The recent discovery of three dead bodies on a Long Island, New York, beach brings the total number of corpses found in this isolated coastal area to eight, tipping off investigators that there may be a serial killer on the loose.
According to reports from The New York Times, the remains of four female prostitutes were found near the highway in Gilgo Beach last December, an area forty miles outside of New York City.
A fifth set of remains was found a mile east of the original site last week – and, upon further investigation, police discovered three more sets in the Giglo Beach underbrush just yesterday.
While no connection can be made between the eight killings until further investigation, Suffolk County Police have noted that all of the victims had worked as prostitutes and advertised on Craigslist.
The investigation began after Shannan Gilbert, a 24-year-old prostitute from New Jersey, went missing after visiting with a client last May.
She was last seen in Oak Beach, NY on the first of May at a client’s residence. Witnesses say they saw Gilbert flee the residence after having a disruptive argument with the client. She sought help from a neighbour, who called the police, but Gilbert vanished by the time they arrived, and was allegedly chased into the night by a car.
Her sister, Sarra Gilbert, has been vocally frustrated by the search effort, which has been going on for nearly a year.
Said Gilbert, “They’ve been out there for less than 12 hours and they already found three bodies.”
