Shannan Gilbert Body Likely Found, Connection to LI Murders Still Debated

The body of Shannan Gilbert has likely been found, according to Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer. The police, however, are still awaiting definitive conclusion that it is indeed her.

The likely discovery of Gilbert's body happened shortly before the eve of the anniversary of the Long Island serial killer investigation anniversary.

On that evening, a group of relatives of the Long Island murder victims were gathering for a vigil, according to the New York Times.

Back on Dec. 13 2010, authorities discovered the remains of four bodies on Long Island, which prompted them to investigate the possibility of a serial killer targeting sex workers. By April 2011, six more bodies were found. The police believe a lone serial killer is responsible for all ten deaths.

It was Gilbert's disappearance in May 2010 that led the police to accidentally stumble upon the multiple bodies in Long Island.

The police, however, currently do not believe Gilbert's death is related to the Long Island serial murders.

Instead, they believe she drowned - possibly due to exhaustion - while crossing a swampland in an attempt to reach the Robert Moses Causeway.

Brambles and thick brush and terrain would have made it impossible for her to get to the [Causeway]. It would be easy to get exhausted, fall down and not move, said Dormer, reported the New York Post.

Gilbert reportedly fled the home of a Long Island client she was visiting. She briefly went in the home of a nearby resident before fleeing to the marshland.

Not all, however, are taking the police's word that her death is accidental and unrelated to the Long Island murders.

To say she accidentally drowned is ridiculous when she lost her shoes and her pants. She was running from something. Someone was trying to kill her...It doesn't make any sense, said a relative of one of the Long Island murder victims, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger.

Moreover, Mari Gilbert, Shannan Gilbert's mother, will not yet believe the body is her daughter's until she hears positive confirmation, according to the New York Times.

Moreover, she also doubted her daughter died of accidental drowning.

I want to meet him face to face one day, she said.