"I believe that people need to be held accountable”- Why did Brittanee Drexel's mother sue Bar Harbor Resort Inc.?

The long-unsolved case of Brittanee Drexel's murder led to the conviction of a registered s*x offender, Raymond Moody, but also led to a discussion around the topic of the safety of adolescents in and around Myrtle Beach.

Brittanee Drexel was brutally r*ped and murdered on April 25, 2009, after being picked up by Moody and his girlfriend while she was on her way to Bar Harbor Resort after meeting her friends. As the murder case took its time to be solved until Raymond Moody's confession in May 2022, Brittanee Drexel's mother, Dawn Pleckan, sued the Myrtle Beach establishment her daughter had been staying at.

Pleckan raised questions about the protocol for checking in teenagers without a legal guardian and further shared them at a news conference dated November 2.

“We’ve been living a nightmare. It’s like living in hell. I’ve been fighting for Brittanee for 13 years, and now we’re almost going on 15. I believe that people need to be held accountable.”

The Dateline NBC episode titled The Last Walk showcases Drexel's disappearance and murder as it airs on February 25, 2024, at 9 p.m. EST. The synopsis reads,

"Authorities embark on a 13-year investigation after 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel vanishes during spring break in Myrtle Beach, S.C."

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Dawn Pleckan sued Myrtle Beach hotel where Brittanee Drexel stayed before her disappearance in 2009

The 17-year-old resident of Chili, New York, Brittanee Drexel, had been reportedly staying at the Bar Harbor Resort with her friends on her trip to Myrtle Beach. She was last seen leaving the hotel on April 25, 2009, as she set out to meet a friend at Blue Water Resort. The security cameras at Bar Harbor Resort captured Drexel leaving at 8:45 p.m.

The security footage at the Blue Water Resort showed Drexel and subsequently helped investigators identify the group of friends she had met. One of them was a 20-year-old nightclub promoter hailing from the Rochester area, Peter Brozowitz. The men sharing a room with Brozowitz at Blue Water Resort were interviewed, but to no meaningful end.

Brittanee Drexel's mother, Dawn Pleckan, sued the Myrtle Beach establishment where her daughter stayed during spring break in 2009. She filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the killer, Raymond Moody, and against the operators of the hotel, Bar Harbor Resort Inc. and Smith Family Partners LLC in Richland County, on November 2, 2023, according to The Charleston Post and Courier.

The lawsuit was filed alleging that Dawn Pleckan's daughter, Brittanie Drexel, was allowed to take a room at the hotel with two adults without the supervision of a legal guardian. The Bar Harbor Resort allegedly did not have proper protocols in place and, furthermore, named Moody as a defendant, who is presently serving a life sentence for the crime.

Pleckan’s attorney, Roy Willey, added to the matter, saying,

“We need change because in Myrtle Beach this is an ongoing issue, and it’s an issue that is widespread and endemic. An unaccompanied minor is not allowed to check into a hotel. If the unaccompanied minor is with other people, there’s an obligation to ask questions if you see that this is not a family group. That did not happen here as far as we know.”

Raymond Moody, a registered s*x offender, pleaded guilty to Drexel's murder in October 2022, per WMBF News.