The remains found at Gilgo Beach are not those of missing woman Shannan Gilbert, Suffolk County police announced earlier today.
Homicide police informed Gilbert’s family, who told Metro yesterday they tried to remain upbeat, but feared the worst after the fifth body was discovered on Gilgo Beach.
Gilbert, 24, from Jersey City, was working as an online escort who met clients on Long Island when she disappeared. She was last seen in the area on May 1. The search for her continues.
Remains that appear to be human were found by police off Ocean Parkway, west of Cedar Beach, on Tuesday. The area is one mile east of where the four other bodies were found in December.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, of Norwich, Connecticut, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, of Erie County, New York, Amber Lynn Costello, 27, of North Babylon, and Megan Waterman, 22, of Scarborough, Maine have been identified as the four women whose remains were found. Police said they strongly suspect their deaths are the work of a serial killer who targeted prostitutes.
