Shannan, an aspiring actress who also did escort work, seemed to have a breakdown while at a client’s Long Island home in May of 2010. She frantically called 911 for help, and brushed off the regular driver who ferried her to and from appointments, then drifted off the road until she vanished from sight. No one could trace her. The cops seemed disinterested in pursuing the case — Shannan’s identity was reduced to prostitution; this apparently made her a “less worthy” victim.
But Shannan’s mother Mari wouldn’t let the cops ignore her daughter’s case. Her incessant campaigning forced the authorities to pay attention, and then, in December of 2010, a chance discovery — an officer training his dog on Gilgo Beach, the south shore of Long Island, New York, came upon the remains of a woman — led to a more exhaustive operation. Within 2-3 days, four women’s bodies had been found, all wrapped up in camouflage burlap sacks, evidently the victims of homicidal violence.
The women, known as the Gilgo Beach Four, were Maureen Brainard-Barnes (missing since July 2007), Melissa Barthelemy (last seen in July 2009), Megan Waterman (missing from June 2010) and Amber Costello (disappeared in September 2010). Authorities determined that all four had been murdered by the same perpetrator, considering the similarities. Shannan, whose case had brought the spotlight that made these discoveries possible, was not among them.
Meanwhile, the Gilgo Beach “Four” had soon swollen to 5, then 6, 7, 8, 9. Among the bodies found were those of an unknown man, a female toddler, and the partial remains of two women — Jessica Taylor (who had gone missing in 2003) and Valerie Mack (reported missing in 2000; identified only in 2020). By December 2011, Shannan’s body had been found too, half a mile from where she went missing. Law enforcement have said that her death was likely an accidental drowning, caused by her disoriented state and wandering in the marshes for several hours. Her family, which instituted an autopsy of its own through a private pathologist, contend that she was also a victim of the same serial killer who murdered Maureen, Melissa and the others.
Mari’s campaign to get justice for Shannen had an unintended consequence in that it later brought attention to misconduct in the county police department, with the ouster of the chief James Burke on corruption charges. Some reports stated that Burke kept the FBI away from investigating the Gilgo Beach murders because he didn’t want increased scrutiny into his wrongdoings. The district attorney too was seemingly forced out of office for his alleged role in covering up Burke’s activities.
On July 13, the police arrested an architect and NY resident, Rex Heuermann, on suspicion of being the Gilgo Beach killer. By this time, the story of Shannan and the other victims is widely known, courtesy an article and book — Lost Girls — by the journalist Robert Kolker, and a Netflix film adaptation of the same name, directed by Liz Garbus, starring Amy Ryan, Thomasin Mackenzie and others. Heuermann’s arrest comes 13 years after Shannan went missing, 12 since her remains were found and her death established. It comes six years after Sarra Gilbert killed Mari. Shannan’s death, incidentally, is not one the police are laying at Heuermann’s door just yet. Instead, they’ve charged him with murdering Amber, Melissa and Megan. Further, they’ve said that the 6’4”, 59-year-old Heuermann is the prime suspect in Maureen’s killing as well, and that investigations are continuing.
News reports lay out the breakthrough in the long-cold case that came in March of 2022, when law enforcement discovered that a car previously registered in Heuermann’s name matched the description of a vehicle seen in Amber’s vicinity by a witness who was among the last to see her alive. By February of this year, a hair analysis led to a DNA connection with Heuermann. Burner phones and up to 200 firearms were found at his home. Last week, he was presented in court, where — as per his lawyer — he tearfully protested his innocence. Sherre Gilbert has meanwhile issued a statement hailing justice at long last.
Lost Girls highlights how much the humanity of these women was erased in the time after they vanished. Because the women worked in prostitution, or used drugs, in no way made them any less deserving of justice. Their lives and their possibilities had still been brutally cut short, their families bereaved, their dignity stolen. By focusing on the stories of these women, the individuals who are central to this series of events — and not Heuermann, whatever the outcome of his trial may be — Lost Girls allowed Maureen, Melissa, Shannan, Amber and Megan to be found once again.
