Family still hopeful nearly year after teen's disappearance

It's been nearly a year since 18-year-old Brittanee Drexel disappeared from a spring break trip to South Carolina on April 25, 2009. The teenager traveled to Myrtle Beach with friends, without her parents knowing.

The anniversary is a difficult one for her family in Manatee County.

"There's a lot of emotions," said her aunt, Keri Drexel. "Until there's evidence, it keeps the family going and the hope alive."

Keri Drexel has been working hard during the past year to keep her niece's name and picture in the public eye. She collaborated with the Florida Association of Crime Stoppers to get Brittanee's picture on the fourth-edition deck of Florida Unsolved Homicides and Missing Persons Playing Cards.

The cards feature 52 unsolved Florida cases, and will be sold to inmates in prisons across the state.

"I feel that as many eyes as we can get on Brittanee's case, inside, behind the walls and also in the public, I think it is absolutely wonderful," said Drexel.

The cards were unveiled today at the Manatee County Jail in Palmetto. Steve Rowland, president of the Florida Association of Crime Stoppers, said prisoners can call in and give information on unsolved cases anonymously.

Crime Stoppers started producing the cards in 2007. Since then, the cards have led to the resolution of three cold cases.

"As long as there are cases out there, we want to keep doing the decks of cards," said Rowland.

Keri Drexel also said there are new developments in her niece's case. Police have identified three to four persons of interest, and there is also a location of interest in South Carolina. Investigators also released never-before-seen video of Drexel the day before she disappeared. It shows her laughing and text messaging in a hotel room in Myrtle Beach.

Brittanee's mother, Dawn Drexel, spoke with Matt Lauer on NBC's "Today" show this morning.

"There are only three possibilities that I think that could have happened to Brittanee," Drexel told Lauer. "She is either being held against her will, she's been trafficked, or she's not alive."

The Drexel family plans on traveling to Myrtle Beach next week for the one-year anniversary of Brittanee's disappearance. They will hold a march and candlelight vigil for the teen.

"We just hope and pray that something comes up soon, and that she is alive," said her grandfather, John Drexel. "Everybody is getting closer to this. And I think something is going to pop up soon, I hope."