Gilgo Body Identified as Missing Maine Woman

More than a month after unearthing the remains of four female bodies at Gilgo Beach, police have indentified one of the bodies as Megan Waterman, a 22-year-old Maine woman reported missing this past June from Hauppauge.

At a press conference Wednesday, January 18, in Yaphank, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said the identification was made by the New York City medical examiner’s office late Tuesday, January 17, and that Suffolk homicide detectives then visited the Waterman family to tell them of the news.

As for the other three bodies, Spota said investigators are “very close” to making an identification, but declined to offer any further information.

“We've received information regarding medical, dental, personal and DNA from other people,” said Spota in response to questions on forensic efforts to identify the remains.

The first of the four bodies was discovered December 11, 2010 along Ocean Parkway at Gilgo Beach by a police canine unit that was working on a missing persons case regarding Shannan Gilbert, a 24-year-old New Jersey woman who was reported missing in May 2010.

Gilbert, said by police to be a Craigslist prostitute, was last seen after being driven by a man to meet a client in Oak Beach. However, Gilbert was quickly ruled out as one of the bodies by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner. Police told Patch January 19 there's no news on the Gilbert case at this time.

An expanded search led to discovery of three more bodies on Monday, December 13, 2011.

Early in the investigation police said the placement of the four bodies, within 500 feet of each about three miles west of the Robert Moses Bridge, were likely disposed by the same person, but wouldn't confirm it as the work of a serial killer. Some of the remains have been there for as long as a year and a half, said police.

In a earlier press conference Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said a potential serial killer scenario was an avenue of investigation.

However, he stressed on Wednesday he never said it was the work of a serial killer, and a task force of police units has been working around the clock on the investigation.

“Since the recovery of the bodies, the police have worked day and night, over 36 days, five weeks, to determine what happened and how it happened and who's responsible for this,” said Dormer, noting the task force represented nearly a dozen law enforcement agencies and units including special victims, major crimes, missing persons and the computer crime division.

Police haven't identified any persons of interest or suspects in the case.

Dormer made a public request that anyone with information regarding the case to call the Suffolk County tips line at 1-800-220-TIPS or the homicide squad at 631-852-6392.