Second dose of snow likely for north Georgia

The National Weather Service says north Georgia should brace for another round of winter weather.

Precipitation will be moving into the northeast Georgia mountains early Saturday morning. With a wedge of cold air in place by then, a switch to mainly snow will occur, primarily north of a line from Cartersville to Cleveland. Accumulations of 1-3 are possible by Saturday afternoon.

Metro Atlanta can expect some snow as well. Forecasters say late Saturday morning, a rain/snow mix is likely mainly north of a line from Franklin to McDonough to Lexington. Highs Saturday are expected in the 30s.

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.

Search continues in north Georgia for missing hiker

The search resumes today for a Buford woman who went hiking with her dog Tuesday morning in the north Georgia mountains. A team of at least 30 emergency personnel and deputies will hit a 6-mile trail for a second day. Officials yesterday found the abandoned car of 24-year-old Meredith Emerson, near a trail that intersects with the Appalachian Trail.

Cold snap continues across Georgia

Students in north Georgia’s Union County will get a second straight day off from school. Another day of snow and ice in the area has postponed the start of the new semester once more. On the roadways, officials say snow and ice has closed Georgia 348--the Richard B. Russell Parkway.

North Georgia this morning is experiencing temperatures in the teens, while south Georgia has temperatures this morning in the 20's.

Forecasters today say to expect highs today in the 40’s across Georgia--30’s in the mountains.