ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Authorities in South Carolina had hoped for better news for the family of Brittanee Drexel, but say their hope now is that the discovery of the missing Chili teen's remains will help to bring them closure.

“When Brittanee went missing in 2009, it really rocked the community," said National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's New York Executive Director Edward Suk.

What You Need To Know

  • Authorities are stressing the importance of leads and public assistance following the discovery of the remains of Brittanee Drexel

  • The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children says there are currently 252 active cases of missing children in New York

  • The images of those children are on MissingKids.org, along with safety and reporting information

Hours turned into days, then weeks, months and years. The agonizing search for Drexel after her disappearance in Myrtle Beach is finally over.

“This has been a particularly difficult time, very candidly,” Suk said. “We're happy that we have answers. It's, I think, very helpful for the family to know where Brittanee is, to be able to bring her home and put her to rest appropriately and properly.”

Drexel’s remains were found last week in South Carolina. Raymond Moody, a Georgetown, S.C. man who police say has long been considered a person of interest in the case, now faces kidnapping, murder and criminal sexual conduct charges. According to the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office, Moody admitted to raping and killing Drexel and led them to Drexel's body buried on the property of his Georgetown home. Her remains were positively identified using dental records and DNA.

“This will be a difficult time that continues for the family,” Suk said. “There'll be a trial. There'll be all that type of activity in the legal system that will continue to raise a lot of these feelings for the family as they're dealing with this and they'll continue to need support.”

Law enforcement officials involved in the Drexel case say they are thankful to those who kept Brittanee’s story alive and her photos in the public eye because of the tips and leads they generate.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Susan Forensic was among those at the news conference.

“I appreciate all that the media and the public have done to get us to this point,” Forensic said. “Because without input with the media keeping the story alive, without getting the message out, we wouldn't have tips that would help investigators get through the investigation.”

“I can't stress how important those leads are though in the general public,” Suk said. “Those tips and leads often are what break cases wide open. And you just never know.”

He also says that there are currently 252 active cases of missing children in New York state.

The images of those children are on MissingKids.org along with safety and reporting information.

To report a tip, ask a question or get information, you can call 1-800-THE-LOST.