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Police Investigate Bodies Dumped Near L.I. Beach

GILGO BEACH, N.Y. (CBS 2/1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- Police returned to the scene Tuesday where four bodies were found along a lonely stretch of a Long Island beach.

Police said a serial killer may have abandoned the bodies, each apparently dumped from a vehicle, along the desolate, wind-swept stretch of Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach.

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1010 WINS' Mona Rivera reports

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WCBS 880's Sophia Hall with comments from Suffolk County Police Commissioner

"I don't think it's a coincidence that four bodies ended up in this area, you know? That's a good direction to go, that they were all dumped here by the same person or persons," said Richard Dormer, Suffolk County Police Commissioner.

When asked if a serial killer was dumping bodies, he answered: "I'm not going to say that, but certainly we're looking at that. We're looking at that, that we could have a serial killer."

The discoveries have shaken nearby neighbors.

"It's not a happy thought that there's like a whole little graveyard going on down there," Wantagh resident Debbi Baker told CBS 2's Sean Hennessey.

"You think you're buying in a safe neighborhood and then you hear this. It's upsetting," Colleen Monahan said.

Two of the four bodies are confirmed to be female, 1010 WINS' Mona Rivera reported.

Police sources said some of the bodies were wrapped in burlap, CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan reported. The first body's skeletal remains were found Saturday just before 3 p.m. by Officer John Mallia and his canine "Blue."

"I hope I gave closure to four families, and I was glad to do my job," Malia said Tuesday.

Police found the badly decomposed remains, feet from the roadway, near Cedar Beach as they searched for a missing prostitute last known to be headed to Fire Island, Dormer said.

Jersey City, N.J., police identified the missing prostitute as 24-year-old Shannon Gilbert, of Jersey City. Dormer said Gilbert worked as a prostitute and arranged through Craigslist to meet a client.

Authorities have been in contact with Gilbert's family and were interviewing her alleged pimp and client.

Also, a Maine detective said Tuesday he is waiting to hear from Suffolk authorities on whether one of the bodies is related to his missing persons case.

Det. Donald Blatchford of the Scarborough, Maine, police said he had talked with Suffolk police Monday and was expecting to hear if one of the bodies was that of Scarborough resident Megan Waterman, 22, who was last seen at a Holiday Inn Express in Hauppauge on June 6.

The area where the bodies were found "is close enough to be of interest," Blatchford said.

Detectives on the scene offered theories. "They weren't clustered together and it appears that they were thrown out of a vehicle into foliage, into the area that's off the roadway so that they wouldn't be seen," Dormer said. "It appears to be an area that the bodies were dumped."

Dormer added that it is likely that the victims were killed someplace else, Rivera reported.

As searchers continue to scour the area in the coming days, investigators said they'll do whatever they can to determine the common denominator that left at least four victims.

(TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 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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