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Speaker 1: Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. It is a story that

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Speaker 1: has now become all to familiar. A beautiful young girl

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Speaker 1: goes missing on spring break, but in the last hours

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Speaker 1: a stunning twist to the search for a teen girl

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Speaker 1: Brittany Drexel. I'm Nancy Grace and this is Crime Stories.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation

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Speaker 1: and Serious XM one eleven. First of all, take a

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Speaker 1: listen to our cut. One with us tonight is a

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Speaker 1: very special guest. Brittany Drexel's mother is with us, Dawn Drexel.

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Speaker 1: Miss Drexel, Thank you for being with us. What are

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Speaker 1: police telling you? You're welcome. I had just read turned

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Speaker 1: from the police department. I'm not too long ago. They

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Speaker 1: have some leads that they are going on, but they

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Speaker 1: need to follow through with them. Now. I know that

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Speaker 1: you told your daughter, no, you cannot go to Myrtle Beach,

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Speaker 1: so she went to Myrtle Beach. That's not the worst

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Speaker 1: thing in the world. Many a seventeen year old has

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Speaker 1: gone off on spring bright without telling their parents. But

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Speaker 1: she stayed in contact with you. She stayed in touch

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Speaker 1: with you for many, many days until when until Saturday,

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Speaker 1: Saturday afternoon was the last time I spoke with Brittany?

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Speaker 1: And take a listen to cut to where we hear

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Speaker 1: what Brittany told her mom? What can you tell me

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Speaker 1: about the last time you heard from her? What did

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Speaker 1: she say? What does she text? When I spoke with Brittany,

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Speaker 1: I asked her what she was doing, and she says, oh, my,

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Speaker 1: I'm at the beach. And it was an eighty degree

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Speaker 1: day in Rochester, So of course, you know, I thought

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Speaker 1: that maybe she was at beach in Rochester with one

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Speaker 1: of her girlfriends that she had said that it was staying,

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Speaker 1: she was staying overnight. And then I said, well, what

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Speaker 1: do you plan on doing later? She said, oh, I'm

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Speaker 1: just gonna hang off my pharm. We're gonna watch a movie.

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Speaker 1: And I told her, I said, well, please give me

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Speaker 1: a call later, and she said okay, Mom. And then

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Speaker 1: you know, I told her, I said I love you, Brittany,

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Speaker 1: and she says, I love you, Mom, And then then

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Speaker 1: we hung up the phone. How many times has Britney's

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Speaker 1: mother played that conversation, those conversations over and over in

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Speaker 1: her head, wondering what happened to my girl? Again? In

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Speaker 1: the last hour, a stunning turn in the search for

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Speaker 1: Brittany to special guests joining us. This is Dawn Drexel,

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Speaker 1: This is Britney's mother, Miss Drexel. Thank you for being

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Speaker 1: with us. You're welcome, Miss Drexel. How many times have

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Speaker 1: you played that conversation over in your head? Many times

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Speaker 1: over the last thirteen years. I'll always remember Brittany's last

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Speaker 1: words to me, I love you, I'll see you tomorrow.

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Speaker 1: You were hearing me speaking to Brittany's mother when Brittany

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Speaker 1: first went missing. But in the last days, a stunning,

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Speaker 1: stunning turn of events joining me, Nicole Boone, special Events

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Speaker 1: anchor wbt w N Myrtle Beach Nicole, Brittany's remains have

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Speaker 1: been found where well, they were found in a wooded

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Speaker 1: area near the town Harmony Township subdivision, and it had

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Speaker 1: been gone investigators. Police had gone to the site a

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Speaker 1: few days before when they had gotten information Doug on

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Speaker 1: this site in a remote area of Georgetown County, you know,

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Speaker 1: very wooded rural area, very remote, off the beaten path.

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Speaker 1: And once they got this tip from a very reliable source.

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Speaker 1: I spoke with Solicitor Jimmy richardson yesterday and this came

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Speaker 1: about in the last couple of weeks getting some really

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Speaker 1: good information from a tipster. I'll let you determine who

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Speaker 1: the tipster is. There and went to this site and

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Speaker 1: did the excavation and that's where her remains were found.

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Speaker 1: Very rural area of Georgetown County, South Carolina, along the coast,

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Speaker 1: but in inland, in a remote area misstrec So when

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Speaker 1: did you learn that Britney's remains had been found. I

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Speaker 1: had spoken with the FBI. They were pretty much updating

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Speaker 1: me like every day. I knew when they were starting

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Speaker 1: to search. But on Wednesday, probably about three o'clock in

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Speaker 1: the afternoon, they had called me until me that they

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Speaker 1: had found human remains. When you were told that human

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Speaker 1: remains had been found, what went through your mind? I

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Speaker 1: was kind of I mean, you know with me, I mean,

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Speaker 1: fighting for as long as I have for Brittany. I

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Speaker 1: was really upset when they told me they had found her.

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Speaker 1: But I can tell you that it was a huge

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Speaker 1: relief to me because now I can bring Brittany home.

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Speaker 1: Did you harbor over the years any secret belief that

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Speaker 1: Brittany was still alive somewhere. No. Early on in her case,

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Speaker 1: they had told us that they believed that this was

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Speaker 1: going to be a homicide investigation, and I mean I

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Speaker 1: was pretty much set up for it. I think, I just,

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Speaker 1: you know, you go back to the numbness in in

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Speaker 1: everything from the beginning. I just want to bring britt home.

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Speaker 1: That's all I want to do, is just bring her

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Speaker 1: home so that she can be with us, also with me.

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Speaker 1: Jarrett Farantino, Pennsylvania high profile, a lawyer, a homicide prosecutor. Jared,

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Speaker 1: thank you for being with us. Pleasure to be with you. Nancy,

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Speaker 1: Thank you for having us. Jared. I cannot even imagine

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Speaker 1: what Britney's mother has gone through, and it has dragged

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Speaker 1: out for so long. I mean, when you heard me

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Speaker 1: at the beginning talking to Britney's mother, that was years

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Speaker 1: ago when I first learned that a girl named Brittany

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Speaker 1: Drexel had disappeared on a Myrtle Beach vacation and we

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Speaker 1: were trying to find her, and we were sending out

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Speaker 1: her picture on the tip line and just constantly trying

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Speaker 1: to find Britta. That was a long time ago, in

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Speaker 1: two thousand and nine. As I recall, the suffering her

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Speaker 1: family has been through is really unimaginable. No one can

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Speaker 1: know unless you go through it yourself. Absolutely. Mancy. First

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Speaker 1: of all, thank you for the coverage you've provided in

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Speaker 1: the attention you've brought to Brittany's case. Certainly that has

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Speaker 1: inspired people to continue her search and the quest for

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Speaker 1: answers in the case. In addition to the thirteen years,

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Speaker 1: the investigation itself had taken some twists and turns. In

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Speaker 1: twenty sixteen, there were suspects named. There were certainly rumors

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Speaker 1: and information that came out of what may have happened

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Speaker 1: to Brittany. So Don has been so up and down

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Speaker 1: on this roller coaster of an investigation. But the past

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Speaker 1: several weeks, as we came to learn that things were

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Speaker 1: coming to an end in this phase, don't direct soul

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Speaker 1: as me. This is Brittany's mother, you know, Dawn. We

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Speaker 1: had been looking for Brittany for so long, and I've

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Speaker 1: got to tell you, when I learned that her remains

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Speaker 1: had been found, I felt like I got punched in

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Speaker 1: the stomach. I guess somewhere deep inside I had always

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Speaker 1: hoped that somehow someone had taken her and she had.

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Speaker 1: I don't know what I was thinking in my head.

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Speaker 1: Maybe she was afraid to leave, or she had been

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Speaker 1: Stockholm syndrome. She had been brainwashed and she wouldn't tell anybody,

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Speaker 1: And I always come up with these scenarios in the

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Speaker 1: back of my mind, and then the finality of saying

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Speaker 1: we found her remains. I'm just trying to imagine you

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Speaker 1: in that moment. Where were you when they told you?

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Speaker 1: I was actually at home when they had called. We

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Speaker 1: had met with the FBI UM probably two weeks prior,

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Speaker 1: and you know, at that point things were moving pretty fast,

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Speaker 1: and so I knew they were, you know, they were

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Speaker 1: searching for Brittany, But it's just I don't know at

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Speaker 1: that moment when they when they had recovered um, you know,

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Speaker 1: or had found the human remains, it was like, I

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Speaker 1: don't know, I was just in It's kind of like

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Speaker 1: in disbelief, Like I never knew that we were going

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Speaker 1: to get there, Like thirteen years is a long time.

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Speaker 1: I never thought that that that Brittany was going to

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Speaker 1: be found. Take a listen to our cut eight. This

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Speaker 1: is from WHAM. Brittany was seventeen, a junior at Gates

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Speaker 1: Chila when she left without her mom's permission for spring

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Speaker 1: break in Myrtle Beach. She was less seen alone leaving

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Speaker 1: a motel on the Strip. In twenty ten thirteen, Wham

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Speaker 1: had this exclusive video of the site along a river

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Speaker 1: in South Carolina where Britney's body was believed to have

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Speaker 1: been left. Prime Stories with Nancy Grace to Cheryl McCollum

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Speaker 1: joining me, Fence expert, founder and director of the Cold

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Speaker 1: Case Research Institute. A hotel security camera actually captured one

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Speaker 1: of the last known images of teen girl Britney Drexel.

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Speaker 1: It was just before nine pm and she was leaving

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Speaker 1: a friend's room, a friend girls room at the I

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Speaker 1: think it was the Blue Water Resort. We see her

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Speaker 1: later walking through the lobby. I don't know how many

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Speaker 1: times you've looked at that video, Cheryl McCollum. I have

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Speaker 1: studied it. I have slow mode it. I have looked

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Speaker 1: at it screen by screen to see if I saw

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Speaker 1: anybody watching her in the background. Just you know the

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Speaker 1: case of Kelsey Smith who went to a target to

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Speaker 1: pick out her boyfriend an anniversary gift. And when you

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Speaker 1: look back at the video at target, she doesn't see

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Speaker 1: this guy, but in every still you see a white

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Speaker 1: male not far from her. He may be on the

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Speaker 1: aisle behind her, you know, looking over, he could be

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Speaker 1: at the end of the aisle looking around at her.

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Speaker 1: He's always right around her, but he never speaks to her.

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Speaker 1: And as Kelsey heads to the checkout at Target, you

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Speaker 1: see him walk passed her and leave, only to ambush

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Speaker 1: her and kidnap her in the garage of the Target.

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Speaker 1: I remember slow mowing Brittany's video and just seeing who

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Speaker 1: was walking by. What can I see? What can I notice?

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Speaker 1: And nothing was really revealed in that video except the

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Speaker 1: time and the date stamp right, which was crucial because

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Speaker 1: it gave us a location, a date, a time, and

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Speaker 1: what she was wearing and the direction she went. So

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Speaker 1: when she left Bar Harbor Hotel headed to Blue Water,

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Speaker 1: then you know, we knew, you've only got a mile

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Speaker 1: and a half and she should have been there, and

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Speaker 1: she texted her boyfriend and hey, I'm walking back to

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Speaker 1: my hotel, So she should have been back there within

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Speaker 1: a half hour. And it was that critical moment. A

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Speaker 1: half an hour, you know, a half an hour, and

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Speaker 1: the whole world changed to Jarrett Farentino joining US high

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Speaker 1: profile lawyer out of Pennsylvania who is Don Drexel's lawyer.

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Speaker 1: A half an hour. I remember Curly Brusia in Florida,

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Speaker 1: and I'm sure you remember her as well. She had

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Speaker 1: to spend the night with a friend girl and was

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Speaker 1: walking home the following morning, I think it was a

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Speaker 1: Saturday or Sunday morning, and she cut caddy cornered instead

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Speaker 1: of following the street, and in the fifteen minutes it

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Speaker 1: would have taken her to walk, she encountered her killer.

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Speaker 1: In fifteen minutes, the world turned upside down for Curly's

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Speaker 1: family and in Brittany Drexel's case. In that thirty minute

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Speaker 1: segment that Cheryl McCollum just identified, Brittany was taken walking

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Speaker 1: from one hotel to the next in Nancy. That examination

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Speaker 1: of that time frame, the surgical precision that the investigator's

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Speaker 1: laser beam focused analysis is really what had to be done.

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Speaker 1: Had to be done in the Brushia case. That's the

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Speaker 1: kind of investigation what can be green from the Bar

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Speaker 1: Harbor Hotel to the blue water that we can learn.

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Speaker 1: We knew when we knew what Britney was wearing, we

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Speaker 1: knew what direction she was heading. So the investigators over

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Speaker 1: the past thirteen years and very recently had to examine

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Speaker 1: that footage, that time frame and the technological advances that

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Speaker 1: have been made, and the interim certainly aided in their

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Speaker 1: investigation as time went on. Take a listen to our

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Speaker 1: cut five our friends at WCIV. Officials say the teenager

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Speaker 1: was on spring break in April two thousand and nine.

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Speaker 1: Surveillance video shows her leaving the Bluewater Resort in Myrtle Beach,

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Speaker 1: and for the first time, officials are giving details of

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Speaker 1: what happened next. We believe she traveled to this area

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Speaker 1: around mcclellanville and the North Charleston South Georgetown area, and

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Speaker 1: we believe she was killed after that. And we do

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Speaker 1: know that Britney was in this community for several days.

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Speaker 1: We think she was held here against her will, at

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Speaker 1: least for a portion of the time that she was here.

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Speaker 1: The FBI also announced today it's now offering a twenty

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Speaker 1: five thousand dollar reward for information leading to an arrest.

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Speaker 1: So by being here for several days, other people came

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Speaker 1: in contact, whether saw her, know that she was here,

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Speaker 1: So we know there is information in the community here.

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Speaker 1: We think we're at a point where one or two

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Speaker 1: small pieces of information could put us over the edge.

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Speaker 1: They say, if you do know information and you don't

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Speaker 1: call police, you could be subject even to federal charges

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Speaker 1: at a later time. You know, why were they so

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Speaker 1: convinced that she was held against her will in that

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Speaker 1: area for several days? Jarrett Farantino, Nancy, That's a great question.

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Speaker 1: They were convinced that she was definitely in that area

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Speaker 1: based on some cell phone technology where her phone was

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Speaker 1: pinging from in the remote area some fifty miles away

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Speaker 1: from the Myrtle Beach area. So whether or not she

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Speaker 1: was being held against her will, that was a little

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Speaker 1: bit of conjecture on the part of investigators, and certainly

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Speaker 1: some information that came out later may have suggested that.

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Speaker 1: But I'm not sure why at that point they felt

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Speaker 1: she was being held against her will for an extended

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Speaker 1: period of time. What about it, Cheryl McCollum. I have

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Speaker 1: no idea why they would say it. I have no

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Speaker 1: idea why they would bring up even the gator pit.

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Speaker 1: There were several things said in that first you know,

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Speaker 1: press comfortence that Don and I talked about that I

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Speaker 1: thought was just way over the top and almost sensationalized,

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Speaker 1: and I thought maybe they were trying to beat the

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Speaker 1: bushes to bring other people out to say, hey, that's

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Speaker 1: not what happened. You're making it worse. That's what I

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Speaker 1: believed they would do, and was trying to look for

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Speaker 1: other witnesses to come forward, or maybe they just had

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Speaker 1: a bass aukwards. Now you brought up my next topic,

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Speaker 1: and that was how in the world did a gator

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Speaker 1: slither into this fact scenario who had nothing It had

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Speaker 1: nothing to do with this disappearance, and yet somehow that

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Speaker 1: became the centerpiece of so much of the coverage of

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Speaker 1: Writtey's disappearance. Cheryl McCallum, Well, Nancy, I remember years ago

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Speaker 1: you and I were investigating the case and we had

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Speaker 1: to go talk to some near the whales and you

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Speaker 1: said to me, swans don't swim and assume her. In

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Speaker 1: other words, who do you think I've got to go

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Speaker 1: to to find out about this criminal? Other criminals. So

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Speaker 1: they were getting information from jailhouse informants, criminals, liars, So

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Speaker 1: they have to run that down. If they get information,

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Speaker 1: if they get a tip, they've got to run with

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Speaker 1: it and make sure this is either credible or not credible.

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Speaker 1: But either they got to work that tip. Well, you

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Speaker 1: know another thing, as tough as it is to believe,

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Speaker 1: I have actually had a case where a child was

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Speaker 1: killed and left and a swap infested with gators. So

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Speaker 1: it has happened, but in this case, it just seems

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Speaker 1: so far fetched, the whole the scenario that was being

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Speaker 1: asserted for those of you just joining us breaking news

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Speaker 1: in the search for a beautiful young girl, a teen girl,

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Speaker 1: Brittany Direxel and I remember like yesterday when we first

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Speaker 1: started the hunt for Brittany. To you, Dawn Directel, Brittany's mother,

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Speaker 1: Can you believe it's twenty twenty two and when you're

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Speaker 1: just solving the mystery? Yes, I know it's this case.

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Speaker 1: I can tell you I believe this case should have

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Speaker 1: been solved a long time ago. But you know that's

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Speaker 1: for another day. Well, you're absolutely right about that. To

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Speaker 1: Nicole Boone joining me from wbt w U, Nicole, again,

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Speaker 1: thank you for being with us. Could you please describe

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Speaker 1: the area where Britney's remains were found and how far

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Speaker 1: away is that from where she went missing at the

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Speaker 1: Blue Water Resort in Myrtle Beach. Yes, Nancy, it was

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Speaker 1: a very remote area, a wooded area along Old Town

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Speaker 1: Avenue and Harmony Township in Georgetown County. Georgetown County is

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Speaker 1: along south Carolina's coast and Georgetown itself. The city would

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Speaker 1: be about fifty four miles from Myrtle Beach if you

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Speaker 1: the drive time from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to Georgetown.

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Speaker 1: Maybe not quite that far, maybe forty, but still a

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Speaker 1: decent distance. And once she went missing in Myrtle Beach,

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Speaker 1: immediately once the cell phone started ring peeing from the

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Speaker 1: cell phone towers, she ended more in that remote area

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Speaker 1: of Georgetown County. And to the fact about the talk

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Speaker 1: of an alligator pit and all of that that was

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Speaker 1: brought up years after she went missing, it's very much

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Speaker 1: an alligator invested area, and some of those things start

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Speaker 1: to come up that may not have merit. But when

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Speaker 1: I spoke with Solicitor Jimmy Richardson, he told me there

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Speaker 1: were so many tentacles in this investigation. You have to

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Speaker 1: keep checking things out, and to the point that when

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Speaker 1: it came up out of speaking with people that were

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Speaker 1: actually jail house snitches, you are dealing with criminals themselves.

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Speaker 1: So a lot of tentacles in this investigation. But the

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Speaker 1: area where Britney's remains were found very remote in Georgetown County,

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Speaker 1: forty miles or so from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, up

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Speaker 1: the coast where she went missing along the boulevard. Then

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Speaker 1: the search focuses there at Georgetown County, about fifty miles

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Speaker 1: away from where she was last seen alive. Now take

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Speaker 1: listen to our cut three our friends in h Am,

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Speaker 1: a hotel security camera captured one of the last known

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Speaker 1: images of Brittany. It was just before nine pm. She

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Speaker 1: was leaving a friend's room at the Blue Water Resort

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Speaker 1: to walk back to the hotel where she was staying.

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Speaker 1: We know that Brittany Drexel made it here to Eleventh

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Speaker 1: Avenue in Ocean Boulevard. How do we know Well, one

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Speaker 1: of the few working cameras at the time captured this

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Speaker 1: image of her. She was about halfway through that mile

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Speaker 1: and a half walk back to her hotel when Brittany disappeared.

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Speaker 1: The next clue appears fifty miles away and Georgetown County,

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Speaker 1: where Brittany's cell phone gave off its last signal. That's

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Speaker 1: about eight miles from the Sunset Lodge where Raymond Moody

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Speaker 1: had moved in the day before. Moody was stopped for

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Speaker 1: speeding a nearby surfside the day after Britney disappeared to

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Speaker 1: doctor Angela Arnold joining me, psychiatrist renowned psychiastists on the

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Speaker 1: Atlanta jurisdiction. I don't know if you recall the name

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Speaker 1: Timothy McVeigh. He's an Oklahoma City bomber that claimed the

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Speaker 1: lives of so many, including children that were in a

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Speaker 1: daycare at the Alfred Murrah Federal building that was bombed.

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Speaker 1: He was pulled over the cause of the tall light,

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Speaker 1: as I recall, and when his car was searched there

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Speaker 1: was evidence that he may have been involved in the bombing.

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Speaker 1: In this case, Moody was stopped for speeding in Surfside

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Speaker 1: the day after Brittany disappeared. But I think that it's

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Speaker 1: too far fetched to expect the cops to put two

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Speaker 1: and two together based on a speeding ticket. I can't

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Speaker 1: fault them on that. Well, I do think, Nancy, that

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Speaker 1: I mean, let's say said, I think that these things

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Speaker 1: have to be taken very seriously, just knowing I think

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Speaker 1: that we never can let our guard down. Well, I

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Speaker 1: agree with that. Another issue, and I'm going to throw

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Speaker 1: this back to you. Yere At Farentino, Pennsylvania lawyer, a

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Speaker 1: homicide prosecutor, take a listen, to our cut number nine

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Speaker 1: from WPDE Carrie Harding was only eight years old when

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Speaker 1: she was abducted by Raymond Moody. Just as I passed,

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Speaker 1: he grabbed me from behind with his hand over my

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Speaker 1: mouth and around my waist and put me in the

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Speaker 1: passenger seat of the car. And he drove from there

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Speaker 1: from two or three miles away to an undeveloped housing

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Speaker 1: tracks to getting the back seat and take off your clothes.

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Speaker 1: And when I said why, he said, because order a screw,

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Speaker 1: which you know you don't televate your old Chile that

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Speaker 1: we don't even know what they call that mean. Moody

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Speaker 1: served twenty one years of a forty year prison sentence

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Speaker 1: after admitting to sexually assaulting Harding and six other girls.

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Speaker 1: He relocated to Georgetown after his release from California State

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Speaker 1: Prison in two thousand and four. Nobody should get a

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Speaker 1: second chance to hurt child. Police suspect Drexel was kidnapped

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Speaker 1: as she walked along Ocean Boulevard and driven to Georgetown County.

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Speaker 1: Her cell phone signal was last detected in a remote

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Speaker 1: boat landing area near this out Santi River. It's roughly

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Speaker 1: eight miles from the sunset Lodge apartments in Georgetown County.

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Speaker 1: That's where Moody had been living at the time. I mean,

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Speaker 1: Cheryl McCollum, you pull a guy over for speeding, so

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Speaker 1: to day after Brittany disappears, there were rumblings even then,

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Speaker 1: where's Brittany Drexel. They don't run his rape sheet when

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Speaker 1: they pull him over. I mean when I get pulled

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Speaker 1: over for anything, I said there forever, I don't know

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Speaker 1: what they're running. But you've got a guy who has

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Speaker 1: done hard jail time for raping a little girl in

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Speaker 1: the vicinity where Brittany Drexel goes missing. Another reason that

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Speaker 1: is so important, Nancy I said. When he has questioned

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Speaker 1: later about Brittany, he says, oh, I was gout of jail.

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Speaker 1: They got proved he was not out of jail. He

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Speaker 1: was eight miles away the day after she was kidnapped too.

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Speaker 1: To Michelle Dupree, joining US former forensic pathologists, medical examiner, detective,

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Speaker 1: author of homicide investigation field guide, doctor Dupree, the moment

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Speaker 1: the remains were found, police and immediately identified it, identified

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Speaker 1: them as human remains? How could they do that immediately

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Speaker 1: upon sight? And now I think most often it's with

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Speaker 1: a skull because obviously, you know, humans have a very

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Speaker 1: distinctive skull shape. It can also be by other means.

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Speaker 1: Other bones in the body can tell whether it's human

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Speaker 1: or not. I'm just very curious. Back to you. Nicole

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Speaker 1: Boone joining as special events anchored wbt W in Myrtle Beach.

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Speaker 1: She's also hosting producer Conversations with Nicole podcast Nicole. I'm

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Speaker 1: curious about the tipster that called in the location of

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Speaker 1: Brittany's remains. Well, some of the things I am not

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Speaker 1: at liberty to talk about that I have learned through sources,

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Speaker 1: but I think the tipster is obviously someone very close

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Speaker 1: to the case. And my understanding is in the last

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Speaker 1: couple of weeks, this information really started to turn quickly

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Speaker 1: and for boots on the ground in Georgetown County, I know,

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Speaker 1: other media outlets were really getting some information and starting

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Speaker 1: to close in and hear what was happening with investigators.

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Speaker 1: You know, you had an unbelievable amount of agencies working

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Speaker 1: this case for quite some time, and it appears to

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Speaker 1: me that they started getting the information to really hone

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Speaker 1: in on where Brittany's remains were and what was involved.

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Speaker 1: And as a good journalist. I am not at liberty

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Speaker 1: to tell some of the things that were told to me,

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Speaker 1: but the tipster was apparently very clear and concise on

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Speaker 1: where her remains were located. Dawn Drexel is with me.

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Speaker 1: This is Britney's mother, who has been through pure hell

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Speaker 1: since two thousand and nine. And I can remember the

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Speaker 1: very first time we spoke searching for Brittany, and you

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Speaker 1: would beg and you would cry in commercial breaks when

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Speaker 1: I was at HLN and I could hear you, and

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Speaker 1: and somehow when we came back on the air, you

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Speaker 1: are crystal clear and Razor focused on trying to find

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Speaker 1: your daughter. Dawn. What a long, long road this has been,

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Speaker 1: and I just I hate it so much for you.

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Speaker 1: I'm curious, who do you believe is the tipster. I'm

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Speaker 1: not at liberty to be in and I can't comment

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Speaker 1: at this time, but I can tell you Raymond Moody

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Speaker 1: is a sex offender, Okay, and I don't I don't

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Speaker 1: care what anybody thinks. You cannot rehabilitate a sex offender,

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Speaker 1: you know what. That's what I've been saying since day one,

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Speaker 1: when I first started prosecuting. I do not believe child molesters, rapists,

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Speaker 1: sex offenders in general can be rehabilitated. I agree, and Nancy,

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Speaker 1: this is doctor Arnold. This is not a matter of

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Speaker 1: believing it or not. It is that is the truth.

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Speaker 1: They can be watched, and when I was working with

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Speaker 1: sex offenders earlier in my career, we would keep an

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Speaker 1: eye on them very closely. I can tell you about

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Speaker 1: it sometime. But they cannot be rehabilitated. Dawn, I'm just

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Speaker 1: thinking back on the erie beginning, and I mean, you

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Speaker 1: see a lot of crime shows on TV and in movies.

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Speaker 1: Real wife isn't like that. Cops are not tarot card

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Speaker 1: readers or soothsayers. They can't look into a crystal ball.

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Speaker 1: They can't figure out Oh I started this guy speeding.

427
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:19,880
Speaker 1: I wonder if he took Brittany, but they had a

428
00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:22,600
Speaker 1: bead on him from the beginning. Take a listen to

429
00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:25,920
Speaker 1: our cut thirteen. This is the Georgetown County Sheriff. The

430
00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:29,360
Speaker 1: why I may never be known or understood, but today

431
00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:35,120
Speaker 1: this task force can confidently and without hesitation answer the

432
00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:39,440
Speaker 1: rest of those questions, along with the who is responsible?

433
00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:45,400
Speaker 1: The who is Raymond Douglas Moody who lives at fifty

434
00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:49,280
Speaker 1: five oz two Rosehill Road in Georgetown, South Carolina. His

435
00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:52,959
Speaker 1: date of birth as May the ninth of nineteen sixty

436
00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:56,480
Speaker 1: and he is a white male with an extensive sex

437
00:29:56,520 --> 00:30:01,840
Speaker 1: offender criminal history. The Georgetown County Sheriff's Office charges against

438
00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:09,160
Speaker 1: mister Raymond Moody are murder, kidnapping, criminal sexual conduct in

439
00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:13,480
Speaker 1: the first degree, all of these charges occurring within the

440
00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:18,720
Speaker 1: jurisdictional limits of Georgetown County, all of which occurred on

441
00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:22,160
Speaker 1: April the twenty fifth of two thousand and nine, in

442
00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:28,320
Speaker 1: all of which detail Brittany Drexel as the victim. Cheryl mccollin,

443
00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:30,800
Speaker 1: what do you make of the so called tipster? Well,

444
00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:34,440
Speaker 1: apparently it was solid information because we were able to

445
00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:37,880
Speaker 1: recover Brittany and she will be able to go back

446
00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:41,920
Speaker 1: home with her family. But again I agree with Dawns.

447
00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:46,000
Speaker 1: They not only had a beat on him, they named

448
00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:48,720
Speaker 1: him in two thousand and twelve as a person of interest.

449
00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:52,560
Speaker 1: They certainly did. Yeah, and you know, he has hurt

450
00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:59,160
Speaker 1: six young women and children, And it is baffling to

451
00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:03,960
Speaker 1: me that a body can rate and harm six young

452
00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:07,800
Speaker 1: people and walk free, and walk free to be out

453
00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:11,800
Speaker 1: there to take Brittany put her through God knows what

454
00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:15,400
Speaker 1: before he killed her. You're absolutely right. Take a listen

455
00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:19,600
Speaker 1: to our cut six our friends from Wham. Raymond Moody

456
00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:23,120
Speaker 1: was first named a person of interest in Brittany Drexel's

457
00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:27,240
Speaker 1: disappearance in twenty twelve, but was never charged. In the

458
00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:31,480
Speaker 1: nineteen eighties, Moody was charged with kidnapping and raping a

459
00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:36,800
Speaker 1: child in California and as a registered sex offender. Publicly,

460
00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:40,680
Speaker 1: his name has not come up in Drexel's case since

461
00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:43,640
Speaker 1: twenty twelve. We think she was held here against her will,

462
00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:46,440
Speaker 1: at least for a portion of the time that she

463
00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:51,080
Speaker 1: was here. In twenty sixteen, the FBI revealed first time

464
00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:55,840
Speaker 1: details about Brittany Drexel's disappearance, saying she was killed after

465
00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:59,160
Speaker 1: being held against her will, kidnapped while she was walking

466
00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:08,200
Speaker 1: on the murder Old Beach strength while on Spring Brink

467
00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:22,720
Speaker 1: Time stories with Nancy Grace straight back out to Nicole

468
00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:26,640
Speaker 1: Boone joining us from w bt W. Nicole. It was

469
00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:31,440
Speaker 1: around twenty eleven, I believe, just before Moody was named

470
00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:35,720
Speaker 1: a POY person of interest, and one of wbt w's

471
00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:41,240
Speaker 1: reporters questioned Moody, what happened. It's been interesting confrontation is

472
00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:43,520
Speaker 1: how I would have described it. It was he was

473
00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:47,960
Speaker 1: very much pushing back. Our reporter at the time, Mason Snyder,

474
00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:51,000
Speaker 1: went to speak with him, and this was after they

475
00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:54,880
Speaker 1: had searched a hotel room where Moody had been living,

476
00:32:55,080 --> 00:33:00,920
Speaker 1: and our reporter goes up to Raymond Moody talked to him, said,

477
00:33:01,120 --> 00:33:04,360
Speaker 1: what do you know about Britney Drexel? Do you know

478
00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:07,360
Speaker 1: anything about her? He said, I know nothing about this.

479
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,280
Speaker 1: Where were you the night the day that she went missing?

480
00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:14,880
Speaker 1: He doesn't answer. He just tells them you need to

481
00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:17,240
Speaker 1: get out of here. You need to leave, and if

482
00:33:17,240 --> 00:33:20,760
Speaker 1: you don't, I'm calling the police. So very interesting. He

483
00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:25,440
Speaker 1: was very in my opinion, belligerent with our reporter and

484
00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:28,360
Speaker 1: adamant that he leave, in adamant that he knew nothing

485
00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:31,560
Speaker 1: and for basically to leave or he was calling police. Wow,

486
00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:33,920
Speaker 1: that's a nerve for him to suggest he's going to

487
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:37,360
Speaker 1: call police exact because he's having a problem. You know,

488
00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:45,240
Speaker 1: thirteen years this guy has walked free after murdering a

489
00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:52,040
Speaker 1: teen girl on spring break. Just beautiful girl, scrubbed in

490
00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:54,600
Speaker 1: sunshine on the inside and the out. I want to

491
00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:58,760
Speaker 1: go back to Jarrett Farentino, high profile Pennsylvania lawyer that

492
00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:03,320
Speaker 1: is working with Dawn director. Britney's mom jump in. Well, Nancy,

493
00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:06,360
Speaker 1: I have to say, you talk about capturing Timothy McVeigh

494
00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:10,280
Speaker 1: with a viha bleostom. If we remember the Son of Sam,

495
00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:14,720
Speaker 1: he got captured with a parking ticket. This was Moody

496
00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:16,960
Speaker 1: was a fish out of water. He was fifty miles

497
00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:20,239
Speaker 1: away from his home. He had rented an apartment in

498
00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:24,840
Speaker 1: Myrtle Beach the day before April twenty fifth, when Britney

499
00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:28,720
Speaker 1: went missing. That was suspicious to the officers immediately as well.

500
00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:33,040
Speaker 1: You have this individual with a record and these downright

501
00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:38,640
Speaker 1: dangerous homicidal sexual proclivities in town. When a young beautiful

502
00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:44,680
Speaker 1: girl disappears, he was on their radar, and the focus

503
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:48,400
Speaker 1: has since, as we discussed, gone on to him in

504
00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:52,720
Speaker 1: great detail, leading to these charges. I mean the coincidence

505
00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:57,560
Speaker 1: that he shows up and then suddenly she goes missing.

506
00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:01,600
Speaker 1: I mean, Cheryl McCollum, he just got there and suddenly

507
00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:04,279
Speaker 1: a young girl is kidnapped. You said that there were

508
00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:09,719
Speaker 1: six victims of his that we know, how explain that

509
00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:12,719
Speaker 1: we know of And that's the big question, Nancy, in

510
00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:15,680
Speaker 1: the past thirteen years, how many more are there? He

511
00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:19,239
Speaker 1: hasn't just been sit in that trailer. He hasn't just

512
00:35:19,320 --> 00:35:26,320
Speaker 1: gone dormant. He's been out free to stalk, harass, harm, rape, kill.

513
00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:30,680
Speaker 1: I would be on it comparing his m O and

514
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:35,720
Speaker 1: him to every single disappearance or rape or sex attack

515
00:35:35,840 --> 00:35:40,239
Speaker 1: in the area and beyond. Don Drexel with me, this

516
00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:43,920
Speaker 1: is Britney's mother and this has been a very long

517
00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:50,200
Speaker 1: road for her and she never gave up ever in

518
00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:54,440
Speaker 1: her search for her daughter. You were telling me, Don,

519
00:35:54,680 --> 00:36:00,240
Speaker 1: that it was early on that you believed that Brittany

520
00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:05,000
Speaker 1: had been killed. What led you to believe or think

521
00:36:05,120 --> 00:36:09,160
Speaker 1: or feel that. Well, shortly after Britton you went missing,

522
00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:14,319
Speaker 1: the Myrtle Beach Police Department had told us that they

523
00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:20,680
Speaker 1: believed that they were dealing with a homicide investigation at

524
00:36:20,719 --> 00:36:26,719
Speaker 1: that point. From there, you know, and then what came

525
00:36:26,719 --> 00:36:33,520
Speaker 1: out in twenty sixteen with the FBI. I mean, we

526
00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:37,520
Speaker 1: pretty much knew that, you know, it's it was thirteen

527
00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:41,360
Speaker 1: years We pretty much knew that that Brittany was most

528
00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:45,240
Speaker 1: likely deceased. Guys, take a listen to our cut fifteen.

529
00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:50,520
Speaker 1: This is Solica Richardson in Georgetown County. Justice is never

530
00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:54,640
Speaker 1: going to be good enough. That's the fallacy and all

531
00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:58,239
Speaker 1: of this that somehow we're going to do our very

532
00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:02,399
Speaker 1: best to see that Raymond moved pays for what he's

533
00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:07,040
Speaker 1: done here. But that is not going to replace Brittany.

534
00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:11,719
Speaker 1: But what we have been able to do is to

535
00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:19,240
Speaker 1: return a body to Chad and Dome and hopefully start

536
00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:23,160
Speaker 1: the process of closure. And again, closure is not nearly

537
00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:26,600
Speaker 1: as good as justice, and justice isn't nearly as good

538
00:37:26,600 --> 00:37:30,960
Speaker 1: as just having it not happen. But that's all we

539
00:37:31,040 --> 00:37:35,200
Speaker 1: have to offer. So again to repeat, Raymond Moody is

540
00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:38,000
Speaker 1: in custody, is being held. He does not have a bond.

541
00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:43,400
Speaker 1: That original bond was on a obstruction of justice charge.

542
00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:46,480
Speaker 1: That's another charge that I failed to mention. But he

543
00:37:46,560 --> 00:37:51,640
Speaker 1: remains in custody. The body has been located and identified

544
00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:59,640
Speaker 1: by DNA and dental records and has been given over

545
00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:04,359
Speaker 1: to the Drectual family. Dude Dawn's Rexel. This is Brittany's mother.

546
00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:08,319
Speaker 1: I know it's hard to think about it right now

547
00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:12,520
Speaker 1: because since two thousand and nine, your goal has been

548
00:38:12,560 --> 00:38:20,400
Speaker 1: to bring Brittany home. Now Brittany has been found, what

549
00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:24,760
Speaker 1: is your next step? Well, my next step today, Well

550
00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:27,319
Speaker 1: today I am going to be going to the funeral home.

551
00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:31,200
Speaker 1: Um when I when when they have called me and

552
00:38:31,239 --> 00:38:35,080
Speaker 1: told me that, you know, it was a positive Idum,

553
00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:40,400
Speaker 1: I had said, you know, I don't want Brittany in

554
00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:43,040
Speaker 1: the ground. She's been in there for too long. I'm

555
00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:46,920
Speaker 1: going to go ahead and have her cremated. So UM,

556
00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:50,799
Speaker 1: I spoke with the funeral the funeral home here and

557
00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:54,400
Speaker 1: I'm actually going to pick up Brittany today so that

558
00:38:54,560 --> 00:38:57,400
Speaker 1: I can bring her back home with us. Does this

559
00:38:57,560 --> 00:39:04,520
Speaker 1: all sing so so realty? It does? It happened so fast? Um,

560
00:39:05,040 --> 00:39:08,400
Speaker 1: you know, and it just it you kind of go

561
00:39:08,520 --> 00:39:12,440
Speaker 1: back to like the numbness and you know, like that

562
00:39:12,880 --> 00:39:17,759
Speaker 1: those surreal moments when she first went missing, and you know,

563
00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:22,880
Speaker 1: right now it's I feel the same way. I feel

564
00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:26,440
Speaker 1: like it's so surreal, like you know, it is this

565
00:39:26,640 --> 00:39:31,120
Speaker 1: really true? You know? And it just I don't know.

566
00:39:31,239 --> 00:39:34,600
Speaker 1: I've always, you know, fought for Brittany and I've always

567
00:39:34,600 --> 00:39:36,960
Speaker 1: wanted to bring her home, and now I'm finally going

568
00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:39,279
Speaker 1: to be able to do that. I know. We're going

569
00:39:39,320 --> 00:39:42,359
Speaker 1: to also be having a celebration of life U in

570
00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:47,920
Speaker 1: Rochester with our family, UM, Britney's friends and h friends

571
00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:51,400
Speaker 1: that are close to our family and also, we're going

572
00:39:51,440 --> 00:39:53,360
Speaker 1: to have a celebration of life and Myrtle Beach. We

573
00:39:53,480 --> 00:39:57,080
Speaker 1: got so much support there from the community and a

574
00:39:57,080 --> 00:40:01,880
Speaker 1: lot of people that live in South Carolina. I'm curious,

575
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:09,080
Speaker 1: what is your most vivid memory of Brittany. Just her laugh,

576
00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:14,080
Speaker 1: her smile. Brittany, she just was She was just full

577
00:40:14,120 --> 00:40:17,239
Speaker 1: of life, her person she had great personality, she had

578
00:40:17,239 --> 00:40:22,160
Speaker 1: a lot of friends, and just watching her play soccer

579
00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:26,520
Speaker 1: on that soccer field, she was just amazing. She was

580
00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:31,080
Speaker 1: amazing at the game. She loved the game. And Brittany.

581
00:40:31,080 --> 00:40:35,760
Speaker 1: Brittany made like twenty six goals within her season, which

582
00:40:35,880 --> 00:40:40,640
Speaker 1: was pretty awesome. And she was just She's just so

583
00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:44,279
Speaker 1: full of life, you know, And for somebody to take

584
00:40:44,320 --> 00:40:49,080
Speaker 1: that away from us as just it's it's undescribable. It

585
00:40:49,160 --> 00:40:54,080
Speaker 1: really is. We live in an evil world, Nancy. As

586
00:40:54,239 --> 00:41:00,360
Speaker 1: we wait for the registered sex offender, Raymond Douglas Moody

587
00:41:01,360 --> 00:41:05,560
Speaker 1: to appear in court and for justice to unfold, our

588
00:41:05,600 --> 00:41:11,839
Speaker 1: prayers are with Dawn Drexel and Britney's family as they

589
00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:17,760
Speaker 1: move forward and the next phase of their lives. Goodbye friend,