By David Harry

Staff Writer

The mother of a Scarborough woman missing since June says police on Long Island, N.Y., have identified the body of her daughter.

Megan Waterman, 22, was one of four women found last month by police near Gilgo Beach, a sandy spit of land on the island’s Atlantic coast. The information was also confirmed by Scarborough Police Chief Robert Moulton in a prepared statement.

Waterman’s mother, Lorraine Ela of South Portland, said Scarborough Police Detective Don Blatchford told Waterman’s brother of the identification Wednesday morning.

“We’re devastated,” Ela said in a phone interview.

Moulton said the identification means the investigation shifts from a missing person case to a homicide investigation conducted by Suffolk County investigators. 

Scarborough police have turned over materials from their investigation and said they will continue to cooperate and assist the homicide investigation, Moulton said.

Waterman was last seen June 6 in Hauppage, N.Y., a town on Long Island. She was visiting the area with her boyfriend, Akeem Cruz.

Waterman was known by police to advertise on the Internet as an escort and visited the New York City area for appointments. 

Ela said Waterman last called home to speak with her daughter around 9:30 p.m. on June 5.

Blatchford, who led the missing person case, said Cruz was considered a witness to the disappearance. Cruz, 21, and a Brooklyn native, is now serving a 20-month prison sentence for drug distribution.

After months of investigation that spanned Long Island and Greater Portland, Suffolk County canine handler John Mallia and his dog, Blue, discovered a body on Dec. 11 just off Ocean Parkway. Two days later detectives searching the area discovered three more bodies.

Suffolk County Police Detective Lt. Gerard Pelkofsky said the bodies were found about 500 feet apart on an area of road he called “desolate.”

Police determined all four bodies were women and Pelkofsky said it was likely they were left there by the same person. Ela provided police a DNA sample to test against Waterman’s samples gathered by investigators. 

Speculation that Waterman might be among those found increased because Mallia was working on the missing person case of Shannan Gilbert, 24, a Jersey City resident who was last seen about a month before Waterman disappeared. Gilbert also was known by police to work as an escort and use the Internet to set up appointments. Police determined Gilbert was not one of those found by detectives.

A native of Portland who attended Scarborough High School, Waterman worked two jobs and was devoted to her daughter, Lilianna.

Ela said her daughter changed after meeting Cruz. The family knew she was working as an escort and tried to get her to stop.

Ela and her family worked with the Londonderry, N.H.-based LostNMissing to circulate fliers, balloons and cards alerting the public in Maine and Long Island about Waterman’s disappearance. 

Foundation Director Cynthia Caron called the news of Waterman’s identification especially difficult because there does not seem to be a clear link yet to a suspect in her death.

Caron said Ela had told her she expected to learn her daughter was among the four bodies found.

“You can never discount what a mom says. We just tried to keep hope going,” Caron said.