‘Gilgo Beach murders’: Truck seized in SC connected to Long Island investigation

CHESTER, S.C. — A truck towed from Chester County is connected to the investigation into suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann.

Channel 9 obtained warrants Wednesday showing the truck seized is a Chevrolet Avalanche, which could be key a piece of evidence in the death of Amber Costello, a North Carolina native who was one of Heuermann’s alleged victims.

Channel 9′s Tina Terry pushed for the release of that warrant, which shows investigators searched Heuermann’s property on Rippling Brook Drive in Chester Thursday night for key evidence in the murder case.

PREVIOUS STORIES:

Detectives believe Heuermann killed Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello and buried their bodies at Long Island’s Gilgo Beach in New York.

The women were three of 11 victims in a long-unsolved string of killings known as the Gilgo Beach murders. Most of the victims were young women who had been sex workers. Their deaths long stumped investigators, a mystery that fueled immense public attention and led to a 2020 Netflix film, “Lost Girls.”

Heuermann recently bought four parcels of land in Chester and reportedly planned to retire there. The warrant says investigators searched the property for “personal items that may have belonged to any of the victims” including things like “their telephones, articles of clothing, jewelry, identification.” They also looked for DNA obtained through things like “fingernails, toenails, animal hair, fur, human hair and human skin fibers.”

The warrant confirms detectives were also looking for, and found, a “dark green in color 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche.”

Channel 9 was at the Chester County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday as detectives towed that vehicle away. They’ve said a Chevy Avalanche is a key piece of evidence in Costello’s death. A witness told police he saw that vehicle at Costello’s New York home before her disappearance.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(PREVIOUS: Gilgo Beach murder suspect purchased lot in South Carolina)