Suffolk Cops Release Shannan Gilbert’s 911 Calls

Suffolk County police released Friday recordings of three 911 calls made on the night that Shannan Gilbert — a key figure in the Gilgo Beach murders — went missing near Oak Beach in 2010.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison, Suffolk County Deputy Police Commissioner Anthony Carter, and Homicide Section Commanding Officer Det. Lt. Kevin Beyrer released the calls during a news conference Friday, May 13 at the Suffolk County Community College Grant Campus in Brentwood.

“This case, including the 911 calls, and all of the other cases commonly referred to as ‘Gilgo’ were made available to the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) of the FBI in its entirety,” police said in a statement. “As part of BAU’s review of this case, they retained the services of a psychiatrist to review Gilbert’s words and actions on the 911 tape, and also to review the facts of the case. BAU’s opinion, based on their review of the case, the scene, the 911 calls and the psychiatrist’s review of the case is that Gilbert’s death is not consistent with Gilbert being the victim of a homicide.”

Click HERE to view the video created by the Suffolk County Police Department to explain the circumstances surrounding the three 911 calls. Click HERE to listen to the full, unedited 911 call made by Shannan Gilbert at 4:51a.m. on May 1, 2010. Click HERE to view the private pathologist report regarding the autopsy findings on Shannan Gilbert by Dr. Michael Baden, who was hired by the Gilbert family.

Gilbert made the 911 calls from Oak Beach on May 1, 2010. Police were searching for her when they found the remains of four women in nearby Gilgo Beach in December of 2010 and six more sets of remains also along Ocean Parkway the following spring.

Gilbert’s remains were found in a marsh in Oak Beach in December 2011. The county medical examiner’s office deemed her cause of death “inconclusive.” Police suggested at the time that she ran into the marsh and drowned, but her family maintains that she was slain. Current police leaders have declined to speculate on whether they believe Gilbert was killed or died accidentally, but say her case remains open.

The Gilbert family’s Miller Place-based attorney John Ray had sued for police to turn over the tapes. A judge ordered police to turn over the records to the family in 2020, but shielded it from public release. Harrison vowed to release the records shortly after taking over as commissioner in January in a bid to generate tips that may help solve the case.

The development comes shortly after police released video of Gilgo victim Megan Waterman and new details of three other women found dead near her off Ocean Parkway.

In 2016, Gilbert’s family had a second autopsy conducted in which an independent medical examiner found that Shannan may have been victim of a homicide, although police disputed the claim. Gilbert was buried at Amityville Cemetery in 2015. Her sister, Sarra, was convicted of killing their mother, Mari, upstate in 2017.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in this case. Individuals can anonymously submit information online to Crime Stoppers by visiting P3Tips.com, calling 1-800-220-TIPS or visit gilgonews.com to submit tips online.

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