Major update in disappearance of Brittanee Drexel, 17, as new search in woods launched a day after shock arrest

INVESTIGATORS are following new leads in the mysterious disappearance of Brittanee Drexel, who went missing over a decade ago while on spring break vacation.

On Thursday, detectives were seen combing a wooded area in Georgetown, - a search potentially connected to Drexel's disappearance, reports.

5

5

5

Drexel, who was 17 when she went missing, was visiting friends in Myrtle Beach while on spring break vacation.

The teen, originally from , was last seen leaving the Blue Water Resort in April 2009 and never returned to the motel she was staying in.

Her phone last gave off a signal on April 26, 2009, in Georgetown County.

At the time, investigators named 62-year-old Raymond Moody as a person of interest in the teen's disappearance.

Read more on The US Sun

WHERE IS SHE?

Mystery of missing Brittanee, 17, from 'gator attack' to haunting last texts

WHERE IS HE?

Chilling clues in note & call could reveal where boy missing for 11 years is

Moody served two decades in prison for the rape of a young girl in 1983.

In August 2011, investigators combed through the Georgetown hotel room Moody was staying in, removing several bags of evidence but never identifying him as a suspect.

Moody claimed he was not in the area when the teen went missing. Yet, in 2012, investigators discovered he was issued a traffic ticket in nearby Surfside Beach the day after Drexel’s disappearance.

On Thursday, the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office revealed Moody has been in the Georgetown County Detention Center since May 4 on charges of obstruction of justice.

Most read in The Sun

piglet joy

Peppa Pig's Mummy gives birth to third child - as family reveal sweet name & pic

LORD'S A WEEPING

Dad cuts son out of £85m inheritance over his 'lack of achievement'

SNACK FEARS

Health food brand urgently recalls popular snack as shoppers warned 'don't eat'

GAME OF THROW-INS

How Gary's BBC exit will spark rivalry between MOTD hosts for World Cup

However, officials have not confirmed whether Moody's arrest is connected to the current investigation into Drexel’s disappearance.

WILD CLAIMS

Years after Drexel first disappeared, agents believe that she was held against her will and murdered.

Derrick Munoz testified during a court hearing about an unrelated robbery case, revealed.

Munoz told the court that inmate Taquan Brown claimed he saw Drexel at a house in McClellanville – located around 60 miles from the hotel – days after the teen vanished.

Brown later told  that Drexel had a “black eye”.

He also alleged that she was being sexually assaulted.

Brown claimed he saw Drexel get “pistol-whipped” and taken back into the home, according to Munoz's testimony.

5

5

He revealed he heard gunshots moments later.

Brown revealed the next time he saw Drexel, her body was being wrapped up and removed from the home.

Munoz also revealed in court that witnesses told police that Drexel’s body was placed in a pit.

But, cops and FBI agents combed up to as many as 40 alligator ponds but didn’t find any remains.

Munoz told the court that there may have been 30 or 40 places Drexel could’ve been taken to.

Investigators said that the search for her body was “difficult”.

Another inmate alleged Drexel was picked up in Myrtle Beach and taken to McClellanville.

Read More on The Sun

BAR BRAWL

Shock moment bouncer punched to floor by rowdy pubgoer in brawl near busy venue

'UNPROVOKED & BRUTAL'

Horrific injuries James Argent inflicted on his girlfriend revealed

Read More On The Sun

IN THE RED

Jill's husband says family relies on food banks after dad Jim Bob 'stole money'

Munoz said it was in the area where her phone signal last pinged.

He told the court: “They ended up tricking her out with some of their friends, offering her to them and getting a human trafficking situation.”