Suffolk Co. Police To Resume Search For Missing NJ Craigslist Escort Shannan Gilbert
YAPHANK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Police on Long Island are resuming their search for a New Jersey prostitute whose disappearance led to the eventual discovery of 10 bodies along a remote barrier beach.
A police spokesman says investigators will reopen their search for Shannan Gilbert once the brush along Ocean Parkway thins out over the winter. It is unclear when the search would begin.
More: Map And Timeline Of Investigation
Gilbert disappeared on May 1, 2010. She was last seen running from a Craigslist client's home in Oak Beach.
While searching for Gilbert, police uncovered the remains of four other women, all in their 20s, in December of 2010. They were all prostitutes listed on Craiglist.
Since those four bodies were discovered last December, a total of ten sets of human remains have been found along Ocean Parkway.
The remains include eight women, a man and a toddler, some dating back to 1995.
Investigators say all of the victims, including the child, are somehow connected to the sex trade.
In September, authorities released sketches of two of the victims in hopes of identifying them.
The decision to resume the search for Gilbert came after Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said Wednesday that detectives now believe a single serial killer is responsible for all ten of the Gilgo Beach murders.
"Because of the dumping ground, the sex trade business, the dismemberment, we have people in the police department that have other theories, but we are leaning towards that theory," Dormer said.
Earlier this week, Dormer said police don't think Gilbert's disappearance is part of the serial killer case.
He had previously said as many as three killers may be responsible for the murders.
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