Drexel investigators look into recent attempted abduction

Myrtle Beach, SC - MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - A team of detectives looking to crack the case of a missing New York teen is investigating the attempted abduction of a 20-year-old woman along South Ocean Boulevard late Wednesday afternoon.

Myrtle Beach Police were called to the 2200 block of South Ocean Boulevard after a woman claimed the occupants of a pale blue van attempted to abduct her near 22nd Avenue South.

The victim told police she was walking to a nearby mini-mart when the van approached her. Two men inside of the vehicle, the woman said, grabbed her by the waist and arms in an attempt to pull her inside of an open van door.

The 20-year-old's brush with danger has sparked the curiosity of many who are familiar with the 2009 disappearance of Brittanee Drexel.

The teen, who was 17 years old at the time, vanished while on Spring Break in Myrtle Beach. Drexel, according to investigators, was in the Grand Strand against the will of her mother.

Police said Drexel was last seen in the area of 11th Avenue South and 20th Avenue South, in close proximity to Wednesday's latest attempted abduction.

The related incident locations have sparked a large amount of speculation, but Myrtle Beach Police aren't quick to tie the crimes together.

"At this time, we are not saying that the cases are related; however, we must exercise due diligence and properly review the cases and see if there are any similarities," Capt. David Knipes, spokesman for the Myrtle Beach Police Department, said.

Knipes said in a prepared statement that the only similarities between the two cases are the approximate locations and the fact that the two victims are younger women.

As investigators continue to mull through the two cases, Myrtle Beach Police are asking the public to be on the lookout for two male suspects believed to be tied to Wednesday's attempted abduction.

Police are actively searching for two black males, one of which has been described by the 20-year-old victim as a heavyset man with a moustache and goatee. At the time of Wednesday's attempted abduction, the man was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jean shorts.

The second suspect, according to victim reports, was described as a tall, slender black male. He was said to have been wearing a white T-shirt and blue jean shorts at the time of the incident.

The two were traveling in a pale blue, older-model box van with a large number of rust spots during the attempted abduction. The victim said she remembered a square, yellow sticker located on the rear-passenger window.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the Myrtle Beach Police Department immediately.

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