Fire Ladders, Canines Part of Gilgo Bodies Search

Today's search for human remains along Ocean Parkway goes beyond police search teams and canine units and is now incorporating tower ladders from local fire departments.

The search, which kicked off about 9 a.m., closed the parkway's westbound lanes from Robert Moses Bridge to the Nassau County line, and may continue into Tuesday, police said, noting that decision depends on weather conditions.

Some members of the investigation team are walking through the thick vegetation in the area while others are scanning the north side of the parkway area from the tops of the ladders, moving east to west.

Police are looking for the body of 24-year-old Shannon Gilbert, a New Jersey woman last seen May 1 in Oak Beach. It was her missing person’s case and the search that followed that led to the discovery of four sets of female remains in the Gilgo Beach area in December.

A fifth set of remains, which have not yet been identified, was found last week and police quickly ruled out the body as being Gilbert. The most recent remains were discovered a mile east of where the four other sets were found this past December.

Gilbert is one of 58 missing female cases under investigation by Suffolk County Police. She, as well as the four women whose remains were identified in January, worked as an escort, according to the district attorney.

Police and the D.A. have stated they believe the deaths are the work of a serial killer who killed the women over a several year period and dumped the bodies along the parkway.

One set of remains was just about a month old and the most recent set had been at the site "for awhile," Suffolk Police Commissioner Richard Dormer stated at a recent press conference.