Investigators say there is only a remote likelihood of finding any additional human remains on Jones Beach Island in an extensive search triggered by the discovery of four dead women this past week and it is also unlikely that any of the remains are those of Megan Waterman.
“At the present time, we have no evidence indicating that it is probable that Megan Waterman is among those that were found here,” Suffolk County Deputy Inspector William Neubauer said at a Friday briefing.
Neubauer said that it could take weeks or longer before the identities of the bodies are known. The remains were found on the bayside of Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach.
“The possibility remains that we may not be successful in making an identification,” Neubauer told reporters in a parking lot in Oak Beach. In a best-case scenario, identification of severely decomposed bodies can take at least a month, police have said.
Police scoured more than 10 miles of brush and wooded area along the parkway after a cadaver dog first uncovered skeletal remains last Saturday. Neubauer said that investigators also “uncovered items that may or may not have a bearing on our investigation,” but declined to discuss specifics. He added that two sets of bones found Friday are likely not human.
Officers made the initial discovery while looking for clues in the case of missing New Jersey prostitute Shannan Gilbert, 24, who vanished after meeting a client in Oak Beach in May. Suffolk County medical examiners determined Gilbert was not among the remains Thursday.
Forensics experts are still working to compare DNA evidence from the four bodies to see if there is a match with DNA taken from the family of 22-year-old Megan Waterman of Maine, who disappeared from a Hauppauge hotel a month after Gilbert. Both women were prostitutes who advertised on Craigslist. Neubauer said it is still possible Waterman is among the remains.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said Tuesday police suspect a serial killer may have dumped the bodies and later urged the public not to be alarmed.
Neubauer temptered that statement Friday. “We have no idea whatsoever whether we’re dealing with a serial killer,” he said. “Anything is possible at this point, because there’s so many unanswered questions.”
He added there are still no suspects or persons of interest. Until a cause of death can be determined, it is not if clear the women are murder victims.
It was unclear if police would continue the search into the weekend.
-With Associated Press