Emergency personnel search the scrub on the side of the road near Oak Beach, N.Y., Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Investigators have expanded their search of a remote, densely overgrown stretch of a New York barrier island as they hunt for more victims of a possible Long Island serial killer. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York State and Nassau County police wrapped up a search of the southern stretch of Wantagh State Parkway without turning up any new evidence as the investigation widens into the discovery of 10 sets of human remains along Ocean Parkway since December.
Troopers said they will do a parallel search Tuesday along the Robert Moses Causeway from Ocean Parkway to the southern end of the main-span bridge. The causeway will be closed from 8:30 a.m. until the search is concluded later in the afternoon, police said in a statement.
“There has been no specific information that has prompted this search,” New York State Police Captain David Candelaria said at a news conference Monday morning. “The search is being conducted as part of the overall investigation due to its proximity to the Ocean Parkway body discoveries.”
State police again deployed cadaver-sniffing dogs, a search team that specializes in rugged terrain, a helicopter, forensic investigators and several search police teams. Suffolk County police, New York State Park Police and the New York State Environmental Conservation Police are assisting in the latest search.
Click here to see prior coverage of the Long Island serial killer investigation
The investigation began with the December 2010 discovery of four dead women who advertised as escorts online near Gilgo Beach.
In the past month, investigators uncovered four more sets of human remains on the Suffolk County half of the barrier island and two partial human skeletal remains, including a skull, near Tobay Beach on the Nassau County half. Last Friday, police found two teeth near where they found the skull.
Medical examiners are working to identify the six latest sets of remains, which have not been officially linked to the first four victims. The first four victims took about a month to identify.
A Suffolk County police spokeswoman said Homicide Squad detectives are awaiting the results of high-resolution images taken by FBI aircraft that may indicate additional areas that need to be searched.
Police made the first discoveries while searching for 24-year-old Shannan Gilbert of Jersey City, NJ, a prostitute who was last seen after meeting a client in Oak Beach. Investigators are still searching for her.
Monday’s search came one day after the year anniversary of Gilbert’s disappearance. About a dozen of her friends and relatives reportedly held a vigil for Gilbert in Oak Beach on Sunday.
Access to Captree and Robert Moses State Parks will be from Ocean Parkway only on Tuesday.
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