Mother of attempted kidnapping victim has heart attack; Charleston sheriff looks for links to Brittanee Drexel case

The mother of an attempted kidnapping victim suffered a heart attack as the two were on their way home from a vacation in Myrtle Beach and is now in intensive care, a Myrtle Beach victim's advocate said in court Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Charleston County authorities said they're looking for links between the attempting kidnapping, a 1998 killing in that county and the disappearance of Brittanee Drexel last year.

Josie Hardie with the victim advocate's office told Myrtle Beach Municipal Court Judge Scott Long that the stress of dealing with the recent attempted kidnapping brought on the mother's heart attack and has left the victim unable to sleep.

Timothy Shaun Taylor of McClellanville could spend up to 40 years in prison, Long said, if he is convicted of attempted kidnapping and first degreeassault and battery.

Taylor's arrest gave some hope that it would also lead to arrests in the disappearance last year of Drexel, a New York teenager last seen outside a hotel while she was vacationing in Myrtle Beach. Police Capt. David Knipes said no connections have been found between the two cases. But the Charleston County Sheriff's Office, which has assisted Myrtle Beach and Georgetown County investigators in the Drexel case, is looking for links in the cases.

Taylor is the brother of a McClellanville man who had been charged with the 1998 abduction and murder of 19-year-old Shannon McConaughey, authorities said. McConaughey's body was found in northern Charleston County, the same general area where Drexel's cell phone signal was last pinpointed.

In the recent kidnapping attempt, police said three men in a light blue van pulled alongside a woman as she was walking to a hotel on Ocean Boulevard at about 4:30 p.m. on July 21, according to police reports. She fought off attempts to force her into the van, and they fled.

Taylor didn't formally enter a plea in the bond hearing Wednesday, but he said he repeatedly tried to contact Myrtle Beach police when he heard they wanted him in connection with the incident. In the end, he said he drove to the police station to surrender himself.

"I didn't try to hide anything because I know it wasn't me," he said at the hearing.

A formal plea will be entered when Taylor goes to court in Conway on Sept. 3. Until then, he is under a $70,000 bond.

Taylor, 37, told Long that he is a father who has been married for 19 years. He said he probably made a mistake when he didn't take a Breathalyzer test in a previous case in which he was charged with driving under the influence. Other past charges of first degree burglary and grand larceny were not prosecuted.

Long said he was concerned in setting bail by Taylor's past record, but added that it was a good sign that he turned himself in to authorities. Myrtle Beach police Detective Lester Cook asked Long to set a high bail because police believe Taylor could be a danger to the community if he is freed.

On Tuesday, Charleston County deputies served a search warrant at Taylor's home and recovered a pickup truck that had been reported stolen from Horry County, according to Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon. Cannon would not say if any other evidence was found.

The (Charleston) Post and Courier contributed to this report.