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Search continues as 3 bodies prove not to be those of missing woman

From Katie Silver, CNN
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Sister of missing woman speaks out
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: "We don't want her to suffer," says sister of missing woman
  • The remains of three women found do not include those of Shannan Gilbert
  • Total of 8 bodies found during monthslong search for a New Jersey woman
  • Several remains turned up so close together police believe same person "dumped" them

"Nancy Grace" has the latest breaking developments on a potential serial killer in New York at 8 p.m. ET on HLN.

New York (CNN) -- The remains of three women found on a remote stretch of beach in Long Island, New York, do not include those of Shannan Gilbert, whose search led to the investigation of a possible serial killer.

Gilbert, 24, of Jersey City, New Jersey, has been missing since May and was last seen alive in the Gilgo Beach area. As authorities searched for clues concerning her disappearance last year, they uncovered a total of eight corpses found in various stages of decomposition.

A woman's body was found March 29 off Ocean Parkway, west of Cedar Beach, police said.

When medical examination determined they were not Gilbert's remains, the police continued to search. On Monday, they found the remains of three additional people. They have also since been determined not to be those of Gilbert, police said in a statement Tuesday.

Gilbert's sister, Sheree Gilbert, told HLN's Nancy Grace Tuesday night she was surprised none of the victims were her sibling.

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"When we at first found out in December the first body initially they had found could have been hers, we had already prepared ourselves, and we were just hoping the search would come to an end," Sheree Gilbert said. "We just don't know where she is at this point and we don't want her to suffer. We don't want her to be lost somewhere, not ever found."

Police say the hunt for a potential serial killer continues, as does the search for Gilbert, who, like the women whose bodies have been found, advertised for prostitution services on such sites as Craigslist.

The first four bodies were discovered stuffed into bushes on a quarter-mile stretch of waterfront property on Oak Beach, indicating "they were dumped there by the same person or persons," said Richard Dormer, Suffolk County Police commissioner, in December. "It's too coincidental that there were four bodies in the same location."

The remains of the fifth body were found about a mile from where the other corpses were discovered, he said, refusing to disclose exactly where the three additional remains were found on Monday.

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