Possible Link Between Gilgo Killer, Missing SC Woman: Sheriff's Office

MASSAPEQUA PARK, NY — South Carolina law enforcement "have been poring over" information they received that could possibly connect Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann and the disappearance of a Sumter County woman.

The Sumter County Sheriff's Office announced on social media on Tuesday that a friend of Julia Ann Bean, of Sumter County, South Carolina believes she was last seen with Heuermann.

On Aug. 20, investigators met with the individual, who told authorities her information was third hand.

The individual does not reside in Sumter County and only recently contacted the Sheriff’s Office.

"The following day, a team investigating the disappearance of Bean met and reviewed the information provided," the post said. "The Federal Bureau of Investigation was contacted and information relating to the case was shared with them."

Investigators said they then contacted Bean's daughter, Cameron, who also said "that someone she saw with her mother" could possibly be Heuermann.

With Cameron's help, investigators learned more details about the last time she saw her mother.

Bean was previously thought to have disappeared on May 31, 2017. After speaking with Cameron, investigators now said she last saw her mother on Thursday, June 1, 2017.

"At that time, Cameron accompanied her mother to have their nails done, and they were driven to the nail salon by an unknown male companion," a statement said.

During this period, Cameron gave her mother and the man tickets to her high school graduation on June 2, 2017.

But the next day, neither Bean nor the male companion attended Cameron’s graduation.

One week later, on June 9, 2017, Bean asked her daughter for pictures from her graduation.

"Her texts between her and her daughter were the last texts viewed by Bean," the statement said.

A little more than a week later, on June 20, 2017, Bean’s daughter Cameron moved to Texas. Five months later, on November 18, 2017, Bean’s daughter returned to Sumter to visit her mother during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Unable to locate her, she notified the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, and officially reported her as missing.

Since then, the Sumter County Sheriff's Office said it has extensively investigated Bean’s disappearance. Her case will remain open until she is found, they said.

At this point in the investigation, investigators still do not know the identity of the male accompanying Julia Bean on June 1, 2017, and there is currently no evidence connecting Bean with Heuermann.

Sumter County Sheriff’s Office investigators "continue to hope that Julia Bean is found alive and well" and are methodically continuing to gather and research information in their search
for her.

Sheriff Anthony Dennis has expressed his gratitude for those who have come forward with information that may prove to be helpful.

“With new information, there are new possibilities that we must thoroughly investigate," Dennis said. "We never give up on the missing, and we will not give up on finding Julia Bean."

If anyone has information that may be relevant to the investigation, they are asked to call the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office 803-436-2000, or use the website www.p3tips.com or the “P3” app.

Heuermann, 59, of Massapequa, was charged July 14 with six murder counts in the killings of Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello and Melissa Barthelemy. He pleaded not guilty.

The architect became a suspect of interest in March 2022 when a special task force linked his car to a witness' testimony.

The witness told law enforcement they saw Costello trick Heuermann out of money in a scam, and that he got into a Chevrolet Avalanche. Investigators believe Heuermann picked up Costello the second and final time in the Avalanche.

On July 18, the task force traced the car to Heuermann using its car registration. Law enforcement apprehended the car in Chester County, South Carolina on Tuesday, Fox News reported.

They also emphasized that the Chester County Sheriff's Office is assisting Suffolk County law enforcement, who are leading the case.

Heuermann made his first court appearance last month, where Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney provided a "tremendous amount" of discovery evidence to his defense.

Since 2010, at least 11 sets of remains have been found, believed to be related to the Gilgo Beach killings. Police have searched for a serial killer ever since. At least four of the killings included strangulation, and two showed signs of blunt-force trauma.

Heuermann's Massapequa Park home was also searched by law enforcement for 12 days, where law enforcement found more than 200 guns in a "vault" like room in a basement.