"Human trafficking isn't something that happens far away in poor isolated regions. It can happen anywhere. At any time and any one, including a high school soccer star on her spring break, can fall victim." — Ashley Flowers
"It's not that I don't trust you. I don't trust anybody else. I don't trust people. I don't trust strangers. I don't trust anyone else." — Ashley Flowers (quoting her mother)
"We've got no history. We've had nothing prior or since." — Myrtle Beach Police (quoted regarding human trafficking in their jurisdiction)
The episode recounts the harrowing disappearance of 17-year-old Brittany Drexel, who went missing during spring break in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in 2009. Initially believed to be a runaway situation exacerbated by parental divorce, the case took a disturbing turn when Brittany's phone last pinged over 50 miles away in a rural, swampy area, suggesting potential abduction and human trafficking. Despite initial skepticism from local law enforcement regarding trafficking, the narrative explores how Brittany may have been lured by a supposed modeling opportunity or deceived into a dangerous situation.
The investigation highlights several individuals of interest, including a man named Peter whom Brittany met, and his friends, whose hasty departure from their hotel raised suspicions. Further complicating the case, Brittany's boyfriend reported that she had met up with Peter and was last seen heading to return borrowed shorts. Security footage tracked Brittany leaving a resort but showed no further trace of her movements between hotels, creating a substantial gap in her disappearance timeline. This led investigators to explore Brittany's phone records, which pointed to a remote location far from Myrtle Beach.
Years later, a witness named Takwan Brown provided testimony suggesting Brittany was a victim of human trafficking, detailing instances of her being sexually assaulted and passed around. This witness account implicated Sean Taylor and his son Timothy DeShawn Taylor. While Timothy was a person of interest and faced legal scrutiny related to a separate robbery, he was never charged directly for Brittany's disappearance. The episode also touches upon the criminal history of Sean and Randall Taylor, Timothy's father and uncle, respectively, for unrelated violent crimes involving young women in the same general area. Despite extensive searches and investigation, Brittany's remains have never been definitively found, leaving her family without closure and the case officially unsolved, underscoring the ongoing challenges in combating human trafficking and bringing perpetrators to justice.