Suffolk County police denied reports that more human remains were found in Tuesday’s search of the marshland adjacent to the Oak Beach community where Shannan Gilbert disappeared in 2010, during a news conference Tuesday afternoon. They would not comment on what evidence was collected, but did not deny reports that clothing and other items, possibly belonging to Gilbert, were found at the scene.
“We did not find any human remains today,” said Inspector Stuart Cameron of the Suffolk County K-9 unit, but added that the search for Shannan Gilbert, which began at 8 a.m. this morning, would continue tonight and resume Wednesday morning.
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Cameron said the marshland that borders Anchor Way in Oak Beach, the road where Gilbert was last seen running, had been searched before but that the land sinks, making it difficult to walk through.
“You sink in sometimes up to your knees,” said Cameron.
Parts of the area had also been covered by water during previous searches that now aren’t, according to Cameron. Those areas are still being searched.
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When asked to confirm that other evidence was found today, Cameron responded, “I’m not at liberty to discuss.”
Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said investigators do not believe that Shannan Gilbert’s disappearance is related to the other 10 murders, but that Gilbert is believed to be dead and her body located in the Oak Beach area.
At the time of her disappearance, Gilbert, unfamiliar with the area, was running alongside the tall reeds that line Anchor Way. In the darkness, she would not have been able to see that those reeds were hiding flooded marsh that, at times, can be filled waist-deep with water.
Cameron confirmed that nothing was found in Monday’s search while checking 90 “points of interest,” spanning the Wantagh Parkway to Captree Island, that the FBI found in April using high-tech photography in a helicopter flyover of the 17-mile-long island.
Sunday marks a year since a police officer’s cadaver dog uncovered the first of 10 murder victims just off Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach.
Suffolk police will continue the search Wednesday morning.
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Those with information can call Homicide Squad detectives at 631-852-6396, call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-220-8477, text tips anonymously by texting “SCPD” to “CRIMES” (274637) or email information via www.tipsubmit.com
There is a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case, the highest sum ever offered in Suffolk County history.
