Woman reported by witnesses on bus not missing teen

MYRTLE BEACH – The person police witnesses reported as a missing New York teenager and who police actively sought along Ocean Boulevard wasn't Brittanee Drexel, police officials said.

Police and family scoured the area around Ocean Boulevard earlier in the week, passing out fliers with Drexel’s information on it, looking for any answers to her disappearance.

No one claims to have seen Drexel since Saturday night.

According to police, the woman who busriders thought was Drexel was actually a woman who works at one of the hotels on the boulevard.

“Even though this lead did not pan out, we are still hopeful that we locate Ms. Drexel safe and sound,“ Knipes wrote in a Thursday morning press release. “We continue to investigate all leads and appreciate the assistance of other agencies and organizations in our search.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO

Dawn Drexel drove from New York on Monday to come to Myrtle Beach to look for her missing daughter, 17-year-old Britannee Marie Drexel. She spoke exclusively to News 13’s Aisha Khan on the events that led up to the disappearance and her efforts to find her daughter.
Click here to watch.

WHAT OTHERS ARE REPORTING

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Click here to watch coverage of this story on CNN's Nancy Grace.

WROC: Monroe County NY Sheriff Department investigating missing teen case

WHAM: Mother of Missing Teen: A Parent's Worst Nightmare

WHAM: The Brittanee back story

Brittanee Marie Drexel, 17, of Rochester, NY was last seen around 8 p.m. Saturday.

Investigators have also tracked her cell phone, Knipes said.

The search came as family members from upstate New York arrived at the beach to help in the search.

The mother of a missing New York state high school student hit the streets with friends, family and flyers to find out any information that could lead to the safe return of her daughter.

Drexler’s mother, Dawn Drexler, along with other family members and friends spent several hours Tuesday handing out and posting flyers of the missing teen along Ocean Boulevard.

They went to businesses along the Boulevard looking for anyone who might have seen Brittanee Drexler inside their businesses.

The group received several leads and are working with Myrtle Beach Police Department detectives in trying to track her down.

One of those leads came from wait staff at the Oceanfront Bar and Grill, who said she was there on Sunday about 3 p.m., which would be the last known sighting of the teen.

Police are also looking for surveillance video to try to piece together where she went Saturday night.

Dawn Drexel says Brittanee is a junior at Gates Chili High School in Rochester, and was in Myrtle Beach with a group of older friends. Dawn Drexel says her daughter did not have her permission to travel to Myrtle Beach.

"I last talked to her Saturday around two o'clock. Her boyfriend spoke to her around eight o'clock," Drexel said.

"She sent a text message to one of her friends around 9:15 p.m. and said she was going to see another friend who was staying at another hotel. She never came back," Drexel said. "It's been almost 48 hours, and I'm really worried. We need everyone to be looking out for her."

John Hahn a friend of Drexel's family and a Marine stationed at Camp LeJeune, NC, contacted police on the family's behalf to report her missing. Hanh drove down to Myrtle Beach to help Dawn Drexel and her parents look for the missing teen.

"I've been friends with Britannee for a really really long time, we are very close friends. I'm trying to pray for the best but prepare for the worst," said Hahn.

Hahn and Drexel both tell News 13 that it is very unlike Brittanee to not keep in contact with family or friends. Drexel added that she has a bad feeling about what may have happened to her daughter.

"It's horrible because all I can think about is that someone could’ve taken her, someone could've taken her out of state she could be laying dead somewhere. She is my first born and it's just tearing me up inside, I'm just very very upset," said Drexel.

"I know for a fact that she wouldn't just pack up and leave, leaving all of her belongings behind and not calling anybody," said Hahn.

According to the report, Drexel was staying with a group of friends at the Bar Harbor Hotel, 1010 N. Ocean Blvd. Since her disappearance, the group moved to the Boardwalk Hotel, located at 2301 N. Ocean Blvd.

Authorities handed out printed flyers of Brittanee’s picture to the beach’s watch patrol. Crews there said they are pretty heavily staffed at this time of the year, which makes it easy to do a search of any missing persons.

“With the water being as cold as it is and temperatures dropping at night it’s you know it’s very unlikely that she went for a swim or anything of that nature. We haven't had any leads or any luck, we've been going up to different patrons doing pretty much everything that we can do out here to make sure she is not out on the beach or if she is we would definitely have found her by now,"said beach manager Wesley Cox.

“With the water being as cold as it is and temperatures dropping at night, it’s very unlikely that she went for a swim or anything of that nature.

Drexel is described as 5-feet tall, weighing 103 pounds. She has brown, shoulder-length, straight hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a multi-colored striped shirt, black shorts, and flip-flop sandals. She reportedly suffers from depression.

Police entered Drexel's description into the National Crime Information Center database on Sunday.

Anyone with information on Drexel's disappearance or whereabouts should contact the Myrtle Beach Police Department at (843) 918-1382.

Stay with News 13 and scnow.com for more on this story as details become available.

-- News 13's Jody Barr and Aisha Khan contributed to this report.

Britannee Marie Drexel
Photo courtesy Myrtle Beach Police Department

Britannee Marie Drexel seen on the lobby camera of the Bluewater Resort Saturday between 8:40 to 8:45 pm.
Photo courtesy Myrtle Beach Police Department