Remains ID'ed As Teen Brittanee Drexel Who Went Missing A Decade Ago On A Spring Break Trip, Suspect Charged

For more than a decade, family and police wondered what happened to Brittanee Drexel when she walked away from her Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, hotel on a spring break trip.

Now, her family and investigators finally have answers.

Authorities announced that remains found in a recent search for Drexel in Georgetown County, South Carolina, have been confirmed as her. A convicted sex offender is now accused of murder and other charges in connection to the case.

“To the Drexel family we mourn with you and cope with you,” Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver said at a press conference streamed online. "Our only hope is the finding allows your family to grieve properly."

Her mom, Dawn Drexel, also spoke at the press conference.

"This is truly a mother’s worst nightmare, I am mourning my beautiful daughter Brittanee who I have been mourning for 13 years," Dawn Drexel said.

In April 2009, Drexel visited Myrtle Beach from her home in New York without her parent’s permission. She went with friends to the tourist hotspot, where she walked away from the Bar Harbor hotel.

She seemingly vanished though she was tracked to nearby Georgetown County. Her case went cold and became a favorite of True Crime enthusiasts.

There were even reports that she was abducted and taken to a drug house. There she was sexually assaulted, murdered and fed to alligators.

Police have not confirmed if that story was true.

But authorities announced they charged sex-offender Raymond Moody with murder, first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping in connection ot the case. He was booked into jail last week.

The arrest helps brings a seemingly end to the case. However, there will still have to be a trial now for Moody in the case. Finding the remains was something Dawn told the Myrtle Beach Sun News in 2019 that she wanted in the case. \

“I think first and foremost I want Brittanee found. I want her to have her memorial and I want to lay her to rest. Secondly, I want a conviction and I want the person who’s done this to her to be in prison for the rest of their life,” she told the outlet.

Then Dawn added, “I know that’s not going to happen.”

In 2019, that looked like it might be the case. That changed with the May 16 announcement.