The search for serial killer victims expanded into open water on Wednesday and police announced plans to use aerial imaging technology and additional teams of police divers to find more evidence.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer cautioned the public to "keep in mind that this is not an episode of 'CSI.'"
"We are being patient ... and we ask that you do the same," Dormer said at an afternoon briefing.
Helicopters have already buzzed over the remote strip of beachfront where 10 sets of human remains have been found since last December, but Dormer said local police have requested help from the FBI in launching additional flyovers using high-resolution technology.
"We are hoping the technology will help identify skeletal remains that may still be out here," Dormer said.
The FBI has been assisting on the case since the first four bodies were found in the Oak Beach area last December. The search was renewed in recent weeks once warmer temperatures melted the winter snow, and six more sets have now been discovered.
Dormer said authorities have received more than 600 tips on this case and are working through each one. Many individuals are being questioned, he said, but declined to provide details.
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"We're interviewing a lot of people," he said.
Dormer said police have essentially ruled out any connection between the Long Island killings and unsolved murders of prostitutes in Atlantic City several years ago.
All four of the first bodies discovered in Long Island were women who were sex workers. The latest six findings have not been identified or linked to those first four, but authorities theorize that the first four bodies could be victims of serial killer.
The search moved into the waters of Hemlock Cove on Wednesday, with a team of five divers working the area just west of Oak Beach. Dormer said more dives are planned.
On Tuesday, police in neighboring Nassau County confirmed that two sets of remains found this week near Jones Beach were human.
The first eight sets were found along the same highway, all in Suffolk County.
Dormer said the New York City medical examiner is working to identify the latest remains.
