Crews call off Brittanee Drexel search, investigation will go on
Posted: 05.09.2009 at 7:20 PM

The collaborative search ended early Saturday evening for the New York teen who vanished on spring break in Myrtle Beach two weeks ago.

Over the past two weeks, the search has included areas from Horry County to extreme northern Charleston County. The largest efforts were centered near the North Santee River community in Georgetown County.

The searchers were led to Georgetown County because Drexel's cell phone gave off a signal there the night she was last seen and into early Sunday morning.

What started out as a five-mile search radius turned into more than double that by late this week.

Exhaustive foot, horse, dog, and ATV searchers were conducted for almost two weeks in the area, but searchers came up short every time.

Despite returning empty-handed, searchers call the search successful.

"No search is unsuccessful. At the end of the day when you get through with a search, you've eliminated more space that person isn't," said Monica Caison with the CUE Center for Missing Persons.

Caison organized the bulk of the search and the dozens of search and rescue volunteers who participated in it.

On Saturday, there were more than 20 mounted horse teams, multiple ATVs and at least four cadaver dogs scouring the Santee Coastal Reserve in Charleston County. Myrtle Beach police received a tip that generated significant interest in that area, but again, nothing was found -- and that tip was later discredited by investigators.

The investigation will go on, said Captain Chuck Capp with the Myrtle Beach Police Department, though the scores of volunteer searchers are heading home Saturday night.

"We have used every avenue of search personnel ... meaning horse, ATVs, boats, sonar, dogs on water, dogs on land, and so at this point we have to look back and see if that's all we can do until some more information produces," said Caison.

If you have information, you're asked to call a police tipline at 843-918-1963.