What began as a search for one missing woman led to multiple bodies and the capture of a man police say is a serial killer. Shannan Gilbert , 23, was working as an escort.
In the early morning hours of May 1, , Gilbert made a frantic phone call to She had been at a client's home on Long Island, and said she believed someone was after her. She took off running and told the operator there were people trying to kill her. Then, Gilbert vanished.
Police would do an exhaustive search for Gilbert. Months passed without a sign of the missing woman and then, in December , near Gilgo Beach, a police officer and his K-9, Blue, found human remains.
But it wasn't Gilbert. Instead, they found the bodies of four women. Police say all of the women were petite and three of them were wrapped in burlap.
Police began their hunt to find a serial killer. Dominick Varrone, who was Suffolk County chief of detectives at the time, said there were striking similarities among the Gilgo Four. The women were also all in their 20s and were all working as online escorts. Maureen Brainard-Barnes is often referred to as the first of the Gilgo Four. She went missing in July Brainard-Barnes was a single mother of two living in Norwich, Connecticut.
