Serial Killer Investigation Turns Up Possible Remains Of Missing Woman

Nineteen months after Shannan Gilbert disappeared, and exactly one year after the investigation into her case led to the discovery of the first of 10 bodies on Long Island, police say they’ve found her remains. This morning a body was located in a marsh near where Gilbert’s belongings were found earlier this week, and authorities are confident that it’s her.

Police say the area initially wasn’t searched very well because it was partially underwater and looked completely impassable. This week investigators cut away the brush, which Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer described as a “very, very tough, desolate, tangled mess.” Authorities still believe that Gilbert, a New Jersey sex worker, ran from a client’s house and got caught in the marsh while trying to make her way to the highway. Dormer added, “there is no way Shannan Gilbert could have made it through that mess to get to the parkway.”

Before this development, the families of the other 10 people, who are believed to be the victims of a serial killer, had planned to hold a vigil along Ocean Parkway. While at the event, Shannan’s mother, Mari Gilbert, said she’s waiting for confirmation that the 11th set of remains belongs to her daughter. Shannen’s aunt added that she isn’t entirely convinced that she wasn’t murdered by the serial killer. Mari says that she’s found some comfort in the fact that what happened to her daughter helped police find other victims. “Everyone has their destiny,” she said. “Maybe this was hers.”

Earlier: Police Find Belongings Of Woman Who Sparked L.I. Serial Killer Investigation