Who are the Gilgo Beach murder victims? Here's who police have identified so far
NEW YORK -- Families of the Gilgo Beach murder victims have been longing for answers. Police have only released the identities of five victims in the case. At least 10 bodies have been found.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, was the first of the "Gilgo Four" to disappear. Barnes was working as an escort in New York City when she vanished in June 2007.
Melissa Barthelemy, 24, went missing in July 2009. Weeks later, Barthelemy's 15-year-old sister was terrorized by a series of frightening phone calls from a man using her cellphone. Police believe the person who made the calls killed Barthelemy.
Amber Costello, 27, disappeared in September 2010 after leaving her Long Island home to meet a client, police said.
Megan Waterman, 22, was last seen leaving a Holiday Inn Express in Hauppauge in 2010.
In 2010, the bodies of Brainard-Barnes, Barthelemy, Costello and Waterman were found in close proximity to one another.
Thirteen years later, Rex Heuermann was charged with murder in the killings of Barthelemy, Costello and Waterman.
The disappearance of Shannan Gilbert, 23, set off a search that led to their discovery of the other four women's bodies.
Before she vanished, Gilbert was visiting a client in Oak Beach when she made a frantic 23-minute phone call, which authorities released in 2022.