Drexel case prompts search

Drexel case prompts search
BY ALLYSON BIRD

GEORGETOWN -- More than two years after 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel's disappearance, investigators in her case converged on a roadside apartment complex where a man convicted of raping a child once lived.

Officials declined to say anything about what they found inside Monday. But Myrtle Beach Police Lt. Chuck Capp said he didn't expect an impending arrest of the man who had stayed in unit 22 at the Sunset Lodge just outside of Georgetown.

"We've continued to follow numerous leads, and they're doing a search warrant of a person of interest," Capp said. "We think it's getting blown out of proportion."

Drexel, a Rochester, N.Y., teen who snuck away to the Grand Strand on spring break, was last seen April 25, 2009, on a Myrtle Beach hotel security camera. She told her mother she was spending the weekend at a friend's house after her parents told her she couldn't go to Myrtle Beach because of poor grades.

They learned that she had disobeyed their wishes at the same time they learned she was missing.

Drexel's cell phone gave off its last signal near the South Santee River in Georgetown County the day after her disappearance. Searchers on horseback and with teams of dogs have concentrated on the woods near there.

A manager at Sunset Lodge said the man in unit 22 moved in the day before Drexel disappeared. He left six months ago.

The man, as identified by the manager, was convicted of kidnapping and raping a child younger than 14 in 1983 in California. He was released from prison in 2004, according to federal records. He is a registered sex offender.

When approached by a reporter at his job site, he said, "I don't know anything about it, and I don't have anything to say."

Capp said police have several such "persons of interest" in the Drexel case. A task force composed of investigators from his department, the State Law Enforcement Division and the Georgetown and Charleston county sheriff's offices are working the case.

"It is certainly not a cold case," Capp said. "It has been an active case from Day One."

Monica Caison, founder and director of the North Carolina-based CUE Center for Missing Persons, said the task force continues to work new tips in the case. She said the ongoing effort means the public might see some of the work unfolding, as with Monday's search, but that much of it stays off the radar.

Although she didn't give any extra weight to the Sunset Lodge lead, Caison said, "I think anything that happens in Brittanee's investigation gets one more step closer to the truth.
"I'm grateful that there's information still circulating," she added. "A lot of cases can fall cold, but you have to remain hopeful."

SLED investigators searched a room Monday at the Sunset Lodge near Georgetown. They were looking for clues in the disappearance of Brittanee Drexel.

Search Warrant Conducted in Drexel Case

Authorities execute a new search warrant Monday in the case of missing teen Brittanee Drexel.

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Timeline

Events following Brittanee Drexel's disappearance:

April 25, 2009: Drexel last seen on Myrtle Beach hotel security camera.

April 26, 2009: Drexel's cell phone gives off last signal near South Santee River.

May 5, 2009: Crime Stoppers of the Lowcountry offers a reward of as much as $1,000 for information about Drexel's disappearance.

April 16, 2010: Drexel's mother, Dawn, appears on the "Today" show.

Sept. 13, 2010: An Albany, N.Y., church offers a $5,000 reward for information leading to Drexel's whereabouts.

Jan. 29-30, 2011: At least 150 people search 3 miles of wooded road in Georgetown County looking for clues.

Aug. 1, 2011: Investigators execute search warrant at Sunset Lodge near Georgetown.

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To offer tips

Brittanee Drexel was 17 when she disappeared in 2009. She is about 5 feet tall and 103 pounds with blue eyes and blond highlights in her hair.

If you have information that may lead to her whereabouts or to the arrest of those responsible for her disappearance, contact the Myrtle Beach Police Department at (843) 918-1382.

Reach Allyson Bird at 937-5594.

Husband Of Missing Missouri Mom Arrested

Jacque Sue Waller Case: Husband Of Missing Missouri Mom Arrested

The estranged husband of Jacque Sue Waller, the missing mother of young triplets from Missouri, has been arrested on charges unrelated to his wife's disappearance.

James "Clay" Waller, 40, was charged Friday with stealing and harassment. The charges have nothing to do with his estranged wife's disappearance, police said.

According to Laura Long Helbig, a friend of Jacque Waller's family, probable-cause documents state that Clay Waller, a former cop and construction business owner, allegedly accepted a check for $55,000 from a company in April 2010 for construction work he never did.

The harassment charge allegedly stems from a complaint made last week by Gary Hill, a former friend of Clay Waller, who told police that Waller threatened to kill him.

The probable-cause statement said that Hill's estranged wife had filed an order of protection against Waller but that it had not yet been served. Hill's wife had asked him to tell Waller to leave her alone. When Hill spoke with Waller over the phone, Waller allegedly told him he was going to kill him. Waller told police he didn't threaten anyone, Helbig said.

Waller was scheduled to appear in court Monday in front of Judge Gary Kamp for arraignment, but the hearing was delayed because Waller's attorney asked for a change of judge.

Jacque Waller, 39, of Cape Girardeau, was last seen on June 1 when she went to Clay Waller's house to pick up her son. The child was not at the home when she arrived, and what happened to her after that remains a mystery.

The estranged husband of Jacque Sue Waller has been arrested on charges unrelated to wife's disappearance.

During police questioning, Clay Waller said his wife arrived at his house around 4 p.m. He said they got into an argument and she stormed off on foot. Waller said he left and that when he returned about two hours later, her car was gone. The vehicle was later found abandoned on nearby Interstate 55 and one of its tires was flat. Jacque Waller's purse, keys and cellphone were not found inside the vehicle, police said.

Jacque Waller's Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield business cards were recently found inside a packet along Missouri Route 177, roughly 10 miles from where her car was found. Waller, according to police, is a manager at Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in Cape Girardeau.

Clay Waller has been named a person of interest in the case. Last month his attorney, Scott Douglas Reynolds, told The Huffington Post his client is innocent.

"Clay is not responsible for his wife's disappearance and we have substantial evidence to support that claim," Reynolds said. "We will not comment on the evidence at this point as there is an ongoing police investigation. It is sufficient to state that the police do not consider Clay a 'suspect' in Jackie's disappearance and they have repeatedly said there is no evidence that a crime was even committed here."

Celina Cass: Body Found In River Is Missing New Hampshire Girl

Celina Cass: Body Found In River Is Missing New Hampshire Girl

STEWARTSTOWN, N.H. (AP) — Authorities say the body of an 11-year-old New Hampshire girl who disappeared nearly a week ago has been found in a river less than half a mile from her home.

Divers found Celina Cass's body Monday morning near a hydroelectric dam that spans the Connecticut River between her hometown of Stewartstown, N.H., and Canaan, Vt.

Prosecutor Jane Young confirmed the identity at a news conference Monday night.

The discovery followed nearly a week of intense searching that attracted more than 100 federal, state and local law enforcement officers to the town of 800 residents a mile from the Canadian border.

Cass was last seen alive in her home on July 25. Young says her death is considered suspicious. An autopsy is planned for Tuesday.

Vigil held for 'Jane Doe'

Vigil held for 'Jane Doe'

Twenty years after a young woman's decomposed body was discovered along I-270 at the Baker Valley Road overpass, a small group gathered Sunday to remember her.

In the Worthington Farm National Park parking lot, a Maryland State Police officer and two Maryland Missing Persons Network personnel lit candles and said a silent prayer for the "Jane Doe" on the anniversary of her discovery.

"To this day -- and we're celebrating 20 years -- we have no idea who she is," Maryland State Police Sgt. Tina Becker said.

The Cold Case Unit officer said that the chance of determining what happened to the Jane Doe is zero to none; the girl, estimated to be in her late teens or early 20s at the time of her death, had no identification.

Maryland Missing Persons Network founder Kylen Johnson organized Sunday evening's vigil to make sure the victim is remembered.

"It is important that she is not forgotten," Becker said.

Johnson, Becker and Network member Suzanne McGraw participated Sunday night, holding lit candles together in a circle and saying a few words about the case.

"I ask for guidance to point me in the right direction, bring me helpful information," Becker said.

McGraw says a prayer for the family, she said.

The group wants to continue to raise awareness of the Jane Doe case and other missing persons and unidentified murder victims.

"We are here tonight to celebrate Jane," Becker said. "Unfortunately, there are lots of people missing."

Local attention to Sunday's event and similar vigils is helpful, Johnson said, because there are families who may not know what to do or who to contact when a loved one goes missing.

NamUs.gov, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, is a database open and researchable to the public, Becker said, which can cross-reference unidentified and missing people to create potential matches.

Becker said the law enforcement's biggest struggle is pairing an unidentified person with those listed as missing.

"We talk to people from all over the country, trying to (make a) match," she said. "It is a process of elimination."

The state missing persons network database holds about 350 missing Marylanders, including more than 200 unidentified victims, Johnson said.

"It is an unknown epidemic," Becker said of the number of people who go missing every day.

D.B. Cooper Suspect: FBI Investigating 'Credible Lead

D.B. Cooper Suspect: FBI Investigating 'Credible Lead' In 40-Year-Old Airline Hijacking

SEATTLE -- The FBI says it has a "credible" lead in the D.B. Cooper case, which involved the 1971 hijacking of a passenger jet over Washington state and the suspect's legendary parachute escape.

FBI spokeswoman Ayn Sandalo Dietrich tells The Seattle Times that a law enforcement member directed investigators to a person who might have helpful information on the suspect.

Dietrich says an item belonging to the man was sent to a lab in Quantico, Va., for forensic testing. She did not provide specifics about the item or the man's identity.

Federal investigators have checked more than 1,000 leads since a hijacker dubbed "D.B. Cooper" parachuted from a flight with $200,000 dollars in ransom.

His fate remains unknown, although the Seattle Post Intelligencer reports agents have previously said they believe he died the night he jumped.

FBI Joins Desperate Search for Girl

Celina Cass: FBI Abduction Team Searches For Missing New Hampshire Girl Near Canada Border

STEWARTSTOWN, N.H. — Shy and sweet, with a gap-toothed smile and a reputation as reliable, 11-year-old Celina Cass is the last person anyone in her New Hampshire community would expect to run away. At this point, they only wish that were the case. The other explanations are too scary.

Last seen at a home computer Monday night, the fifth grader vanished overnight from her home a mile from the U.S.-Canada border, leaving family members and friends incredulous. Police and conservation officers are searching fields, woods and the Connecticut River while FBI child abduction specialists have joined the hunt.

Police have said that there's no indication she ran away or that someone took her, and there are no signs of a struggle

But tight-lipped police investigators revealed little about the probe beyond that Wednesday, despite a flurry of activity in and around the three-story house where Celina lives with her mother and stepfather. Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said it is still being treated as a missing persons case.

"We are still desperately looking for her," Young said.

She wouldn't comment when asked why an Amber Alert was never issued for the girl, even though the FBI said it had enlisted a four- to six-person "child abduction rapid deployment team" to pitch in. Earlier in the day, state police Sgt. Sheldon Belanger, the lead investigator in the case, said Celina's disappearance did not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert and wasn't considered suspicious.

Police were going through phone and computer records at Celina's home, he said.

Those who know Celina say it's unlikely she ran away.

"She never went anywhere without her mom or sister," said family friend Rebecca Goodrum, 30, fighting back tears and holding a lit candle Wednesday night at a vigil held in a park in neighboring Canaan, Vt., about a half-mile from the girl's home.

"She is very shy," said Kayla Baglio, 18, who knows her, too. "If she doesn't know you, she'd look at her sister to see if it was OK to talk to you."

Celina's friend, 11-year-old Makayla Riendeau, described the girl as very athletic and a stickler about getting her school work done on time.

"She's a very good friend, and she never lets anybody down," Makayla said.

Vermont State Police, the U.S. Border Patrol, New Hampshire State Police, the state Department of Fish and Game and local law enforcement agencies searched for the girl Tuesday and Wednesday, at one point resorting to lowering the water – via dam release – in the Connecticut River so a helicopter could search from above.

Nothing.

At the peak of the search Tuesday, there were at least three dozen officers, New England police dog handlers and a search and rescue group assisting by water, air and land, including all-terrain vehicle trails in the woods.

"We found no evidence that she had been in that area, and, of course, we have no evidence she is lost as opposed to missing, either," said Lt. Douglas Gralenski, a state Fish and Game official.

"Honestly, we don't know where else we can look," he said. "There's so much that's unknown."

At midday Wednesday, about a mile north of town, five Fish and Game officers searched the woods behind an apartment building. They carried bags and boxes, but it was unclear if they collected anything.

Some of the police activity was closer to home. Police were seen entering the home and then stretching yellow crime scene tape around it late Wednesday afternoon before posting a uniformed trooper outside.

After that, plainclothes police officers wearing purple rubber gloves surrounded a red pickup that was parked across the street from the girl's home, photographing it and looking inside. When news cameras began shooting pictures of what was happening, troopers moved a cruiser and a New Hampshire State Police SUV in front of the scene, to block the cameras.

The girl's disappearance hung heavy over Stewartstown, a community of 800 residents with one blinking streetlight and a handful of stores. Friends posted fliers of the girl on trees, utility poles, storefronts and car windows, and stood along the street in front of her house, waving motorists down to hand them copies.

"It's creepy," said Shannon Towle, who owns Towle's Mini-Mart on Route 3. "Things like this don't happen here. I know that's kind of a tired phrase. I'm an overprotective mom as it is. Now it's going to be way worse."

After sunset, about 80 people – many with candles in hand and tears in their eyes – gathered for the nighttime vigil. A framed picture of the girl sat on a picnic table, surrounded by candles. Friends, classmates and even people who didn't know Celina were among those in the crowd, and young children sobbed as adults comforted them.

Goodrum, of nearby Beecher Falls, Vt., said she was praying that Celina, whom she's known since she was 2, is safe.

"She was beautiful," said Goodrum. "She was the light of everything."

Towle said her 13-year-old daughter, Echo Towle, asked her mother whether she thought Celina was still alive.

"How do I answer that question? And do I want to?" Towle said. "I don't want to think about it, but I pray every second that she is."

Glendale missing person cases puzzle

Glendale missing person cases puzzle

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary when Glendale resident Michael Grenley left his home July 19.

He casually said goodbye to his wife of 17 years as she chatted on the phone, and then he drove away in his red Jeep.

Grenley, 41, never returned.


His family and friends are startled. Grenley is the beloved father of a 6-year-old, a man who calls his wife each day as he leaves his Chandler office. He would even call to mention a quick stop or to ask if he should pick up anything on the way to the couple's home near 75th Avenue and Deer Valley Road, wife Melissa Grenley said.

And yet, he left home just after noon on July 19 and hasn't been heard from since.

His disappearance didn't follow a fight or problems at work, his wife said.

Police, friends and family members have since called anyone he might have interacted with. They have searched places he could have taken his Jeep to off-road and flown over some areas in a helicopter. Those who have never met Grenley are searching trails across the state, Melissa Grenley said.

"Everyone keeps asking me, 'Did he just leave?' It's just really not in his character," she said. "If he felt that he needed to get away, if he couldn't tell me, he would just tell his mom."

Missing-person cases vary dramatically. One day, it's a teenage runaway. The next, a senior with dementia or a seemingly happy person will suddenly vanish.

Police try to focus their resources because of the volume of cases.

Last year, Glendale police sought nearly 1,300 missing people.

Reports that are especially startling, involve vulnerable victims or come with significant clues tend to get the most attention, said Mario Sanchez, a Glendale detective who has investigated disappearances for about five years.

Each case is unique and presents different challenges, the detective said.

Many, like the disappearance of Michael Grenley, don't seem logical.

Police have sought cellphone and debit-card records for Grenley.

The man's debit card hasn't been used and his cellphone battery has either died or been removed, his wife said.

Those searching for Grenley long to find him safe. They don't know what to make of his disappearance.

The resolutions to missing-persons cases are often astounding. They can end with the revelation that someone traveled without notifying friends or wanted to get away. Or the missing person can show up somewhere, unfazed.

The prognosis seemed grim for a Glendale senior who went missing last month.

The 68-year-old with dementia walked into a west Phoenix business the next day, saying he was there for the party.

"How he got there, we don't know," Sanchez said.