Meredith Emerson's body found in Georgia woods

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — Just hours before authorities launched another search for the body of missing hiker Meredith Emerson, a drifter accused of kidnapping the woman told them where to look, investigators said. Emerson and her family had lived in Highland Lakes during the 1980s and ‘90s and friends of the family have been shocked and saddened as they followed the news. Friends in the Vernon area are planning to gather to remember Meredith Emerson. To participate, contact Dani Segal at 973-764-6006. The family has requested that anyone wishing to donate in her memory, make a contribution to a local animal shelter. Authorities had charged Gary Michael Hilton, 61, on Saturday with kidnapping with intent of bodily injury. He appeared on Monday before a judge who denied his request for bail. Meanwhile, authorities were looking for possible links between him and the October disappearance of two elderly hikers in North Carolina. Hours later, he led investigators to a spot in a wooded area in north Georgia where they found Emerson’s body, said John Cagle, special agent in charge of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Field Division in Cleveland, Ga. The 24-year-old woman had been missing since New Year’s Day. Hilton was the last person seen with Emerson on the hiking trail and had tried to use her credit card, according to his arrest warrant. Three bloody fleece tops and a bloodstained piece of a car’s seat belt were found in a trash bin outside a convenience store where Hilton had used a pay phone, the warrant stated. He had tried to vacuum and wash portions of his 2001 Chevrolet Astro van, which was missing a rear seat belt, according to the document. In earlier searches, teams focused on a 5-square-mile area of mountainous terrain about 90 miles north of Atlanta in the Chattahoochee National Forest, near where Emerson’s car was discovered on Jan. 2. 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. The dog was found 50 miles away on Jan. 4 in a grocery store parking lot in Cumming, a suburb north of Atlanta, and identified using an implanted microchip. The same day, police found Hilton at a convenience store near Atlanta. Friends described Emerson, who moved from Longmont, Colo., to attend the University of Georgia, as an experienced hiker who had a blue belt in martial arts. Authorities declined Monday night to say whether Hilton would face murder charges. Local residents had reported seeing Hilton’s van in the woods where the body was found. A search of the area had been planned, miles from where Emerson was last seen, before Hilton told authorities where to look, Cagle said. Authorities would not describe how Emerson had died. Peggy Bailey, a spokeswoman for Emerson’s family, told Atlanta television station WAGA that the family was taking the news of her body being found ``as you would expect.’’ But the family was relieved to now know what had happened to Emerson, Baily said. ``This is what we wanted,’’ she said. ``We wanted finality to help us move on.’’ Union County Sheriff Scott Stephens said Hilton was a drifter who was well-known in the area, and was often seen with his dog, Dandy, and a police-style baton.