Shannan Gilbert
The skeletal remains of Shannon Gilbert were discovered in a marsh near Oak Beach on December 13, 2011.
During the early morning hours of May 1, 2010 Shannan Gilbert, a Craigslist sex worker and resident of Jersey City, New Jersey, travelled with her driver Michael Pak, from Manhattan to meet a client, Joseph Brewer, at his home in the Oak Beach Association.
Gilbert's driver remained in his car while she met with the client. At some point during the meeting, Gilbert reportedly began acting irrational, prompting her client to contact the driver and have Gilbert leave his home. After refusing to leave the location at the request of her client, Gilbert eventually fled on foot into the Oak Beach community.
Gilbert knocked on several doors and interacted with two homeowners within the community before disappearing. Both Brewer and Pak cooperated with police and have been interviewed, fully investigated and cleared of any criminal involvement in Shannan’s death.
This case, including the 911 call, and all of the other cases commonly referred to as “Gilgo” were made available to the Behavioral Analysis Unit (or BAU) of the FBI in their entirety. As part of BAU’s review of this case, they retained the services of a Psychiatrist to review Gilbert’s words and actions on the 911 tape, and also to review the facts of the case. BAU’s opinion, based on their review of the case, the scene, the 911 calls and the psychiatrist’s review of the case is that Gilbert’s death is not consistent with her being the victim of violence or of a violent offender.
While the department is of the opinion that Shannan’s death was an unfortunate accident, the department will continue to evaluate any information that the public may have to help determine a definitive cause of death in this case. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.
The search for Gilbert led to the discovery of Melissa Barthelemy's remains near Gilgo Beach, on December 11, 2010.
Shannan worked as an escort, advertising on Craigslist, and visited a client at his Oak Beach home on May 1, 2010. Gilbert's driver remained in the area while she met with the client. At some point during the meeting, Gilbert reportedly began acting irrational, prompting her client to contact the driver and have Gilbert leave his home.
After refusing to leave the location at the request of her client, Gilbert eventually fled on foot into the Oak Beach community. She knocked on several doors before disappearing.
The search for Gilbert led to the discovery of Melissa Barthelemy's remains near Gilgo Beach, on December 11, 2010.