Human Remains Not Woman Last Seen in Oak Beach

The set of human remains found Tuesday at Gilgo Beach are not those of Shannon Gilbert, the missing 24-year-old New Jersey woman last seen in Oak Beach on May 1, 2010, according to Suffolk Police.

The identification was ruled out following forensic testing at the county’s medical laboratory on Wednesday.

The homicide task force investigating the discovery of four dead women along Ocean Parkway in the Gilgo beach area is continuing, states a police statement released mid-day today.

Yesterday Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer, during a press conference at headquarters in Yaphank, stated the discovery of the latest remains may provide clues into the previous four cases. Police have not identified any potential suspects or persons of interest.

A “comprehensive” search of the Oak Beach/Gilgo Beach/Cedar Beach area, stretching to the Nassau border, will be launched on Monday. The search was not initiated today or before Monday due to weather conditions expected, said Dormer.

The latest set of remains were discovered by a Suffolk Police marine officer during an organized search late Tuesday afternoon s he cruised slowly down Ocean Parkway and werefound a mile east of where the first four sets of remains were discovered.

At the press conference Dormer said the remains had been at the site for some time.

The other four sets of remains were disposed at various times, with some likely a year apart from each other, according to police and within 500 feet of each other. Police have said they believe the four women identified were killed elsewhere and then disposed of at the beach area.

Earlier this year Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota called the killings the work of a serial killer.

All four women were Craigslist escorts, according to police, as was Gilbert who was reportedly last seen after visiting a client in Oak Beach.

It was a missing persons search activity tied to the Gilbert case on December 11, 2010 that led to the discovery of the first set of remains that day, and then three more sets of remains two days later.

Gilbert reportedly had a client appointment in Oak Beach and was reportedly last seen upset and travelling on foot in the area later that night and has not been heard of since.