Cops Confirm New Remains Human; Skull Also Found Along Ocean Parkway
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police have confirmed that the latest set of bones found Monday morning at Jones Beach State Park are human remains.
Those remains, potentially those of a 9th victim, were discovered near Zach's Bay at the park, which is about a mile and a half east of the Jones Beach water tower.
Later Monday afternoon, authorities also said that a 10th set of human remains and a human skull may have been discovered at a bird sanctuary off of Ocean Parkway, CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan reported.
1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon with more on where the remains were found
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Investigators expanded their search for a serial killer into Nassau County Monday after investigators recovered eight bodies on Suffolk County beaches.
Police and sanitation vehicles blocked off all traffic on Ocean Parkway. A mobile sign advised drivers of a beach search that will shut down the Parkway all day.
1010 WINS' Mona Rivera reports: Det. Lt. Kevin Smith says the killer could be anybody
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About 125 searchers, some with dogs and others on horseback, hit Tobay Beach and Jones Beach State Park to scour the area for evidence.
Police were also searching a nearby 550-acre wildlife preserve and a 30-acre pond. They're using cherry pickers supplied by the Fire Department to peer above the heavy brush to look for any evidence.
Residents near Gilgo Beach, where the search originated, were shocked by the recent gruesome discoveries.
"To find all these bodies here, we're shocked. We're a close community, leave our doors unlocked," one neighbor said.
None of the four most recently recovered bodies have been identified.
"We have no information on the sex, or age or any other information on the four remains we found," said Richard Dormer, Suffolk Police Commissioner.
WCBS 880's Mike Xirinachs reports: Is There More Than One Killer?
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Police, however, have ruled out the remains are those of 24-year-old Shannan Gilbert of Jersey City. She disappeared May 1 after running from a client's house in Oak Beach.
The initial search for Gilbert back in December led police to the bodies of four women wrapped in burlap, unburied in the thick brush.
WCBS 880's Mike Xirinachs reports: Beachgoers Affected By Investigation
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All four worked as escorts who advertised on Craigslist and worked in various Nassau hotels.
Police have been troubled by a lack of clues, despite an extensive number of crime scenes to investigate.
Police told CBS 2 they were getting closer to finding the killer, but declined to provide further details.
However, Det. Lt. Kevin Smith told 1010 WINS' Mona Rivera that reports suggesting a suspect may soon be identified and that such a suspect could be in law enforcement are not true.
"For anyone to come out and say that it's a specific person, a specific occupation, or a specific type is unfair and I think it's mere suspicion, it's mere speculation," Smith said. "Right now, it could be anybody."
Lawrence Kobilinsky, professor of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, suspects the killer may be familiar with police procedures.
"Either he knows what he's doing and understands what crime scene investigation is all about or he has just been lucky up until now," said Kobilinsky. "He is very comfortable working here or else he would never have used this site. He knows this area, knows it is relatively deserted."
Is enough being done to stop the killer? Sound off in our comments section.
