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)

Extradition for hiker's killer

Confessed killer Gary Hilton will be extradited to Florida. Today a judge in Butts County cleared the way for Hilton to face murder charges in that state. Hilton is serving a life sentence in Georgia for the murder of hiker Meredith Emerson in January in north Georgia. Hilton faces the death penalty in Florida in the slaying of a nurse.

Hiker's killer denies connection to another case

The man serving life in prison for killing a Georgia hiker denies being involved in a college student's disappearance. Gary Hilton says he's not connected to the case of 20-year-old Clemson University student Jason Knapp. Knapp was last seen Easter 1998. Hilton admitted to kidnapping and murdering 24-year-old Meredith Emerson in north Georgia in January.

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.

DNA bill passes House

The high-profile case of slain Georgia hiker Meredith Emerson has fostered another piece of legislation. Today the House passed a measure that would allow police to compare DNA collected from some suspects to state or national databases. Legislators cited Emerson's case to support the bill. Lawmakers must now reconcile it with a similar one that earlier passed the Senate. The 24-year-old Emerson was kidnapped and killed while going on a New Year's Day hike in the north Georgia woods.

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.

Hiker's alleged attacker remains in custody

Today a judge denied bond for a drifter accused of kidnapping and killing a 24-year-old hiker in the north Georgia mountains. Gary Hilton was charged yesterday with the murder of Meredith Emerson. Emerson's body was found Monday night nearly 50 miles from where she vanished New Year's Day near Blood Mountain in Union County. Hilton led authorities to Emerson's body Monday evening in exchange for an agreement that prosecutors not seek the death penalty against him for Emerson's killing.

Update: Murder charges in missing hiker case

Drifter Gary Michael Hilton was charged with murder today in the death of Meredith Emerson, who disappeared while hiking in north Georgia on New Year's Day. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says an autopsy has found Emerson died from a blow to the head. The state's chief medical examiner says that after the lethal injury, the 24-year-old was decapitated. Emerson’s remains were found last night in Dawson County. She disappeared from Vogel State Park in north Georgia's Union County.

Meanwhile, the GBI is working with authorities in North Carolina and Florida to determine whether Hilton is connected to kidnappings in those states. The North Carolina case involves John and Irene Bryant who disappeared in October. In the Florida case, the body of Cheryl Hodges Dunlap was found December 19th in the Apalachicola National Forest, southwest of Tallahassee.

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: 'Search & Recovery' For Missing Hiker

In this May 2007 photo released by Pat B. Mitchell, Meredith Emerson is seen with her dog Ella, in Flowery Branch, Ga. The 24-year-old hiker has been missing since Tuesday. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Pat B. Mitchell)

Union County Superior Court Judge David Barrett signed a warrant Saturday charging Gary Michael Hilton, 61, with kidnapping with bodily injury in the disappearance of Meredith Emerson, said Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead. Authorities served the warrant on Hilton on Saturday evening.

According to the warrant, three fleece tops were found with "substantial amounts of human blood" believed to be Emerson's inside a Dumpster beside a convenience store, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported for Sunday's editions.

The warrant also said other items were found, such as a portion of an automobile seat belt "with apparent blood transfer stains" and the rear seat belt in Hilton's 2001 Chevrolet Astro van had been cut out.

The warrant said Hilton was attempting to vacuum the vehicle and "wash portions of it with a bleach and water solution."

Bankhead said the search for the 24-year-old woman, who was hiking with her dog in the Chattahoochee National Forest, is now focused on finding her body.

"The search has changed from rescue to recovery, based on the evidence we've uncovered so far," Bankhead said.

Hilton is already in federal custody near Atlanta, held on a warrant for failure to appear in federal court for a charge of abandoning property in a national park. Bankhead said he did not know if Hilton had an attorney.

The search continued into Saturday evening. Teams focused on a 5-square-mile area of rugged mountain territory about 90 miles north of Atlanta in the Chattahoochee National Forest, near where her car was discovered Wednesday, Bankhead said.

The search had been focused on Vogel State Park, at the base of Blood Mountain in the national forest, where Emerson was last seen on New Year's Day hiking with her black Labrador retriever, Ella.

On the Net:
Meredith Emerson search: http://www.helpfindmeredith.com

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