WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, SportsMissing teen investigation turns to high school

Missing teen investigation turns to high school

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, SC (WMBF) - From Ocean Boulevard to Georgetown County, investigators on the hunt for missing 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel say their search radius is growing for the teen that vanished April 25.

As the search for Drexel expands southward, investigators have some residents like Sandra Green wondering how the case of the missing teen can possibly be linked to their quaint, quiet South Carolina town.

"Does Georgetown look like a criminal town?" she asked Wednesday evening.  "Everybody goes to sleep at 9 p.m."

But those closest to the ongoing investigation say they aren't willing to leave any lead - or stone - unturned, even if it means sweeping Georgetown High School for clues.

"They were just asking questions about the missing girl," said Shannon Sanders, a student at Georgetown High who says he saw investigators roaming the halls of his school Wednesday.

What kind of tip or lead would send investigators into a high school that is far from the closest to the place where Drexel was last seen alive? Sgt. Neil Johnson with the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office isn't offering an answer to that question, other than that his deputies were simply "assisting the Myrtle Beach Police Department."

As for the small town of Georgetown, they're hoping for the safe return of Drexel to her family and hope a disappearance that has gained national attention won't turn into a nightmare in their own backyard.

On Thursday morning, Drexel's boyfriend John Grieco told national television audiences that he was certain the teen didn't run away.

"We miss her terribly, and we are going to do everything in our power to bring her home safely," Grieco said.

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