Brittanee Drexel, a Chili teen missing since 2009, spent several days in McClellanville, South Carolina, in 2009, was held against her will and then killed, the FBI announced Wednesday.
No body has been found and no arrests have been made, David Thomas, special agent in charge of the FBI in South Carolina, said at a news conference. It was held outside a magistrate's office in McClellanville, about 60 miles south of Myrtle Beach, a popular resort city.
The 17-year-old Drexel had traveled to Myrtle Beach in April 2009 with friends and without her parents' consent, then vanished after leaving the Blue Water Resort.
"What we've come to discover through the course of this investigation is that Brittanee Drexel did leave the Myrtle Beach area. We believe she traveled to this area around McClellanville and we believe she was killed after that," he said.
The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible, he said.
Her mother, Dawn, and family members were briefed by the FBI Tuesday and were present at Wednesday's announcement.
"After seven long years of waiting and praying for the return of my daughter, we know she is not coming home alive," Dawn Drexel said through tears. "Brittanee's life was stolen from her in a brutal and senseless fashion."
She pleaded with the public to help bring forward any information that could lead to the capture of her killer.
Dawn's former husband, Chad, fought through tears. "We need your help," he said.
Thomas declined to reveal how authorities know Drexel was killed but said the evidence is "exhaustive."
"The investigators are certain that's what happened," he said. "Somebody does know information."
Thomas said authorities believe Drexel was held against her will for a portion of the time she was in McClellanville. He said he does not know whether she left Myrtle Beach on her own.
"She could have gone several different places but she was in this general area for several days," he said.
Thomas said authorities have believed for some time that Drexel had been killed but recently decided to give the family the horrible news.
He said investigators have talked to "a lot of people and there's a lot of people we're going to talk to."
A spokesman for the Myrtle Beach Police Department said the investigation has received tips from throughout the nation and examined each one.
"We will continue the investigation however long it takes," Thomas said.
The McClellanville area has been the location of several searches by hundreds of volunteers because it is the last known location of Drexel's cell phone signal.
Tim Smith is a reporter for The Greenville News, a member of the USA TODAY Network.