A woman’s partial remains were first found on Fire Island in the spring of 1996 when a pair of severed legs were recovered in a garbage bag. Her skull was located separately in April 2011 at Tobay Beach; DNA later linked those remains to the same victim. The woman was identified in 2023 as 34-year-old Karen Vergata of Manhattan, who had last been heard from on February 14, 1996 and was believed to have been working as a sex worker. No missing person report was filed at the time.

Authorities have not announced any charges in Vergata’s death; the investigation into whether her homicide is connected to other killings along that stretch is ongoing.

If anyone knew Karen, saw her around Manhattan or Long Island in early 1996, or has information about her disappearance, please share what is known with investigators.