Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Is Mystery of Missing Spring Breaker Nearing an End?


Mystery of Missing Spring Breaker Nearing an End?

38 comments:

  1. As parent I cant help but feel sad about this particular incident. I am sitting here thinking about this article and reflecting on the class mock trail about gathering information to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that these individuals have committed the crime. I pray that eventually something surface and put an end to this ordeal, but until then let this be an eye opener to everyone to be watchful, careful, and observant of your surrounding. Stay among friends and never leave a place with a stranger.

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  2. I had actually seen this case a few months ago, on Oprah's show. It is good to see that the family of the young girl have tons of hope.
    And although it has been quite a while, police do need that time to gather all information and then determine the outcome (murderer) of this case. But it would be great to know that the last piece of information found or told, will help the murderer pay for his/her actions. Prayers to her and her family.

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  3. This story reminds me of the Natalie Holloway story. I also wonder how many of these spring break stories are out there. How does a family cope with the idea that one of their family members is missing, maybe dead, and they will never see this individual again? In this story the detectives have some evidence but not enough for probable cause. How sad is it that this family who wants answers has to wait till there is enough probable cause to make arrest. I thought that in a case anyone could be questioned without probable cause. More key information is that if a case is not solved within the first 48 hours, it is said that the chances for solving the case start to deteriorate after that. Without a body or any key witnesses this case may go unsolved or closed as a clod case. For the sake of the family and her I hope that is not the case.

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  4. It seems like the mystery of Brittanee Drexel will continue. The police say they have no proof or evidence to whom is responsible for the missing teen. Officers do mention that they suspect four individuals living in the area of Myrtle Beach, may know the whereabouts of Brittanee. Like mention earlier they have nothing to back up why they believe these four individuals had something to do with Brittanee. It’s been over a year since she’s gone missing; I believe by now the officers should have more to go on. They’ve been working on this case, and still no arrest has been made. Brittanee’s family is doing everything they can possibly do and they are staying very strong and confident. Brittanee was at the wrong place at the wrong time. It is always best to travel in two especially for a female. We hear about a new story of someone gone missing just about every march when spring break comes around. We need to be more cautious of our surrounding and to trust only those that you know. People are devious and only care about what they want and if that is killing someone or kidnapping someone, we are going to continue to see situations like BRITTANEE DREXEL happening.

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  5. Its unfortunate at the time that they cannot get an arrest warrant for the subjects. She has been missing a year, so more than likely she was killed. If she wasn't killed however, then the arrest warrant on the subjects could possibly bring new information of her whereabouts. This case just goes to show you that anything can happen to any person at any given time. I'm not a parent, but I can only imagine what her family has gone through this past year. They cannot give up hope for finding their little girl.

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  6. After reading this article on Brittanee Drexel, I am glad to hear that they are not giving up on the investigation to find her whereabouts. They have yet to find her so I believe that they should proceed with trying to discover her rather than calling off the investigation. This is somebody’s daughter, cousin, and best friend and her still missing should not be taken lightly. I cannot believe that it has already been almost a year since she went missing and the police do not have a little more evidence. It is really heartbreaking to see this case get drug out more and more knowing that she still might be out there somewhere suffering. Her family is doing all that they can to find her and I honestly believe that the police can do a little bit more to finish this case. This is another occurrence dealing with a teen that was on vacation being kidnapped, which happens way too often these days. People need to pay attention to the circumstances that are happening around us and understand that it is not safe to be at these types of places alone, especially if you are a girl. It is sad that we have to use somebody like Brittanee Drexel as an example for others.

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  7. It is hard to read stories of missing children. I am not a parent but I can only imagine how hard it is not to know where your child is at. I am happy to hear that her parents have not lost hope in finding her as well as they should not. If they still have not found the body there is still hope. I really feel for her parents and hope that they find what they need to find the people who took their child. These crimes are difficult to solve when no one is giving the police answers. I hope that someone steps up and talks.

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  8. Whenever someone goes missing it is hard to deal with it because you don’t know where the person is and whether they are alive or dead. Brittanee Drexel disappeared April 25 2009 when she left the Bar Harbor Hotel in Myrtle Beach to meet friends at the nearby Blue Water Resort. It has been a year since her disappearance, a body hasn’t been found and no one has been charged for her disappearance. Even though there are four possible suspects the police cannot obtain a warrant because they don’t have enough information. Although a body hasn’t been found the family still remains hopeful that Brittanee is still alive. In a case like this I believe anything is possible. Since a body hasn’t been discovered there is a possibility that Brittanee is still alive. Someone somewhere knows where Brittanee is but they won’t say anything. Whoever the person is that took Brittanee from her family will eventually be caught and they will be held accountable for the disappearance of Brittanee. I hope Brittanne is still and alive and returned to her family so they don’t have to suffer through this anymore.

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  9. My heart breaks for the Drexel family in search of their daughter. As a parent, I too, would be clinging to hope of not wanting to give up on finding my daughter. Sometimes hope is all you have to keep you going. Most disturbing and unforgettable images of their daughter are of her last seen alive on the surveillance footage at the resort. This captured image is forever etched in their minds.

    Sadly, after a year the police still do not have enough evidence to issue an arrest warrant for the “people of interest” they say they have. As the book defines probable cause- a reason based on known facts to think that a law has been broken or that a property is connected to a criminal offense. This must be frustrating for the Drexel family as surely someone knows what happened to Brittanee.

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  10. This has to be one of a parent’s biggest nightmares – knowing that your child is out there, somewhere. The fact that the police have had people of interest that they have been watching for almost a year now leads me to wonder if they are looking at other avenues or do they have “tunnel vision” on the original people while the real criminal is still out there. Also, while I do believe our system does eventually work, it is way too lengthy, especially in cases like this one. Having hope that she is still alive is all her family and friends have at this point. Sometimes these types of cases are never solved but I hope this is not the case with this one. Again, like with many other types of crimes, someone knows something – they just need to speak up.

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  11. The only thing that bothers me about this case is that they have had the same 4-5 suspects in their view for the last year, but claim that they have never been able to obtain probable cause to investigate them further. It doesn't take that much with our laws to create probable cause against suspects they believe are strongly involved. If these 4-5 pple are the ones they have focused on for this long, they have had to have found something that a judge would agree to be probable cause to move forward with. This would tell me they really have nothing but a not so credible eye-witness that will get them nowhere. I fear until remains are found, this is destined to stay cold.

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  12. Without probable case and evidence, there cannot be an arrest! But why don’t officials question these three or four suspects? If they have an alibi, do they have evidence or witnesses that can support their alibi? It will probably be a little too late for questioning but still should be done.
    There could also be the possibility that she can still be alive out there somewhere, since they have not found her body yet. She could be a victim of being tortured. There should be a better search team formed for her search.
    There could also be a possibility where the friends could have something to do with it. There was a recent movie about a sorority who accidently murdered one of their members and buried her without telling anybody. I am not sure of the specific details since I did not see it, just the previews, but one never knows. Fun can turn into trouble!!!!

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  13. What a horrible feeling, not knowing if your child is alive or dead. Sometimes it is easier having closure with knowing of someone’s death instead of wondering if they might be still alive. For the “people of interest” to the case, I think that time would be better spent if the police would investigate more into the individuals that might know information and/or leads on the case. Spring break is taken too lightly and is not always what it appears to be. To the family with amazing hopes, I wish that there be an answer soon. May they never give up (especially since there is no evidence).

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  14. While I do believe it a tragedy the this young girl has disappeared and most likely killed, it seems to me to be a story that is repeated over and over again. Yes it true I feel sorry for her and my heart goes to the family, but I have a hard time asking the question “how could this happen?” What happened here is more of a lack of supervision than anything else and the disappearance, like many prior to this one, forces me to question the mental fortitude of all parents who think it is an acceptable practice to allow your attractive 17-year-old daughter to wander around Spring Breaker territory unsupervised. Now I understand that having fun and adventure is a part of growing up, but I also understand that a victim can precipitate their own doom. While the odds of getting captured and murdered day to day are very low, there are certain places to go and certain things to wear that can greatly increases your chances of being targeted by a sexual predator. My question is not “why would someone do this to her?” because that is a wasted effort. I would ask her parents “why did you let her wander around town by herself?” The most pertinent issue in my mind is not the existence of a sexual predator, but the lack of mental fortitude of couples who choose to have children and then allow them to run around unsupervised in a major city. It is stupidity that strikes me with awe, and it a wonder to me how the parents could wonder how this could happen to their child.

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  15. This is one of those stories that all parents fear and think about before they allow their children to go on spring break. I wonder if things like this ever happen to guys. I don’t think the police have any thing or creditable value and after nothing new comes up they tend to move on. There is not much a person can do to keep working a case after a certain point. This is hard to except for the investigator and the victim’s family. This family does have a lot of hope like previous have mentioned. I too wish them luck and I am glad to have all boys now.

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  16. I would probably go crazy knowing that my daughter has been kidnapped and not knowing if she's dead or alive. It's been a year since the disappearance of Brittanee and a body hasn't been found or any type of evidence. I'm sure that police might be giving up hope but a case like this should be solved, right now it seems like it's impossible to solve this kidnapping but I'm sure if someone keeps on working on this case they'll have some kind of lead, since there isn't a probable cause to make any arrest then suspects should be questioned. I feel sorry for Britannee's family because of all the anguish they might be going through. Not knowing if she's dead or alive and suffering is horrible, but there are also many cases of child trafficking, and maybe she's not even in the united states anymore police should consider looking into that.

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  17. This must be extremely sad for the family of Brittanne Drexel, even more so for her parents. I read and it's really good that her parents have hope. The people of interest, or maybe suspects, should be analyzed more. This family is still longing to know about their daughter, and they deserve the right to know. The search should continue until she is found, either alive or dead. Perhaps then, maybe with more useful information they gather, they might be able to solve this mystery once and for all.

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  18. What scares me about this is that police cannot bring the people in for questioning because they do not have enough evidence. Whatever happened to better safe than sorry? We cannot change the laws. Police do not have enough probable cause to go make arrests but meanwhile Brittanne could be dying, they could be torturing her, or she could be lying in a ditch somewhere. No one knows where she is accept for the people that took her. Not even the tips people have given are enough to arrest the suspects in question? It is so sad. I cannot imagine the pain her family is going through and how much harder it is going to be if they find out she is no longer alive. It is scary to think that sometimes the laws can work against us in situations such as this.

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  19. See things like this that happen to young teens and the reason is why? Unsupervised? Easier to capture? Yes our parents always teach us to always look around and be aware and never to walk alone at night, but this still happens. There's video cameras that caught Dexter arrive an leave the hotel and no-one seen her thereafter?!? You could tell that the community of Myrtle Beach is not close because then someone would have been caught and charged by now. That is the truth of preventing crime is knowing your neighbors and keeping an eye out and vice versa. But of course it theres a line between neiborhood watch and being nosy. I hope that this girl is found alive so the family could let go of this grief and sadness they hold. Those whom think they got away with it will definitely get caught because I believe her family will not give up on her.

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  20. This is very sad and discouraging for the family. I can't imagine the pain and restless nights that the parents are experiencing. My heart goes out to the family and friends of Brittenee. I do believe that if the detectives just keep looking they will find the evidence they need, sometimes things are right under our nose we just have to take time to see where the smell is coming from. The parents should continue to pray, if they don't know God they need to get to know Him. They must stay confident in our criminal justice system that they are doing everything they can to find their daughter.

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  21. Spring Break is one of the most notorious for loosing children, teens, and just people. Its sad to see when you see a missing person for a teenager because you know that mom and dad are worried and frightened and just want to find their daughter and have hope that she is still alive. Although it is somewhat the parents fault because they should have paid closer attention to their daughter or at least have gone on the trip to Myrtle Beach with her. There are so many things that could have happened to her, someone could have slipped her some drugs in her drink and could raped her, or someone could have just taken her out of the blue and no one could have noticed. Hopefully the investigators find her alive.

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  22. I cant imagine how it feels to lose someone so close to you and having your mind going crazy cause you dont know what happened to her or even if they are alive or not. I am inspired the teens family for still having hope that she is still alive after all this. Though police seem to think that she is not alive. With the new information. the police think that may be getting close to finding who did this. My heart goes out to the missing teen's family and i hope that they prove the police wrong about her being alive or not.

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  23. This is definitely a horrible experience that the Drexel family had to go through. It had been about a year since the incident and we barely started to have some suspects. Police claim that they didn't just pick some random guys to be suspects, but they have no solid leads. It's all suspicion, and with only that they cannot get a warrant. This case to me seems to be one of those unsolved cases that go down in history. Unfortunately, there isn't any concrete evidence. Bless the family because they don't want to give up, but I think it's going to be really hard.

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  24. My heart goes out to this family not knowing whether this young lady is dead or alive. I'm not thrilled with the fact that there has been persons of interest but the authorities have not come close to an actual arrest. I believe that the authorities do not really have anything and that they are trying to save face by announcing that they have several suspects under surveillance.

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  25. This article was a complete heart breaker. I couldn’t imagine losing any family memerb that way. I respect the Drexel family for having such string hope in finding their lost loved one. However, I believe it is always good to accept reality, she has been missing for over a year, she is has most likely been murdered. It is undoubtedly hard, but her family should not live in false hope for that will make living without her even more unbearable. If anything, this is a good chance for people to learn from this terrible misfortune. Women are terribly targeting and vulnerable. Now women will realize the magnitude of the danger presented in traveling alone. It is wise to travel in groups and if you have to be alone then carry something with you like the pepper spray key chains from Academy or a small pocket knife in your car. It is wise, however, to keep up this investigation and bring the kidnapper/ murderer to justice, or even just to find her car crashed somewhere. Either way, once they figure out what happened to her, only positives precautions can be taken (like arresting the person responsible for this that way other families don’t have to suffer like the Drexel’s have)

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  26. I read this story and immediatly thought of the Natalie HOlloway story. I feel so bad for that family who is just sitting on edge waiting for some answers about there loved one. To me sittting around over a year and not knowing if they are still a live or dead would be worse than just knowing the truth. I have never been in a situation like that, so i guess I wouldn't really know how they are feeling. All I would be thinking about is that I would never want them to suffer and as much as I would not want to give up hope that they may still be alive I would rather know that they are ina better place and not going through any more pain and agony. I went to Myrtle beach the summer before my senior year of high school, and I remember thinking it was a nice place but there was something about that place that made me think that there were some parts of it that didn't seem to safe. I remember it being extremely conjested on the strip there. I don't have any kids but I just can't imagine loosing a child like that or really ever loosing a child. These people that are responsible for this should be held to the highest form of punishment

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  27. This type of story gets to me because it just shows how at any time, anyone can fall victim to crime. It is so unfortunate that someone goes on Spring Break to have fun and then doesn’t return. This just shows that no one should ever go anywhere alone. Crime can happen anywhere. It enables a sense of fear that shouldn’t arise. People always think that it will never be them. It’s a shame that the officers have suspects but don’t have enough evidence to get a warrant. This would drive me crazy. I hope girls of all ages will learn from this heartbreaking story and to never go anywhere alone, especially on spring break.

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  28. This is a very sad story and ever since the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba of 2005 stories like this really get to me. I hope that she is alive out there somewhere but most likely she is not. I know her family is still hoping and praying that she is alive but I think they know deep down inside that she is not. This is the main reason why young girls should not go to places that they are not familiar with by themselves because you never know who is out there watching your every move. I also feel that the police can do more than what they are doing because what if it was their daughter or niece? I guarantee you that every officer in the precinct will be out there doing all they can. In conclusion, I say that young girls these days need to be a little more cautious when they go to places that they don't know anything about.

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  29. It saddens me to read stories like this... the fact that the innocent people fall victim to the cruel intents of others. No one can truly be to safe in a country that is considered more safe than most others. There are individuals in this whole who thrive off the ability to hurt, punishes, and kill people for the means of pure enjoyment. The fact that there are people in this world who have psychological issues that will never be able to "fixable". The focus should placed upon those to be more careful and aware.
    My first concern is that the young girl was only 17 when on spring break in another city with more than likely individuals of the same age category. Not to place blame on the parents for allowing their child to be in this vulnerable situation but not even the safest minded teens can prevent these such acts from occurring when unsupervised. She was an easy target due to her age and being alone. Even in some of the most popular/safe cities tragic even take place.

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  30. The court system, in an effort to keep a check and balance going to protect our rights, unfortunately also protect the rights of the criminal which sometimes impede the progress in solving a case. If the police do not follow proper procedures in gathering evidence and information, an element of evil could escape conviction and be released to commit another crime. For grieving relatives the process is often seems a lot slower and is hard to endure. The longer the investigation takes the more room for memory errors in the eye witnesses.
    Hind sight is 20/20 so to assume that this would fall under a Lifestyle Theory situation would make it more difficult because of all the variable scenarios that have to be disproved. This would be a person who puts themselves at risk by venturing into unknown places alone.

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  31. It's really hard to convict someone of kidnapping and murder when there really isn't any evidence. Really without evidence there isn't a case and nothing will be done. Her files will just be thrown to the side, for months then to years until anything shows up to help them with the case. As of right now they've just hit a dead end. Just gotta sit around wait until something shows up to help them with their investigation.

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  32. Reading these story make me not to let my kids go ever go off on there own it scares the crap out of me if this had happened to my sons and it has been this long i would be pulling my hair out there shoild be more info and everyone know there is and they dont want to give it there is always two sides to a story and it would be nice to have both side. I kills me to know that a family out there has to go though this with there child and one day i hope they with have some closeuer

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  33. Like previous bloggers, as a parent, this story scares me to death! The thought of your child just disappearing without a trace is beyond comprehension. It wouldn’t matter the age or sex of the child, if it was yours, you would move heaven and earth to protect them and/or to find them.
    As our class begins its mock trial and as the Judge, giving a jury the explanation of beyond a responsible doubt, takes on a new dimension when looking at it from the parents point of view of losing a child. It is also hard to understand that if the police feel so strongly against the three individuals, that there is not enough probable cause to get a search warrant. Laws are meant to protect the innocent, but there are times that they can protect the guilty.
    I am not sure what I would do, if I were the parent of the missing girl. I might consider taking my own action and do something unlawful, to try to find out information. I know I could justify it from being under duress, and could probably claim an insanity defense if I were caught, because not knowing or thinking I should be able to rescue my child would drive me insane.

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  35. What is so tragic about this open criminal case is the mystery involved with this case. Why is the criminal justice system having a difficult time bringing the suspect or suspects to up on charges? It seems the parents of this victim will have to wait until the authorities have enough probable cause evidence to issue an arrest warrant. The reports indicate that the authorities are interested in “people of interest” connected to this abduction and possible murder. Reports indicate a lot of probable cause which points to people of interest. From a CJ perspective what I find so disturbing about the case was all the loose probabilities that deal with circumstances surrounding this case. If this is the case, I am lead it believe that even though some sort of criminal activity took place the authorities in that jurisdiction does not have enough evidence to apprehend the suspect or suspects tied to this case. I wander if the local authorities made a plea to the federal authorities for assistance in trying to solve this case. What is irritating for the family of Brittanee Drexel is all the intelligence that state and local authorities have at their finger tips cannot solve this murder mystery. From a criminal justice perspective it has to frustrating to know that all this probable cause has yet to produce an arrest warrant.

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  36. This also reminded me of the Natalie holloway story. I find it hard to believe that the family of this young girl has to wait for probable cause for the policemen arrest more then three suspects who they are basically saying they are finding guilty. I think the family has every right to have the police at least take those people under custody for some further questioning so that the family of the missing teen will have some closure to the case. The thought that it has been over a year and there is still no answers to what happened to their daughter is a sad. I find it very important that the family still continues to look and have complete hope that she is still alive. I know that are just wanting this whole thing to come to an end and have their questions answered and let whoever did it to the girl have consequences take place.

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  38. Another white girl goes missing! Don't get me wrong there is nothing worse. Yes her being missing is sad but why was a 17 year old girl traveling out alone. Where were her parents? Sorry you lost your kid but your actions allowed for her to be in a strange city unsupervised. I hope that she is found, unfortunately it won’t be alive.

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