This story originally aired on Sept. 16, 2023. It was updated on June 15, 2024.
Not far from a quiet stretch of Gilgo Beach on Long Island, New York, investigators uncovered the hidden remains of four young women. The mystery of who they were and how they got here might have stayed a secret if not for a woman named Shannan Gilbert. FINDING THE GILGO FOUR In the early morning hours of May 1, 2010, 23-year-old Shannan Gilbert , working as an escort, called 911 .
911 OPERATOR: State Police. SHANNAN GILBERT: Yeah, there's somebody after me. The call came from a neighborhood not far from Gilgo Beach .
SHANNAN GILBERT (to 911): These people are trying to kill me. Shannan Gilbert GilgoNews.com Shannan starts running, knocking on doors.
911 OPERATOR: Where are you, Shannan? She screams. And then, nothing. Shannan was gone.
911 OPERATOR: Hello? Hello? Dominick Varrone : K-9 ...
searched the area ...
exhaustively for Shannan Gilbert. Dominick Varrone was chief of detectives at the Suffolk County Police Department. Months passed without a sign of the missing woman.
Then, in December 2010 near Gilgo Beach, a police officer and his K-9 named Blue found human remains. Dominick Varrone : Everyone assumed it was Shannan Gilbert. But it wasn't Shannan.
Stunned searchers would go on to discover the remains of four other women. The women were identified as Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. Like Shannan, all were in their 20s.
All were online escorts.
