC affiliate in Rochester, NY, Taquan Brown recounted the time he saw her at an abandoned house in McClellanville, two days after she was last seen in Myrtle Beach.

In 2016, Brown implicated T.D.T. in Drexel's disappearance.


While testifying in an unrelated case surrounding T, an FBI agent said Brown told him he witnessed T and others sexually abuse Drexel at a stash house in the McClellanville area.

He also recounted TT's father, ST, was in the room.

While outside the house, Brown said he saw Drexel run out and get pistol whipped before being brought back inside. Afterwards, he said he heard two gunshots.

However, Brown said he saw Drexel alive again, five days later, in Jacksonboro, S.C., a town about 80 miles from McClellanville.


Then, in late May of 2009, Brown said he saw a man shoot Drexel with a double-barrel shotgun. The girl’s body, he said, was then fed to alligators.


In a televised interview, T denied any involvement in Drexel’s disappearance.
 
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https://www.mpnnow.com/news/20190426/fbi-searches-new-site-in-brittanee-drexel-case

FBI searches new site in Brittanee Drexel case

By Daily Messenger news partner, News 10NBC
Posted Apr 26, 2019 at 2:59 AM


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So is Taquan Brown to be believed?

In 2016, the FBI said it had witnesses that would back up Brown’s account of what happened.

But Brown says he tried to alert authorities to the Jacksonboro site in 2016. His cousin Herman died of a heart attack the same year. Now, his property, which has remained vacant since his death, could provide important answers although agents remain guarded in their optimism after a preliminary search of the property..”

Brown told News 10NBC that he has taken, and passed, a polygraph. The FBI would neither confirm nor deny that claim.
Akoya, May 30, 2019
#405
 
This article was prior to the release of information about the trailer in Jacksonboro.

http://acaseformurder.com/brittanee-drexel/4594027464

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF BRITTANEE DREXEL

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In Brown’s confession he claimed he saw Drexel chained to a wall when he visited a stash house, which is a typically place used to keep guns, drugs or money in the McClellanville area. Brown said he saw T.D.T., then 16 years old, and several other men sexually abusing a badly beaten up Drexel, while the men who abducted her took money from other males eager to “f*ck the white girl”, a process known as “bunnying.” Brown then said he walked to the backyard of the house to give money to T's father, S. But as Brown and S talked, Drexel made a desperate break for freedom. Her escape attempt was in vain and one of the captors beat her with his gun then carried her back inside the house. Brown said he then heard two gunshots. The next time Brown said he saw Drexel her bloody body was being wrapped up and removed from the rundown property.


Since the jailhouse confession another police informant came forward and told investigators Drexel’s body had been dumped in an unspecified McClellanville pond teeming with alligators in the Santee region of the state on May 2, 2009 when the Drexel case began to receive massive media attention. Allegedly the abductor felt Drexel had become a big problem so she was murdered and disposed of. Brown identified D. T. and his father as participants in the “bunnying” of Drexel, and alleged their possible involvement in her murder. Details of why Brown was at the stash house were never made clear.


D.T. has since stated that he could not have been the abductor as he was in a third period class at Lincoln High School at the time informants told police they saw him at the stash house where they believe Drexel was being held against her will, sexually assaulted and then killed. T alleged that at the time didn’t have a driver’s licence or access to a vehicle, so could not have dragged her from the strip and transported her to the stash house. JT, the wife of ST and mother of D, stated the story implicating her son and husband is “craziness” made up by investigators to get her son to confess to a crime he did not commit so they could close a case. The property where Drexel was said to have been held against her will was searched by police, and no evidence of her having been there was ever found. The stash house, also referred to as a trap house in some media reports, was located in a small fishing village just off Highway 17, roughly halfway between Myrtle Beach and Charleston SC, and close to where Drexel’s pink cell phone last pinged.

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After her disappearance, Brittanee’s father travelled to McClellanville to hand out fliers to raise awareness of his missing daughter, and unwittingly gave one to someone who resembled TDT. Her father said he was standing in the middle of a dirt road in the rural suburb after speaking to the village elders when a beat-up car came by. He said the people in the car would not have stopped if he hadn’t been standing in the middle of the road. “I handed the flyer to the driver and the two people in the back were whispering. I stick my head in and said do you know anything about this girl, I’m her dad? They laugh and I just give the flyer to the driver and he crumples it up and tosses it out the window and drives off as they are all laughing.” Brittanee’s father noticed the driver was hunched over the steering wheel and was missing an arm.


He later discovered the male in the car with the missing limb was indeed T thanks to a local private investigator he had hired to help find his daughter. T later sat down with News10 (NBC) to clear his name and denied the incident took place, and said, “I don’t ever remember meeting Mr Drexel or receiving a flyer from him.” Brittanee’s mother said of the private investigator, “He gave and found out a lot of information but soon we found out that he had scammed us out of a lot of money.” She added, “This happens a lot in missing persons cases.”


It’s publicly unknown whether the FBI currently has any physical evidence beyond the telephone signal to corroborate the claims of Drexel’s homicide. However, in an online posting, Drexel’s father posted there is other evidence that the family cannot reveal. “We know TDT was witnessed by others (Witnesses NOT IN JAIL) with my daughter – we are just praying that they do the RIGHT thing and (step) forward with what they know. Additionally he has been seen and followed to the EXACT area where my daughter’s DNA was found.”


One compelling factor in Brown’s claim was that the T family have been linked to two further unsolved crimes targeting two other white females. A year after Drexel’s disappearance ST was arrested and charged with trying to pull a 20-year-old female into a van in Myrtle Beach, just blocks from the same hotel where Drexel was last seen. T insisted that he was elsewhere at the time of the crime, and police later said that surveillance video corroborated T's account. Prosecutors eventually dropped the charges.


In 1998 Randall Keith Taylor was one of five men arrested for the brutal slaying of 19-year-old Shannon McConaughey. McConaughey was last seen at a North Charleston restaurant in January 1998 after eating with friends in her Amway sales group. Charleston County Sheriff’s Office investigators alleged that Randall Taylor raped and shot McConaughey after kidnapping her, and that the other men helped him dispose of her body, which eerily echoed Drexel’s case. McConaughey’s car was burned in the woods near McClellanville, and her body was found on March 6 of that year.

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Detectives arrested Randall Taylor and the four others in 2001, but prosecutors dropped the murder charges, citing insufficient evidence. In each case, authorities have developed suspects from the Taylor family, but none of them have been successfully prosecuted. DT has claimed that the $25,000 reward offered for information leading to the arrest and successful conviction of the suspect or suspects involved in Drexel’s death is what prompted Brown’s accusations, and that there is no truth in his jailhouse confession.


North Carolina is one of the top 10 worst states for sex trafficking and Wilmington is one of the key cities. Almost 300,000 people are forced into the sex trade every year. The majority of them are girls between the ages of 12 and 14. Drexel was 17 at the time of her disappearance but looked much younger. It’s said that, once a girl goes into the system, their average life expectancy drops to 7 years, with the first cause of death being murder and second, AIDS. MaLisa, co-founder of the Centre of Redemption, said of sex trafficking in the Myrtle Beach area, “Right now the

most profitable illegal industry is drug trafficking. Well, human trafficking is surpassing that because it’s a supply and demand issue. You may be able to sell that gun just a handful of times but they estimate you can sell a girl 15 to 40 times in a single night.” She also added, “Sex trafficking is happening in our city for multiple reasons, Wilmington is a destination city because of our tourism industry and we’re also a transit city because of our access to highways.” Myrtle Beach is 74.6 miles from Wilmington, which is approximately 1h 28min continuous driving time.


In September 2011 TDT took part in an armed robbery at a Mount Pleasant McDonald’s, where one of his accomplices shot and injured the store manager. Two other suspects, Joseph Whiteside and Deron Moultrie, were sentenced in connection with the crime. T confessed to being the getaway driver and was sentenced to two years’ probation. On 12 July, 2017 DT was convicted for his role in the armed robbery. The Department of Justice said his previous sentence was too lenient and charged him with Federal crimes related to the same armed robbery.


The Feds offered T a plea deal in which they would pursue little to no jail time if he passed a polygraph test concerning the murder of Drexel. He failed the polygraph. However, his defence lawyer, Mark Peper, denounced the polygraph and alleged that T passed a different polygraph that he had arranged.
 
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https://www.wmbfnews.com/2019/04/26...rittanee-drexel-th-anniversary-disappearance/

‘We need justice’: Loved ones honor Brittanee Drexel on 10th anniversary of disappearance


‘We need justice’: Loved ones honor Brittanee Drexel on 10th anniversary of disappearance
By Marissa Tansino | April 25, 2019 at 11:22 PM EDT - Updated April 25 at 11:22 PM

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – Thursday marked a somber anniversary for the family of Brittanee Drexel.

It was 10 years ago that the 17-year-old was last seen in Myrtle Beach during her spring break vacation.

Family and friends gathered Thursday night at a memorial tree dedicated to Brittanee, to remember their beloved sister, daughter, niece and friend.

[ SPECIAL REPORT: Ten years missing: Brittanee Drexel not forgotten a decade after she disappeared ]

“She was a very outgoing, bright person. She was very loving, very caring,” said Myrissa Drexel, Brittanee’s sister.

Brittanee’s mother thanked a crowd of people who came out to honor her daughter, while a video played that showed the vibrant teenager and her unforgettable smile.

“The one thing I remember about my sister is she was very loving and caring to me. She was my protector, my supporter,” Myrissa said.

She also remembered the long talks she would have with Brittanee.


“Have that strong sister bond with each other and to not have that today is very… there’s days I break,” Myrissa said.


But as family and friends remembered Brittanee, they called for the justice that has yet to come. Myrissa said the 10 year wait has been too long.

“It feels horrible. We should’ve known a couple of days later,” Myrissa said. “I want the world to know that we need justice. We need people to speak up.”

Myrissa now has a daughter named Mila Brittanee. She said she named her after her sister because she knows her sister would love her.

Anyone with information about Brittanee’s disappearance is asked to call (800) CALLFBI. A $25,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this case.
Akoya, Jun 1, 2019
#416
 
https://www.wbtw.com/news/grand-str...upports-families-of-missing-people/1962077823

Brittanee Drexel foundation helps fight human trafficking, supports families of missing people
By:
MURRELLS INLET, SC (WBTW) - Brittanee Drexel went missing during her spring break trip to Myrtle Beach one decade ago, and her mother, Dawn Drexel Pleckan has lived with the pain ever since.

"I can tell you it's been hell the past ten years. It never goes away; you think about it every single day," Pleckan said.

According to the FBI, Brittanee was abducted and trafficked in 2009, however, no one has been able to find her since then.


Now Brittanee's mother fundraises for Brittanee's Little Angels, a non-profit aimed towards helping victims of human trafficking and families with missing members.

"I want something that can carry her legacy so that no one ever forgets her. You have to remember too, Brittanee was put in a human trafficking situation according to what the FBI came out with back in 2016," Pleckan said.

The South Carolina Attorney General, Alan Wilson says local human trafficking is more common than one might think.

According to Wilson, the United States is the top human trafficking destination in the world, and South Carolina sits in the top 20 states for trafficking hubs.

"Modern-day slavery is alive and well in South Carolina; it's alive and well in every state in our country. The good news is that we're awake and alert to it," Wilson said.

The Attorney General's Office established the South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force in order to educate the public about human trafficking, provide support to victims and survivors, and prevent future cases.

Since Horry County is ranked in the top five counties in the state for human trafficking, Wilson helped established a regional coalition of the task force, which focuses on trafficking cases in the coastal region.

Kathryn Moorehead, coordinator for the South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force says in the past year, they have seen more trafficking cases reported, often times involving children.

"We're looking at trying to increase the number of services available to those children because as more people become educated on the topic, more and more people are going to be identified as victims," Moorehead said.

To donate to Brittanee's Little Angels, click here.

To learn how to join the Coastal Region Human Trafficking Task Force, click here.
 

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