Feds to resume search for remains Monday

A federal air operation to search for more human remains on a South Shore barrier is to resume Monday after a technical problem last week, officials said.

An FBI airplane carrying high-resolution imaging equipment last week made at least one pass over an area where at least nine sets of human remains have been discovered since December. The second stage of that imaging process involving a helicopter was to begin Friday, but a technical problem forced a postponement, police said.

An FBI spokesman said Friday the problem would likely be fixed by Monday. Ocean Parkway is to be closed during the operation. Police did not issue Monday traffic closure plans Saturday.

Nassau and Suffolk police conducted no ground searches Saturday and are not scheduled for more canvasses on Monday. Suffolk divers who conducted an underwater search in the Great South Bay last week are also not scheduled to be back in the water on Monday.

Officials are searching for Shannan Gilbert, 24. The Jersey City woman disappeared nearly a year ago in Oak Beach.

A total of eight sets of human remains in Suffolk and a skull and some bones in Nassau have been recovered on the island since December. The initial four discovered in the Gilgo Beach area last December all proved to be young women in their 20s, the suspected victims of a serial killer.