(CNN) — The remains of a 17-year-old girl were found in Georgetown County, South Carolina, 13 years after he disappeared while visiting Myrtle Beach, and a suspect in her death is in custody, authorities said Monday.
Brittanee Drexel, from the Rochester, New York area, was last seen on April 25, 2009, on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach. She was reportedly on her way to meet friends at another hotel when she disappeared.
Her mother, Dawn Drexel, told CNN at the time that she had banned her daughter from going to Myrtle Beach, a popular high school and college spring break destination. The young woman went anyway, and after she disappeared, Dawn Drexel drove to Myrtle Beach to help authorities search.
More than a decade later, the young woman’s remains were discovered last Wednesday, Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver told reporters. The county, just south of Myrtle Beach, is also on the Atlantic coast.
“This is truly a mother’s nightmare,” Dawn Drexel said at the news conference. “I am mourning my beautiful daughter Brittanee as I have been for 13 years. But today is bittersweet. We are so much closer to the closure and peace that we have been desperately waiting for.”
The investigation led authorities to a site where they believe a 62-year-old man buried his body a day after he disappeared, the sheriff said.
Raymond Douglas Moody of Georgetown is charged with murder, obstruction of justice, kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct, his arrest warrants show.
Authorities said Moody kidnapped and strangled the teen the same day she disappeared.
“Today marks the beginning of a new chapter. The search for Brittanee is now a search for justice for Brittanee,” said Dawn Drexel.
Moody remains in custody. It is unknown if he has an attorney and CNN was unable to contact family members for him.