A private autopsy carried out by the family of a prostitute whose disappearance sparked the hunt for the Gilgo Beach Killer has revealed she was likely strangled.

Shannan Gilbert, 24, vanished in 2010 after visiting a client in Long Island, New York, and a later search for her body turned up the remains of ten others, believed to be the victims of a single killer.

A state autopsy in December 2014 ruled the cause of Gilbert's death 'inconclusive', meaning she was never included on the official list of the serial murderer's victims.

But now a new autopsy carried out by former New York medical inspector Michael Baden has revealed evidence that she was strangled, possibly making her the 11th victim.

Shannan Gilbert, 26, disappeared in 2010 on Long Island. The search for her body turned up the remains of ten others and started the Gilgo Beach Killer investigation, but she was never considered a victim

Gilbert's family (pictured, with attorney John Ray, in the red suit) revealed evidence from a private autopsy today which showed evidence that she was strangled

In a report, seen by the New York Post, Baden said that while the majority of Gilbert's skeleton appears normal, the hyoid bone in her neck was damaged and her larynx was missing.

Gilbert’s family attorney, John Ray, added that the two 'horns' at the end of the U-shaped hyoid bone were broken off.

Baden's report added: 'These structures, the larynx and hyoid bone, are often fractured during homicidal strangulation.

'There is insufficient information to determine a definite cause of death, but the autopsy findings are consistent with homicidal strangulation.'

Until now, police theorized that Gilbert fled a client's house along Gilgo Beach in May 2010 in a drug-induced stupor before getting lost in a marsh and dying.

The autopsy, carried out by former New York City medical examiner Michael Baden (pictured), contradicts a state autopsy carried out in 2014 which ruled Gilbert's cause of death 'inconclusive'

Baden's report said that Gilbert's hyoid bone (pictured) was broken at the end of its 'horns' and that her larnyx was missing, all of which indicates death by strangling

Police found her body in December the following year, but along the way discovered the remains of ten others, including at least five sex workers and a young girl, some of whom were strangled.

While the 2014 autopsy did not reveal any drugs in Gilbert's system, it also showed no conclusive evidence of murder, so she was never identified as a victim of the serial killer.

At the time forensic experts theorized that the water in the marshes could have washed evidence of the drugs away.

However, Gilbert's family have long-insisted that she is the eleventh victim of the Gilgo Beach Killer, and hired Baden to try and prove it.

Police previously believed that Gilbert ran out of a client's house in Long Island in a drug-induced stupor before getting lost in nearby marshes (pictured) and dying accidentally

If Gilbert is official ruled to have been strangled, then she will join a list of ten others including eight women (four pictured), one man and a young girl who are believed to have died at the hands of the serial killer

Relatives argue that, on the night she vanished, Gilbert called police saying that somebody was trying to kill her.

They believe the murderer pursued Gilbert along the beach as she frantically knocked on doors and made phone calls before killing her and dumping her body.

Despite the potential new evidence in Gilbert's case, police appear to be no closer to identifying the killer more than five years after the first remains were found.

Two months ago Suffolk County Deputy Police Commissioner Tim Sini announced that the FBI was joining the investigation in order to help develop new leads.