Posted at: 11/12/2009 5:31 PM | WHEC.com
Updated at: 11/13/2009 11:08 PM
By: Lynette Adams

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Missing Chili teen on cover of People magazine

There is new hope for the Drexel family. Brittanee Drexel’s picture will now be seen by millions. Her story is one of six profiled in the current issue of People magazine. Her face graces the cover.

Brittanee’s aunt – Keri Drexel said, “It keeps our hope out there. We're trying everything to keep her name and face out there, all over the world. I've actually gotten e-mails sent to me saying 'wow I've seen your niece’s picture in Australia’.”

The People article is called "Vanished without a Trace." It tells of the anguish the Drexel family lives with since Brittanee, the oldest of three, disappeared in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last April. It’s a story of six people, mostly children who have mysteriously disappeared. 

“One in six kids is brought home as a direct result of someone seeing a picture. Ed Suk is the executive director of the New York branch of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. As he prepares for the national center's 25th anniversary dinner and auction, he talks about the importance of never giving up. “Elizabeth Smart is a perfect example of this. She was held captive for nine months back in 2002. Ed Smart is going to be with for our auction. She's a testament to the importance of not giving up hope. Gone for nine months and then brought home safely.”

He says it could happen for the Drexel family. “Perhaps her appearance is a little bit different, but somebody sees the picture on People Magazine and realizes they just saw her at a convenience store, a grocery store or some other retail establishment. You just never know.”

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