On a barrier island, mystery deepens on 4 corpses
By FRANK ELTMAN, Associated Press
Dec 19, 2010 10:11 AM CST
K-9 unit police use a cadaver dog to search an area in Oak Beach, Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010, on New York's Long Island, as authorities continue scouring a 10-mile stretch of beach access road where four bodies were discovered this week. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano)   (Associated Press)

It's been a week since police accidentally discovered the bodies of four women strewn over a quarter-mile stretch on a barrier island. Investigators are vexed by the basic questions: Who are they and how did they get there?

By week's end, police brass appeared to concede they were stumped. They were even backing away from earlier notions that a serial killer may be responsible.

Deputy Inspector William Neubauer told reporters that "anything is possible" because of all the unanswered questions.

Police found the first body Dec. 11 while investigating the disappearance of a New Jersey woman. The other three were found two days later.

Detectives believe the four women probably died elsewhere and were dumped just off the highway, but they remain open to any scenario.

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