Profile of potential L.I. serial killer released

The search for more victims of a potential serial killer resumes on New York's Long Island as authorities release a profile of the assailant.

Authorities tell CBS News the suspected serial killer is likely white, between 25 and 40, is intelligent and street-smart.

The FBI is expected to join the search for more bodies in this unsolved mystery Friday. CBS News Correspondent Seth Doane reported for "The Early Show" that federal investigators will go airborne with high-tech imaging aircraft to search for more skeletal remains in the area where as many as 10 sets have already been found. Police say they have not necessarily linked the grizzly discoveries.

Richard Dormer, the Suffolk County police commissioner, stressed this could be a long-term investigation and acknowledged what CBS News had previously reported - that there may be more than just one killer.

Long Island serial killer: More than one?

Dormer said, "Well, we're certainly looking at that - we have an open mind with this investigation."

The searches all started after Shannon Gilbert, an escort who advertised on Craigslist, disappeared back in May.

Gus Coletti told CBS News he was the last person to see Gilbert. A panicked Shannon Gilbert showed up at his house at 5 a.m.

Coletti recalled, "I opened the door and she came in and she just stood there, staring at me yelling, 'Help, help me.'"

He called 911 for help, but Gilbert ran away, slipping down his steps, and then briefly hid under his boat before running off.

"Looking back, I'm saying to myself I could have possibly saved that girl's life," Coletti said. "It is difficult. It's not easy. I got daughters that age. It's not easy."

Gilbert was never found, but the search for her led to the discovery of four other Craigslist escorts, found asphyxiated and buried in the beach. Investigators have combed the community questioning neighbors like Dr. Peter Hackett.

Hackett told CBS News it has been a "tough couple of days."

Gilbert's family says that this former police doctor had encountered Gilbert that night, fueling suspicion that Hackett and his wife say is unwarranted.

Doane asked Hackett, "Did you see Shannon Gilbert on that night?"

Hackett replied, "Never."

Hackett's wife added, "She was missing."

As the investigation drags on and the body count rises, it's beginning to take a toll, but resident Beverly Kolb says this hearty community knows how to weather a storm.

Kolb said, "I keep a cell phone in one pocket and a camera in the other and when I have to take a shotgun, I'm out of here."

Doane added authorities are looking for DNA from the bones, so they can identify the individuals and through family, friends and GPS cell phone records try to determine their last whereabouts and movements, which could lead them to a killer.

Doane added that authorities have stepped away from the possibility that four other prostitutes strangled and buried at a beach in Atlantic City, N.J., were connected to the Long Island cases. Doane reported N.J. officials have acknowledged they were contacted, but won't say anything more.

Serial killers, Doane said, are often caught because they slip up on details, such as getting caught in a traffic accident without license plates. The investigation, he said, is likely to go on for weeks or months.