Friends and foundation remember slain hiker Emerson

One year ago, Meredith Emerson disappeared when she and her dog went for a hike New Year’s Day on Blood Mountain in north Georgia. Her body was found a week later. Her abductor was soon caught and convicted--Gary Michael Hilton is serving a life term for the murder.

Friends of Meredith Emerson in the past year have raised money through the created Right to Hike Foundation. It has donated five-thousand dollars to the University of Georgia, the school Emerson graduated from. The money helps support a scholarship in Emerson’s name. The Foundation has also purchased 15 GPS units--those have been distributed to hiking outposts in north Georgia.

Meredith's Trail to be dedicated on Oct. 25

A trail will be dedicated in memory of 24-year-old Meredith Emerson, who was abducted and killed in January while hiking with her dog.

A non-profit group, Right to Hike Inc., and the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center are honoring the memory of the University of Georgia graduate on Oct. 25 in Buford.

The dedication of Meredith's Trail will follow Ella's Run, a five-mile run/walk and a one-mile fun run/walk.

Ella was the name of her dog.

Gary Michael Hilton is serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to beating Emerson to death last January.

(Associated Press)

Hilton to fight extradition

The man serving a life sentence for murdering a Georgia hiker has vowed to fight extradition to Florida. The Herald-Gazette newspaper of Barnesville reports that Gary Michael Hilton told a judge yesterday he wished to contest the validity of murder charges against him in Florida. Authorities there believe he killed Cheryl Hodges Dunlap. Hilton pleaded guilty to murdering Meredith Emerson in January after kidnapping her from a hiking trail in north Georgia.

Hiker's murderer indicted in Florida

A drifter who pleaded guilty to killing a hiker in Georgia was indicted for murder today in Florida. Gary Michael Hilton was charged with killing Cheryl Hodges Dunlap. He has already been given life in prison for pleading guilty to killing 24-year-old Meredith Emerson in Georgia in January. Investigators in North Carolina have also linked Hilton to the slaying of a couple in that state.

Break in missing hiker case

There has been a break in a murder case thought to be linked to Gary Michael Hilton, sentenced last week to life in prison for murdering a Georgia hiker. Police in North Carolina say skeletal remains found over the weekend are those of missing hiker John Bryant. Police believe Hilton is responsible for murdering Bryant and his wife Irene this past fall, after they disappeared while hiking. Hilton pleaded guilty to murdering 24-year-old Meredith Emerson last month after kidnapping her from Blood Mountain in North Georgia.

Hiker's killer gets life in prison

The man charged with murdering a Georgia hiker earlier this month has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to life in prison. Wearing an orange jumpsuit and bulletproof vest, Gary Michael Hilton entered his plea today before a judge in Dawson County Superior Court. The 61-year-old drifter was charged with killing 24-year-old Meredith Emerson January 4th, days after kidnapping her from a trail at Blood Mountain in north Georgia. The judge told Hilton could be up for parole in 30 years, but will likely die in prison of natural causes before then.

Police to search Georgia for missing NC man

Authorities say they’ll search in Georgia for a North Carolina man whose disappearance could be linked to Gary Michael Hilton, who is charged with murdering a Georgia hiker earlier this month. They will search Towns and Union counties for the body of 80-year-old John Bryant. He and his wife, 84-year-old Irene Bryant went missing in October after setting out for a hike in western North Carolina Irene Bryant was later found dead from multiple blows to her head. Hilton has been charged in the beating death and decapitation of 24-year-old Meredith Emerson, whose body police found Jan. 7 in a Georgia state forest with Hilton's help. Authorities also are looking at whether Hilton was involved in two murders in Florida.

Alleged murderer could be linked to NC case

The man charged in the beating death of a Georgia hiker is being looked another woman’s disappearance in North Carolina. 26-year-old Rossana Miliani was last in Bryson City on December 7th, 2005. A store clerk from Bryson City recently told a private investigator that Miliani came into her store with a man who resembled 61-year-old Gary Hilton. Hilton is charged with kidnapping 24-year-old Meredith Emerson New Year’s Day while she was hiking at north Georgia’s Blood Mountain.

GBI joins search for missing UGA grad student

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has joined the search for a University of Georgia graduate student. Police say glasses found in an Athens park Thursday do belong to Cayle Bywater, now missing for two weeks. Investigators do not believe that Bywater's disappearance is connected to Gary Hilton, and the Meredith Emerson case.

Service for slain hiker today in Athens

Meredith Emerson will be remembered in a memorial service this afternoon in Athens. An overflow crowd is expected to gather inside the Central Presbyterian Church at 2pm.

Emerson's body was found Monday night in Dawson County, following an exhaustive search since she went missing on New Year's Day in Vogel State Park. The man charged with her murder, Gary Hilton, has also been named a prime suspect in the death of another woman whose body was discovered in a Florida National Forest last month.

Autopsy planned today on female hiker

The body of a young female hiker, missing for a week in the north Georgia mountains, has been found.

24-year-old Meredith Emerson was discovered by searchers last night in north Georgia’s Dawson County. Her body was found in a forest near Amicalola Falls State Park. On Friday, investigators found Emerson’s bloodied clothes 10 miles away.

Emerson went missing on New Year’s Day, when she went for a hike with her dog in the north Georgia mountains.

John Cagle, Special Agent in Charge with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, detailed where information came from to locate Emerson's body.

"This information had been given to the Dawson County authorities by the citizens, and plans had been made to further search the area (Tuesday)...however, the specific information given as to the location of the body, was given to me by Gary Hilton".

Hilton is currently facing a charge of kidnapping with bodily injury. He was denied bond during a 10-minute court hearing Monday afternoon.

Authorities believe there could be a connection with this case and the disappearance and presumed killing of an elderly North Carolina couple in October.

UPDATE: Body of missing hiker found Monday night

A spokeswoman for the family of Meredith Emerson confirmed Monday night that the body of the missing 24-year-old hiker had been found. No other details were given, only to confirm that authorities had recovered the body of Meredith Emerson. A news conference was scheduled for 10pm Monday night in Dawsonville.

The discovery ends a search for Emerson that had extended six days, since her disappearance on New Year's Day.

Earlier Monday, the man charged in the case had his first court appearance in Union County. 61-year-old Gary Michael Hilton did not respond to questions from the judge during a 10-minute hearing. The court appointed public defender indicated that Hilton was not prepared to comment. Bond was denied Hilton, who as of the time of the hearing, was facing a charge of kidnapping with bodily injury. The charge carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Stay with gpb.org, and GPB's Radio Network for continuing details in this case.

Bond denied for hiker's alleged attacker

Today a judge denied bond for a 61-year-old man accused of kidnapping missing hiker Meredith Emerson. Gary Michael Hilton did not speak during his first appearance before Union County Magistrate Judge. Hilton's attorney did not enter a plea on Hilton's behalf. Emerson's whereabouts remain a mystery as authorities continue to search for her in the north Georgia mountains where she disappeared New Year’s Day.

Court appearance today for man charged in missing hiker case

61-year-old Gary Michael Hilton will make his first court appearance today in north Georgia's Blairsville, to answer to the charge of kidnapping with bodily injury. Hilton is charged in the case of hiker Meredith Emerson, who's been missing since last Tuesday when she went for a hike in Vogel State Park near Blood Mountain.

Only trained search and rescue personnel and law enforcement will be involved in today's search, which is now being expanded to a five-county area from north Georgia to metro Atlanta.

Hilton was found and taken into custody in the metro Atlanta area Friday night-—he was charged in the case Saturday. Emerson's dog was recovered safely on Friday, when it was found wandering in a grocery store parking lot in Cumming. Police found some of Emerson's personal effects on Friday, including blood-stained clothing.

Authorities also said Sunday there may be a connection between the Emerson case and the disappearance and presumed killings of a elderly couple in North Carolina last October.

UPDATE: Man charged in hiker disappearance

The man believed last seen with a missing female hiker in the north Georgia mountains was officially charged in the case Saturday. 61-year-old Gary Michael Hilton was charged with kidnapping with bodily injury, in connection to the disappearance of 24-year-old Meredith Emerson. Authorities now do not believe Emerson is alive.

The arrest warrant for Hilton was signed by a Union County Superior Court judge late Saturday afternoon. Hilton was expected to be transferred from custody in metro Atlanta, where he's been held by DeKalb County police, to Union County.

Breaks in the case came Friday night, when phone tips led police to finding Hilton at a metro Atlanta conveinence store. His Chevy Astro van was also recovered. At a different location, near Cumming, Emerson's dog 'Ella' was recovered safely when it had wandered into a Kroger store. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman confirmed that from one of the sites, evidence was recovered that indicated Emerson had suffered "bodily injury".

Emerson has been missing since Tuesday, when she went for a hike with her dog in the area of Blood Mountain in north Georgia. Several witnesses said a man fitting the description of Hilton was seen at some point Tuesday afternoon walking with Emerson.

Authorities and volunteers on Saturday completed a fourth day of searching for any sign of Emerson. The search had been narrowed to a 5-mile area of terrain in the mountains. Because the disappearance happened on national park land, federal agencies, along with the FBI, are now involved in the case.

Searchers expect to be back out in the area early Sunday morning. Authorities now are calling this a search-and-recovery operation, instead of search-and-rescue.

UPDATE: Friday night developments in missing hiker case

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.

Man sought in hiker's disappearance

View Larger Map

The search will continue again this morning for a missing hiker in the north Georgia mountains. 24-year-old Meredith Emerson left with her dog on Tuesday morning. Authorities found her abandoned car at the base of Blood Mountain, along with a water bottle and dog collar also belonging to Emerson.

Police say now they are looking for 60-year-old Gary Michael Hilton of DeKalb County. Authorities believe he may know something, or be connected to the disappearance of Emerson. A man fitting Hilton's description was seen several times with Emerson by witnesses on New Year's Day. Accounts say the man was wearing a yellow jacket and a backpack with enough gear for at least a couple of days. Police say they think the man drives a 2000-'01 white Chevy Astro van.