SHANNAN GILBERT
Alex Diaz – Shannan Gilbert’s Boyfriend
Shannan Gilbert was 23 when she vanished. Her remains were found in December 2011 in another beach community just down the road. On December 11, 2010, eight months into the search for Gilbert, a Suffolk County Police Department Canine Unit continued their efforts near her last known location. Instead of finding Gilbert, they uncovered human remains..
SHANNAN GILBERT
SHANNAN GILBERT & ALEX DIAZ
Shannan Gilbert was 23 when she vanished. Her remains were found in December 2011 in another beach community just down the road. On December 11, 2010, eight months into the search for Gilbert, a Suffolk County Police Department Canine Unit continued their efforts near her last known location. Instead of finding Gilbert, they uncovered human remains.
Early Life
- Born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey
- Lived in a small two-bedroom apartment near Journal Square
- Father worked downtown in maintenance
- Mother was a homemaker
- Only child
- Attended Dickinson High School
- Did not graduate
- Age 16, arrested for aggravated assault during a fight
- Age 17, involved in an armed robbery targeting bodegas along Kennedy Boulevard
- Obtained a gun easily through local street connections
- He hid the gun in his bedroom closet at his parents’ home
- After one robbery where approximately five hundred dollars was stolen, he and his friends encountered the police and were caught
- Sent to a juvenile facility in Secaucus
- Later transferred to the New Jersey Training School for Boys in Jamesburg
- Spent approximately two and a half years in custody
- Lived in a strict boot camp-style environment in barracks with about fifty juvenile offenders
- Some detainees were former street acquaintances
- Parents visited often
- His mother urged him to change his life when he was released
- Released just before age 20
- Completed high school at night
- Enrolled in community college for about a year and a half
- Became discouraged and dropped out
- Considered studying criminal justice
- Barred from police work because of his gun charge
- Began working as a private security guard
- Worked at factories, water facilities, and the Prudential Center parking lot in Newark
- Earned around twelve dollars an hour
- Friends from childhood moved on with careers and families
- Remained close with one former accomplice
- Introduced to the escort agency World Class Party Girls by a former accomplice
- Agency owned by Joseph Ruis, previously known to Alex as a kebab shop owner in Journal Square
- Learned the escort operational structure and money system
- Drivers used their own vehicles
- Dispatcher assigned calls and controlled access to high-paying runs
- Pay based on the agency rate chart, showing agency share, escort share, and driver share
- Drivers typically received about one-quarter of the hourly fee
- Even lower-end work paid hundreds per night
- Could earn approximately one thousand dollars per week working three to four nights
- Drove the escorts to Manhattan
- Rutherford and Meadowlands
- North Jersey suburbs
- Middlesex County
- Westchester County
- Frequented upscale New York hotels, including Times Square Marriott and The Carlyle
- Clients were typically high-paying professionals and travelers
- Escorts expected to finish early to maximize total nightly bookings
- Some escorts, including Shannan, used cocaine to extend the time with clients
- The agency sometimes facilitated drug procurement
- The dispatcher would ask clients if they wanted “party material.”
- Alex sometimes personally purchased cocaine in Jersey City and delivered it to clients
- Charges were added to the agency’s credit billing
- After beginning work as a driver for the escort agency World Class Party Girls, Alex is assigned to transport Shannan to client calls
- Their first interaction takes place during routine pickup and escort transport arranged through the agency dispatcher
- Their working relationship develops through repeated assignments, long drives, and late-night conversations between bookings
- Alex witnesses the pressure of escort work, including the constant push to move from one client to the next and the reliance on drivers for safety and logistics
- Over time, familiarity and trust build between them as they operate together within the escort system
At 28, Alex Diaz had been living with Shanna in Jersey City, where they were trying to build a life together.
Relationship to Shannan Gilbert
- Diaz was Shannan’s boyfriend and described by some sources as emotionally close to her.
- He helped schedule some of her escort dates.
- Shannan reportedly spoke to him often while she was working.
- According to Pak, Shannan used Diaz as a point of reassurance or support when she felt uncomfortable during a job.
- Shannan called Diaz at least once shortly before or during her 911 call.
- At one point, Diaz called Pak to ask what was happening after Shannan called him sounding frightened.
- Diaz told police Shannan sounded like she was arguing or upset but did not describe any clear threat.
- After Shannan went missing, he cooperated with police and handed over his phone for analysis.
- Diaz told investigators that Shannan had a history of panic, especially when under stress or when using substances, though he did not claim she was hallucinating.
- He stated that she had previously become frightened during escort appointments and had called him for reassurance.
- He said their relationship involved occasional conflict but that he had no concerns about the Oak Beach client before the appointment.
- Diaz was interviewed multiple times by Suffolk County Police.
- His background, phone records, and travel history were reviewed.
- Police publicly stated that Diaz was not a suspect.
- There is no evidence tying him to Oak Beach on the night Shannan disappeared.
“I was waiting and waiting for Shanna to come home,” Diaz explained. “After two days I thought she was not coming back.” The realization hit hard. Diaz, thought she might have left him.
As the days passed after Shannon’s disappearance, Alex couldn’t shake the fear that something had gone terribly wrong. He replayed their last conversations in his mind, looking for any sign he might have missed, any hint that she was in trouble. But Shannon had always been careful, guarded in what she shared. She didn’t want to worry him, and maybe that had been her downfall.
Desperate for answers, he reached out to Shanna’s sister, hoping she had returned to her parents’ home in Ellensville, New York. But Shanna wasn’t there either.
May 1, 2010- 2:30 a.m. Shannan and her driver Michael Pak arrive at Oak Beach for her appointment with Joseph Brewer.
- 3:00 to 4:00 a.m. Shannan becomes increasingly uncomfortable in Brewer’s home.
- Brewer later reports that Shannan began acting paranoid and claiming someone was after her.
- 4:30 a.m. Shannan begins acting distressed according to Pak and Brewer.
- She calls Diaz sounding upset.
- 4:51 a.m. Shannan calls 911.
- During the long 911 call, she attempts reaching several contacts, including Diaz.
- 5:00 to 5:20 a.m. Diaz receives additional contact and possibly a second call from Shannan.
- He calls Pak shortly after, asking what is happening and why Shannan is panicking.
- Pak tells Diaz that Shannan “ran off” and is hiding from someone, though Pak claimed not to know why.
- 6:00 a.m. Diaz continues calling Pak to ask for updates.
- Pak leaves Oak Beach after failing to locate Shannan.
- Diaz speaks with investigators.
- Police begin reconstructing the call logs.
- 2:00 PM Alex Diaz’s contacted the driver who had last seen Shanna. The driver, equally concerned, had been under the impression that Shanna had safely made it home.
- Alex Diaz and Michael Pak returned to Oak Beach, retracing their steps, searching local beaches and hospitals, hoping for any sign of her. Their concerns led them to attempt filing a missing person report in Suffolk County, but they were met with procedural roadblocks. The police directed them to Jersey City, Shanna’s hometown, complicating the search and adding to the growing sense of helplessness. Read More – Police Report
“I was waiting and waiting for Shanna to come home,” Diaz explained. “After two days I thought she was not coming back.” The realization hit hard. Diaz, thought she might have left him.As the days passed after Shannon’s disappearance, Alex couldn’t shake the fear that something had gone terribly wrong. He replayed their last conversations in his mind, looking for any sign he might have missed, any hint that she was in trouble. But Shannon had always been careful, guarded in what she shared. She didn’t want to worry him, and maybe that had been her downfall. Desperate for answers, he reached out to Shanna’s sister, hoping she had returned to her parents’ home in Ellensville, New York. But Shanna wasn’t there either. Diaz’s worry deepened, and on April 2, 2010, around 2:00 PM, he contacted the driver who had last seen Shanna. The driver, equally concerned, had been under the impression that Shanna had safely made it home. When it became clear she hadn’t, the two men returned to Oak Beach on May 3, retracing their steps, searching local beaches and hospitals, hoping for any sign of her. Their concerns led them to attempt to file a missing-person report in Suffolk County, but they encountered procedural roadblocks. The police directed them to Jersey City, Shanna’s hometown, complicating the search and adding to the growing sense of helplessness.Read More