Authorities ID remains in South Carolina as Brittanee Drexel

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF/Gray News) – Authorities have confirmed remains found in South Carolina last week are of those of Brittanee Drexel, a teenager who disappeared over a decade ago.

According to Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver, Drexel’s remains were found May 11, after evidence led them to a possible site in the Harmony Township neighborhood.

Georgetown County Coroner Chase Ridgeway was able to identify Drexel through dental records. The State Law Enforcement Division also performed DNA analysis and further confirmed it was Drexel.

Drexel, originally from New York, was last seen April 25, 2009, outside the Blue Water Resort on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach during spring break when she was 17, WMBF reports.

The sheriff also announced Monday that Raymond Moody was arrested in connection to Drexel’s death.

Moody is charged with murder, kidnapping and first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He is accused of burying Drexel, who was already dead, on April 26, 2009.

According to WMBF, Moody was considered a person of interest in Drexel’s disappearance in 2012 but was never arrested in the case.

He has been in the Georgetown County Detention Center since May 4, 2022, on an obstruction of justice charge.