Authorities in metro Atlanta's DeKalb County Friday night found the 'person of interest' in the case of missing female hiker Meredith Emerson. Additionally, Emerson's dog has been found safe by authorities.
A pair of 9-1-1 calls led police to a convenience store off Ashford-Dunwoody Road in DeKalb, where 61-year-old Gary Michael Hilton was taken into custody. In finding Hilton, authorities also discovered his white Chevy Astro van, which was being processed. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman says agents took Hilton to GBI headquarters in DeKalb soon after for questioning.
Hilton is the last person believed to have been seen with the 24-year-old Emerson. The woman left Tuesday morning with her dog to hike in Vogel State Park. Several witnesses later reported seeing a man fitting the description of Hilton walking with Emerson up the Freeman Trail on Blood Mountian in Union County.
Authorities also confirmed Friday night the discovery of Emerson's dog 'Ella', a black Labrador retreiver. The dog was found after it had wandered into a Kroger store in the Cumming area.
Searchers completed a third straight day of looking for any sign of Emerson in the north Georgia mountains. Early Friday morning, authorities had expanded their search to a 400 square-mile area in north Georgia.
A pair of 9-1-1 calls led police to a convenience store off Ashford-Dunwoody Road in DeKalb, where 61-year-old Gary Michael Hilton was taken into custody. In finding Hilton, authorities also discovered his white Chevy Astro van, which was being processed. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman says agents took Hilton to GBI headquarters in DeKalb soon after for questioning.
Hilton is the last person believed to have been seen with the 24-year-old Emerson. The woman left Tuesday morning with her dog to hike in Vogel State Park. Several witnesses later reported seeing a man fitting the description of Hilton walking with Emerson up the Freeman Trail on Blood Mountian in Union County.
Authorities also confirmed Friday night the discovery of Emerson's dog 'Ella', a black Labrador retreiver. The dog was found after it had wandered into a Kroger store in the Cumming area.
Searchers completed a third straight day of looking for any sign of Emerson in the north Georgia mountains. Early Friday morning, authorities had expanded their search to a 400 square-mile area in north Georgia.
