BLAIRSVILLE, Ga. -- Authorities found the body of a missing hiker Monday, hours after a judge denied bond to the man accused of kidnapping her in the mountains of northern Georgia.
Gary Michael Hilton, who is charged in the case, led authorities to the body of 24-year-old Meredith Emerson, John Cagle, special agent in charge with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Field Division, told a news conference.
Local residents had reported seeing Mr. Hilton's van in the Dawson Forest Management Area, where the body was found, and a search had been planned in the area, miles from where Ms. Emerson was last seen, before Mr. Hilton told authorities where to look, Agent Cagle said.
Investigators are examining whether Ms. Emerson's death and the disappearance of two other hikers in October in North Carolina are related.
Mr. Hilton did not speak during his first appearance Monday before Union County Magistrate Judge Johnie M. Garmon.
Mr. Hilton's attorney, Neil Smith, did not enter a plea on his behalf.
Investigators say Mr. Hilton was the last person seen with Ms. Emerson on the trail before she disappeared on New Year's Day.
Mr. Hilton, whose hands and feet were shackled, entered the courtroom wearing an orange prison jumpsuit.
At the end of the 11-minute hearing, he thanked Mr. Smith, a public defender who was assigned to the case in an attempt to encourage Mr. Hilton's cooperation with authorities in their efforts to find Ms. Emerson.
"He's gotten counsel at a time when he normally would not have," Enotah Judicial District Attorney Stan Gunter said.
Mr. Hilton is charged with kidnapping with intent of bodily injury, but Mr. Gunter said Monday that he could face additional charges in the 24-year-old woman's disappearance.
Union County Sheriff Scott Stephens said that Monday's much-improved weather helped in the search.
On Monday, Sheriff Stephens said, searchers were able to work more easily and cover more territory.
He said that Mr. Hilton was a drifter well known in the area and was often seen with his dog, Dandy, and a police-style baton.
Mr. Gunter said he expects that Mr. Hilton will be indicted within 90 days.
John and Irene Bryant, a couple in their 80s, disappeared in October while hiking in the western North Carolina mountains.
GBI spokesman John Bankhead said Georgia officials planned to meet with North Carolina authorities to discuss the case.
Comments
justus4, I'm not trying to debate you on this because we are really on the same page, but I do have one comment. I think the police are handling him with kid gloves because they know that if they don't do everything exactly by the book, this scumbag could either walk on some bogus technicality or get a lesser sentence. Blame the lawyers, not the police. I hope this guy rots in prison, or gets the death penalty for what he's done. He's guilty...he knows it, and we all know it. Put him out of our misery.
justus4, those charges were before the body was found. According to the news this morning he told the police where to search for the body and thats where they found it. I hope they fry his worthless [filtered word]. Cant blame the police for not having him in custody before. They are now looking into several more murders as far back as 10years.
I think they were handling him with "kid gloves" so they could get him to disclose where he dumped the body. No doubt he is a serial killer. I say fry his butt, but if put in prison hopefully there will be "prison justice"!! He is a monster!!
justus4, carefully read the article and you will see that he was clearly charged before they found the body. It also says he could face additional charges, ie murder, etc.
an 80 year-old couple hiking in the mountains - wow!
I just pray for the family of this young woman. My heart goes out to anyone who loses a child. Apparently this is a sick individual who did this and I am sure he will get just what he deserves, the law and the court just need to do their job and tie it all up.
most people I know would like to have 15 minutes alone with this piece of human filth
justus4 I agree he deserves capitol punishment without all thousands spent on an appeal. But I do think the police are protecting us as best they can.
My heart goes out to this family. People should not have to be afraid of going out to excercise, but that seems to be thw way the world is going now. I hope they fry this guy and not give him life for us to pay for his days left on the earth. I am so sorry this story ended this way- no one deserves to die this way.
People escape to the mountains to get away from people like Mr. Hilton and its a crying shame the one place you can go to be free of noise, pollution and crime becomes the very place you would least expect something like this to happen.
Mr. Hilton will get what he deserves for what he has done to this young woman, but I also believe he might be responsible for a lot more unsolved murders in the area, including 10-year-old Levi Frady who was abducted and murdered while riding his bike. They may also want to look at him for the murder of Tamara, who owned a beauty salon in Forythe Co.
We always take a gun when we hike in the woods. You just never know when a bear or a crazy person is going to attack you. I know this poor girl was trained in martial arts, but I can't help thinking a gun may have saved her life.
Was this girl by herself.......if so, she was crazy to go out into the woods alone this time in place. Its dangerous to go walking in your neighborhood alone little lone in the woods. People don't use their brains anymore
Don't blame the victim.
I don't think that anyone in their right mind blames the victim, i think lip is just trying to say that in today's world, we have to make good choices when it comes to protecting ourselves as best we can. It was not a good idea for this young lady to be hiking in the woods by herself, even if she hadn't run into this maniac, she could have been hurt by a fall or a regular animal and she would have been alone. as for justwondering comment, three people are mudered and your only comment is in reference to two of them being 80 and hiking in the woods? WOW!
Throw him in the arena at the zoo with the tigers. Get all the media there to broadcast it. Then some of the other want to be murderers might have second thoughts about abducting, assaulting, killing or harming people at all.
It would be cruel and unusual punnishment to the family if this (your derrogatory words here) gets a simple needle to the arm. Give the family a police baton and let them have at him until he is no more. And one more thing, I do NOT care about his childhood!
Society is the one to blame. .
Let the girl's family decide the punishment!
That man looks an awful lot like the killer who buried the child while she was still alive in Florida. Does certain groups of people have a look?
crazy..No, no. It's Bush's fault.
he does look like john couey who was found in augusta. After killling the little girl in florida. jessica lunsford
dani he sure does and couey was younger than him, but looked older due to the drugs.....
i thought it was crazy that she was out hiking by herself too and then I thought about it, she had the right to do that...he had no right to hurt her.
several people saw him talking to her on the moutain, i wonder if she started having creepy feelings about him...
another thing i dont quite understand...these people are running around committing crimes, and most often they are caught really soon afterward, what the hell are they thinking...
Cruel and unusual--what's good for the goose is not good for the gander. We don't know what he did to this poor girl before killing her and people (liberals) are worried about lethal injection being "cruel?" Make it hurt! THAT would be a deterrent!
That was the first thing that struck me was how much he looked like Ceuey. Geez...... I just hope since the end result was death for her, that it was quick and she did not suffer more. I still believe if the public was allowed to make rules for the sentences and how they are carried out, there may be less crime. What about drawing and quartering them on tv??? Or just let the family do whatever they wish with him. That may be JUSTICE.
he'll be sentenced to 10 years! home by 2020
While I believe we all have a right to go hiking alone in a out of place park, I think we all need to use some common sense and not put ourselves in harms way. I think everyone should have a partner to go with them hiking, camping, hunting, etc. Even then there are some monsters that have no hesitation in killing several people. I always take my old pal Ruger!!
Society (liberals) That's what I'm talking about. change display name hit the nail on the head. That is why I said Society. CKB and MyOpinion2 both have good ideas. getalife and barones I never go anywhere alone either. I always take my old pals Smith & Wesson. Now I have a new little friend name Mr. GLOCK that goes with also.
Watching Andy Griffin on TVland yesterday. Episode where Opie falls for Thelma Lou. There was a scene where pretty little girl who liked Opie was walking down the street by herself. My 19 year old son was amazed. He actually asked if I could walk the streets like that when I was a child. What's happened.
Could not say what I wanted to say, because I was at the office, on their Internet. But, I'm on my dime now. I am so sick and tired of the damn bleedingheart liberals running the show. They are now debating whether lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment. Give me a damn break. Show me one flippin' criminal who gave a rat's [filtered word], whether his or her victim was executed humanely. Blow his testicles off, and let him bleed to death !! How about that for a deterrent ??!! As I have said before on this forum -- it is time we take our homes, streets, neighborhoods, and even our country back from the criminals. Empty the SuperMax prisons, Execute them all. They will never see the light of day again, and they will provide no benefit to society to pay for their upkeep. Then turn the SuperMax facilities into training places for criminals who actually want to rehabilitate themselves.
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