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Police Expand Search For Remains In L.I. Possible Serial Killer Case

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- State police on Monday closed a five-mile stretch of parkway on New York's Long Island to look for human remains and other clues in the case of a possible serial killer.

WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs: State Police Assist Nassau County

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About 50 officers were searching in dense underbrush along the Wantagh State Parkway between Merrick Road in Wantagh and Ocean Parkway on the Atlantic, Capt. James Dewar said.

Ten sets of human remains have been found since December along Ocean Parkway near Jones Beach. The case began as a search for missing New Jersey prostitute Shannan Gilbert last seen in the area of Oak Beach a year ago. She has not been found, but four other bodies have been identified.

Nothing of interest had been found by early Monday afternoon, Dewar said.

He said there was no specific information, evidence or tip that prompted the wider search. The Wantagh Parkway was targeted because it leads to Ocean Parkway and is "similar in terrain and in isolation,'' he said.

That means dense underbrush, few homes and difficult going, Dewar said. He said six cadaver dogs and at least two helicopters had joined the search.

The highway and its bikes-and-pedestrians path were closed at 9 a.m. and would probably be reopened Monday evening, Dewar said. He said the search might continue Tuesday.

In addition to state troopers, police officers from Nassau County and the state Department of Environmental Conservation were taking part, Dewar said.

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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