Key facts
- Name: Crystal Soles
- Born: ~1977
- Age at disappearance: 28
- Last seen: January 24, 2005 (per NamUs; the night she walked home from Shaw’s Corner Store)
- Location: Shaw’s Corner Store, near Jones Avenue and Main Street, Andrews, South Carolina
- Height / build: Blonde hair, blue eyes
- Status: Still missing — open investigation (Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office; Andrews Police Department also involved)
- Investigating agency: Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office — (843) 546-5102; Andrews Police Department — (843) 264-5223
Note: coverage of the case has centered on the Andrews Police Department (which held the case file and commented publicly in 2026), while the GCSO line above is the agency listed on this page’s original reporting; the family petition also urges the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to take an active role.
The corner store
The last confirmed sighting of Crystal Soles was at Shaw’s Corner Store in Andrews, South Carolina — near Jones Avenue and Main Street, the kind of small-town crossroads store where everybody knows everybody. It was the night of January 24, 2005. Crystal had used the store’s pay phone to call her father for a ride home, then set out walking. She was 28, a mother, living with her father and her young son.
She struggled with substance abuse, and she would sometimes leave home without notice. But there was a line she never crossed: she always kept contact with her son. Always. After that day at the corner store, the contact stopped. There has been no trace of Crystal Soles since.
Twenty-one years later, her family is still asking for help — in 2026, they launched a public petition urging the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to take an active role in the case, arguing that SLED’s resources and technology could rekindle an investigation that local authorities have never been able to close.
Who Crystal was
Crystal Soles was 28 in 2005 — blonde hair, blue eyes, what her family describes as a charming spirit. She lived with her father and her son in Andrews, a small town in Georgetown County. Her substance-abuse struggles were real, and her family doesn’t hide them. But they draw a sharp line between a woman who sometimes needed space and a mother who would never abandon her child. “She always ensured she never lost contact with her son,” the family’s petition states. “Her dedication to family was unwavering, even amidst personal struggles.”
That distinction is the whole case. A woman who always called home stopped calling. Something happened between the corner store and wherever she was going.
The investigation — and the shadow of Raymond Moody
For years, Crystal’s disappearance sat in the file drawer of unsolved Lowcountry cases. Then, in 2012, investigators named a person of interest: Raymond Moody.
Moody would become infamous a decade later. In May 2022, he walked into the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office and confessed to killing 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel, who’d vanished from Myrtle Beach in 2009 — then led investigators to her grave. He pleaded guilty to murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault and was sentenced to life. His girlfriend later told investigators he claimed to have killed “at least 12 victims” in California, threatened to make her “disappear like Brittanee did,” and kept women as “toys in his toy box.”
Moody had been on investigators’ radar as far back as August 2011. In 2012, they publicly named him a person of interest in Crystal Soles’ 2005 disappearance. He has never confessed to any involvement in her case, and no charges have ever been filed against him in connection with it. He is presumed innocent of her disappearance.
The question hangs over Andrews anyway: a convicted killer with a history in the area, a missing 28-year-old mother, and no answers. WMBF reported in 2022 that it was “unclear if authorities are investigating him for other cases” — but that Soles’ disappearance “remains unsolved.”
Theories: what might have happened
Victim of Raymond Moody. The person-of-interest designation, his presence in the region, his later confession to a strikingly similar crime — a young woman taken and hidden — make this the theory that dominates every discussion of the case. What undercuts it as a conclusion: Moody has not confessed, no forensic link has been publicly established, and he is presumed innocent in Crystal’s case.
Victim of someone else. Crystal’s vulnerabilities — substance abuse, sporadic absences, a life lived partly on the margins — are the same factors that put women at risk from predators generally. The corner store was a public place; she could have gotten into a car with someone she knew, or someone she didn’t.
Overdose or accident, body hidden. Possible, and consistent with the total absence of a trace — but her family notes she always maintained contact, and 21 years without a single confirmed sighting, call, or record argues against a simple walkaway.
Have information?
Contact the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office: (843) 546-5102, or the Andrews Police Department: (843) 264-5223. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- ~1977 — Crystal Soles is born.
- January 24, 2005 — Last seen at Shaw’s Corner Store, Andrews, SC, after using the pay phone to call her father for a ride; she set out walking and never contacted her family again.
- 2012 — Raymond Moody named a person of interest in her disappearance.
- May 2022 — Moody confesses to the 2009 murder of Brittanee Drexel; sentenced to life. He does not confess to Crystal’s case.
- October 2022 — WMBF reports Soles’ disappearance “remains unsolved.”
- 2026 — Family launches petition urging SLED to take an active role in the investigation. In May 2026, WMBF reports that Crystal’s wallet — turned over to deputies about a year earlier — was DNA-tested with no usable evidence; the Andrews Police Chief says the case remains open.
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Is Crystal Soles still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, Crystal Soles has been missing for more than 21 years. No trace of her has ever been found.
Was Crystal Soles ever found?
No. Despite the person-of-interest designation and renewed family advocacy in 2026, neither Crystal nor her remains have ever been located.
Is Raymond Moody connected to Crystal Soles’ disappearance?
He was named a person of interest in 2012. Moody later confessed to killing Brittanee Drexel, but he has never confessed to any involvement in Crystal’s case and has not been charged in connection with it. He is presumed innocent of her disappearance.
Why does the family want SLED involved?
In a 2026 petition, the family argued that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s experience, resources, and advanced technology could re-evaluate existing evidence, pursue new lines of inquiry, and bring fresh momentum to the investigation.
How old would Crystal Soles be today?
Born around 1977, she would be about 49 in 2026.
How can I help?
Share this case file and the family’s petition. Anyone with information should contact the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office at (843) 546-5102 or the Andrews Police Department at (843) 264-5223.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office — (843) 546-5102; Andrews Police Department — (843) 264-5223.
- News: WMBF News, “Newly released interview with girlfriend of Brittanee Drexel’s killer” (Oct 2022) and “Frustrated family pushes state help in disappearance of Crystal Soles” (May 2026); The Hart Tribune, “The Disappearance and Murder of Brittanee Drexel” (2025); NamUs #MP8782 (last seen 01/24/2005, Andrews, SC).
- Advocacy: Change.org, “Involve SLED in the Crystal Soles case” (family petition, 2026).
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here.
Verification corrections (October 2026):
– BEFORE: “Last seen January 2005” → AFTER: “January 24, 2005” (per NamUs and WMBF’s May 2026 report).
– Added: Crystal used the store’s pay phone to call her father for a ride before walking home (WMBF, May 2026).
– BEFORE: investigating agency listed as Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office only → AFTER: added Andrews Police Department (843) 264-5223, which has centered the case publicly in 2026 coverage; kept the GCSO line and added a note on the agency ambiguity.
– Added to timeline: May 2026 WMBF report — Crystal’s wallet (turned over to deputies about a year earlier) was DNA-tested with no usable evidence; Andrews Police Chief says the case remains open.
– Slug and URL unchanged.
Last verified October 2026.