Missing South Carolina woman may have met with Gilgo Beach murders suspect, authorities say

Authorities in South Carolina are investigating whether a woman who's been missing for more than six years may have met with Rex Heuermann, the New York architect charged in the deaths of three Gilgo Beach victims.

A person claiming to be the missing woman's friend, along with the woman's daughter, have both told investigators they believe Julia Ann Bean may have known Heuermann, according to the Sumpter County Sheriff's Office.

Bean was last seen in Sumter County, South Carolina, on May 31, 2017 and her daughter, Cameron, reported her missing later that year, authorities said. Since then, the Sumter County Sheriff's Office has "extensively investigated" Bean's disappearance, the sheriff's office said on Facebook.

Heuermann's defense attorney, Michael J. Brown, could not be reached for comment Friday.

In August, the Sumter County Sheriff's Office received a tip from a woman who said she was Bean's friend alleging that "there may be a connection between" Bean and Heuermann.

The woman does not live in Sumter County and the information she provided was "third hand," the sheriff's office said. She contacted the sheriff's office on Aug. 20, they added.

Shortly after interviewing the person who provided the tip, the sheriff's office also interviewed Cameron, who was "very cooperative and eager to help," the sheriff's office said.

"It is her recollection that someone she saw with her mother could possibly be Heuermann," the sheriff's office said.

Investigators continue to interview individuals and investigate reports that Bean "may have been seen with Rex Heuermann," the office's Facebook announcement says, and have shared the information with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"Her case will remain open until she is found," the sheriff's office said.

Rex Heuermann owns property in South Carolina

Property and appraisal records show Heuermann owns four vacant lots in Chester County, South Carolina, approximately 80 miles northwest of Sumter County, where Bean lived. Chester County is 35 miles south of the state's border with North Carolina, and is considered part of the larger Charlotte metropolitan area.

Heuermann lived with his family on Long Island before being arrested in July in connection with the deaths of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Lynn Costello. He has pleaded not guilty in the cases.

Appraisal records show Heuermann bought the South Carolina lots in 2021 and most recently made a payment for them in March of this year.

Who is Rex Heuermann?

Heuermann is charged in the killings of Waterman, 22, Barthelemy, 24, and Costello, 27, in the 2000s. The bodies of the women, who authorities say were sex workers, were found wrapped in burlap on Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach.

Police in New York matched DNA from a pizza crust Heuermann threw in the trash to hair found on one of the victims in order to link Heuermann to the killings.

Heuermann also is a suspect in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, but has not been charged in that case.

Together, Waterman, Barthelemy, Costello and Brainard-Barnes are known as the Gilgo Beach Four, according to police on Long Island.

Before his arrest, Heuermann worked at his architecture firm in Manhattan, RH Consultants & Associates.

Last month, after a 12-day search at Heuermann's home, investigators said they found "massive" amounts of evidence, including a cache of weapons.

Heuermann's wife, Asa Ellerup, filed for divorce after Heuermann was charged and arrested in connection with the killings.

Anyone with information that may be relevant to Bean's disappearance is asked to contact the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office or use the website www.p3tips.com or the “P3” app.