Gilgo Beach murder investigation sparks new search of woods on Long Island: source

Kevin Sheehan, Steve Janoski
·2 min read

Cops are combing through the woods near Manorville, Long Island, as part of a lengthy search that’s connected to the Gilgo Beach killings, The Post has learned.

Members of the NYPD — including a K-9 unit — worked alongside Suffolk County Police in an area along Schultz Road, near the intersection of Wading River Manor Road.

Officers were also searching along a road that cuts through state land — which is only accessible for permitted hunters.

The NYPD canine unit along with the Suffolk County and State Police search a wooded area. Dennis A. Clark
The NYPD canine unit along with the Suffolk County and State Police search a wooded area. Dennis A. Clark
Officers also searched along a road that cuts through state land — which is only accessible to permitted hunters. Dennis A. Clark
Officers also searched along a road that cuts through state land — which is only accessible to permitted hunters. Dennis A. Clark

“The Suffolk County Police Department, the New York Police Department and the New York State Police are working with the District Attorney’s Office on an ongoing investigation,” according to a statement from Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.

“We do not comment on investigative steps while they are underway. We will make further statements when appropriate.”

The search is the newest twist in the investigation into the infamous Gilgo Beach killings, which began after the bodies of four sex workers were discovered on the Long Island beach in December 2010.

Six other bodies were found along the remote stretch of Long Island around the same time.

But the case went cold for several years until former NYPD chief Rodney Harrison, who was Suffolk County police commissioner at the time, reopened the case in January 2022.

The search is related to the Gilgo Beach murders. Dennis A. Clark
The search is related to the Gilgo Beach murders. Dennis A. Clark
Rex Heuermann, an architect who worked in Manhattan, was arrested last July. James Carbone/Newsday via AP
Rex Heuermann, an architect who worked in Manhattan, was arrested last July. James Carbone/Newsday via AP

Rex Heuermann, a father-of-two who worked as an architect in Manhattan, was arrested last July for four of the killings.

The alleged killer was in Suffolk County Supreme Court last week for a status hearing, where his attorney demanded a litany of FBI documents ahead of his looming trial — specifically, anything tied to a disgraced ex-police chief from who has been accused of botching the years-long investigation.

The corpses of the four women Heuermann stands accused of killing — Melissa Barthelemy, 24; Megan Waterman, 22; Amber Costello, 27; and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25 —  were found in the roadside brush along a quiet stretch of Ocean Parkway in 2010.

All four were believed to be sex workers when they vanished at different points between 2007 and 2010.