Thirteen years after a Rochester-area girl’s spring break disappearance in South Carolina, authorities have now charged the man who they believe killed Brittanee Drexel. Police say the Chili native’s remains were found about 30 miles south of Myrtle Beach, where Drexel was last seen alive in 2009.
At a news conference in Georgetown, S.C. on Monday, authorities announced the long-awaited break in the case. Raymond Moody, a Georgetown man who police say has long been considered a person of interest in the case, now faces charges.
“This is truly a mother's worst nightmare,” said Brittanee Drexel’s mother, Dawn Pleckan. “I am mourning my beautiful daughter Brittanee, as I have been for 13 years."
Drexel was last seen on surveillance video leaving a Myrtle Beach hotel on April 25, 2009. Her disappearance, at age 17, gained nationwide attention. Despite numerous search efforts and a long, intensive investigation, her disappearance went unsolved for years. Earlier this month, Moody was arrested on an obstruction of justice charge.
On Monday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and local authorities announced his arrest and the discovery of Drexel’s remains.
“Today, it's bittersweet," Pleckan said. “We are much closer to the closure and the peace that we have been desperately hoping for.”
“The 'why' may never be known or understood,” said Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver. “But today, this task force can confidently and without hesitation answer the rest of those questions, along with who is responsible.”
Moody, who police describe as having a long history as a sexual predator, was a person of interest in the case for years. Last week, after his arrest, South Carolina authorities say they found human remains near Moody’s Georgetown home. The FBI said it used DNA and dental records to positively identify Drexel.
Moody is charged with kidnapping, murder and criminal sexual conduct. Police say Moody raped and then murdered Drexel on April 25, before burying her body on his property in Georgetown County the next day.
“Every police officer has that one case that frequents their every waking thought,” said Myrtle Beach Police Chief Amy Prock. “This was that case for many people.”
Drexel’s parents were present for the announcement. Brittanee’s mother and father have both held multiple vigils and remembrances for their daughter — both in her Rochester hometown, and in South Carolina.
“It is bittersweet,” said her father, Chad Drexel. “We have a little more closure than we wanted. Weighing all this, it is tough on a dad. [It is] tough on a mother.”
Few other details have been released regarding exactly what happened on that April day 13 years ago.
Drexel’s friends and family are thankful for 13 years of help in keeping the search for Brittanee alive, and they now have at least one small measure of closure.
“Today marks the beginning of a new chapter,” Pleckan said. “The search for Brittanee is now a pursuit of Brittanee’s justice.”
Moody is being held in a South Carolina jail without bond.