Police in in the Long Island town where three high schoolers and a fourth unidentified person were recently found dead were spotted searching the grounds of a state-run psychiatric hospital Thursday afternoon.
It wasn't clear whether the Suffolk County officers decked out in white plastic suits had found anything at the Pilgrim Psychiatric Hospital, or if the search was related to the deaths of Oscar Acosta, Nisa Mickens, Kayla Cuevas or a fourth unidentified person over the last week.
It comes a day after the discovery of Acosta, a 19-year-old Brentwood High School senior not seen since late April. The second unidentified person's body was found nearby.
On Thursday, officials confirmed that Acosta was a victim of a homicide and may have been the victim of gang violence.
Last week, Mickens was found dead on what was her 16th birthday. Cuevas, Mickens' best friend, was found dead a day later. Both girls had been badly beaten, and authorities said gangs may have played a role in their deaths.
Police did not say if the remains of Acosta and the second person were connected to the deaths of the two girls.
But Acosta's mother told NBC 4 New York when he disappeared in April that her son had been concerned about gangs before they moved to the town a year and a half ago. She said her son wasn't involved in any form of organized crime.
