Brittanee Drexel’s best friend vows to continue fight for justice

CHILI, N.Y. (WHEC) — April 25, 2019, marks 10 years since Chili teen Brittanee Drexel went missing while on spring break in Myrtle Beach.

Drexel’s disappearance sparked a strong outpouring of support from across the country but few worked harder to raise awareness than her best friend, Casey Capo.

Today, Capo remembers being overwhelmed with emotion and scared when she got the news about her friend’s disappearance.

On the day that Drexel vanished, Capo spoke with her on the phone. Drexel told her she was spending the day at the beach. That would be the final conversation that Capo would have with her best friend.

"The first day I just really sat and cried and I was very scared," Capo told News10NBC in an exclusive interview. "The next day I woke up and said I got to do something. My mother wouldn’t let me go down immediately and look for her, so I said, ‘if you’re not going to let me go, I’m going to do something here.’"

Capo did everything in her power to raise both money and awareness. Through various fundraisers, she raised thousands of dollars to help in the search efforts. At the time, she strongly believed that her best friend was still alive and refused to give up hope.

Today, her mission has changed.

She says not a single day passes that she doesn’t think about Drexel. She continues to fight to keep Drexel’s story alive and increase awareness about the dangers of sex trafficking.

As the investigation moves continues, Capo remains hopeful that someday there will be justice for Drexel.

"Her friends, her family, everyone has missed out on so much life with her and she has missed out on so much that I just feel that it’s not fair," Capo said. "That really bothers me that her justice isn’t there. We want to get this done and solved and get Brittanee the justice she deserves."