McCLELLANVILLE, S.C. -- Brittanee Drexel's mother and father both gave tear-filled statements Wednesday calling for the "killers" who took their daughter away from them in 2009 to be brought to justice.
Their statements came one day after investigators told them they believe Drexel, from Chili and then a student at Gates-Chili High School, was killed.
"After seven long years of waiting and praying for the return of my daughter, we know she isn't coming home alive," said Dawn Drexel, Brittanee's mother.
The FBI publicly classified Drexel's case as a homicide for the first time Wednesday afternoon.
Investigators believe Drexel was held against her will and eventually killed after vanishing in 2009. She was last seen leaving the Bluewater Hotel in Myrtle Beach after visiting friends on April 29, 2009, during a spring break trip.
Brittanee Drexel was 17.
Concurrently, the FBI said it has increased its reward for information related to her death to $25,000. Billboards with Drexel's photo will soon line U.S. Route 17 in South Carolina.
Authorities now maintain there are people in the Georgetown, S.C., area who saw Drexel during the "several days" she spent there and know details that could put law enforcement "over the edge" to solve the case.
McClellanville, roughly 50 miles south of Myrtle Beach, is where Wednesday's press conference was held.
Drexel's cellphone transmitted its last known signal the day after she disappeared near the South Santee River, betweenMcClellanville and Georgetown. Authorities have searched surrounding counties a number of times but have not found the girl.
No arrests have been made in her disappearance. Her body was never found.
"Brittanee's life was stolen from her in a brutal and senseless fashion," Dawn Drexel said. "I need your help in bringing the people responsible for her death to justice."