CHILI, N.Y. — A memorial service took place over the weekend to remember the life of Brittanee Drexel.

Drexel, at the time 17, went missing during a spring break trip to South Carolina in 2009. Her remains were positively identified last month.

Tarah Friedman says her best friend Brittanee was best at bringing people together.

That's why Friedman says she would have loved her memorial service.

"That's what makes it such a beautiful service and ceremony,” Friedman said. “Here she is looking down on us and bringing us all together, it would've touched Brittanee's heart.”

On Saturday, Drexell's friends and family gathered to remember her. Friedman said being able to share stories and say goodbye gave her the closure she needed. 

"Thirteen years is a long time,” Friedman said. “But to be able to have a moment for her and to know she's going to be laid to rest was uplifting in a way.”

As this chapter in Brittanee's story ends, Friedman is hoping a new one begins.

"I want people to remember Brittanee as the bright beautiful soul she was,” Friedman said. "Her personality, her smile, her energy. I don't want people to look at her as the victim. She was and it was a tragic circumstance but Brittanee was so much more.”

She wants people to remember who her friend was, not just what happened to her.