Could the same person be responsible for the disappearance of both New York resident Britannee Drexel and Andrews native Crystal Soles?
That is one possibility now being investigated by authorities from both Georgetown and Horry Counties.
Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Carrie Cuthbertson confirms there is at least one person of interest in the case of Crystal Soles but no warrants have been issued in the case.
Capt. Joe Vella of the Myrtle Beach Police Department says the same man is a possible suspect in the Drexel case which remains unsolved nearly three years after she vanished.
It is the policy of the Georgetown Times not to name a person as a potential crime suspect until they are officially charged.
According to Myrtle Beach Police spokesman Capt. David Knipes, the possibility the same man is responsible for both crimes is just one of the scenarios that is being investigated.
That possibility was magnified Thursday because of a Fox News report which claimed investigators have zeroed in on a particular person of interest.
Knipes said the man identified by Fox News is one of the people being investigated but, he said, there are also other possible suspects in the cases.
Knipes also said it is also still possible the same person is not responsible in the two different cases, saying every angle is still being investigated.
After the Fox News story ran Thursday, Knipes issued a press release stating “there is no new information” in the cases.
Soles has been missing since Jan. 24, 2005. She called her father from a pay phone at Shaw's Corner Store and has not been heard from since that time.
Drexel was 17 when she and some friends drove to Myrtle Beach for a spring break getaway in April, 2009. She was last seen leaving the Blue Water Resort on April 25 of that year.
Numerous searches have taken place for both victims since they vanished. One of the most recent searches occurred at an apartment complex on Highway 17, just south of Maryville.
As reported in August, investigators raided one of the apartments at Sunset Lodge as they searched for possible answers in the Drexel case.
The manager of the complex said at the time the apartment that was searched had belonged to Raymond Moody, a 51 year old man who is on the Sex Offender Registry.
Knipes mentioned Moody in the press release.
“Let me advise everyone, all at the same time, that there is no new information on this case. Mr. Moody was a person that was investigated in this case. His hotel room was searched last year and he is one of many people that we have investigated during the course of this investigation. This is still an active investigation and we continue to follow any and every lead possible. There is no further information to pass on,” Knipes wrote.
According to Fox News, investigators now classify the Drexel situation as a “cold case” meaning the case is reopened when there is new information. The Fox story continues by claiming investigators received new information in the case within the last week, a claim Knipes says is untrue.
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