Hiker Missing on Blood Mountain

“Cudos to our law enforcement, witnesses, etc. Not bad work for a bunch of toothless Georgia hicks...”

“That was the trip! The two guys were from Kentucky. We are from KY, that's what made it so bizzare. They had large knives, a puppy, they coughed a lot, they drooled their oatmeal, and boasted about stealing someone's credit card. They had planned on stopping at Bly Gap, but then they showed up at Muskrat after all! THANK YOU so much for urging my daughter and I to hike on that! We have not forgotten that trip and your kindness.”

“http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/

The POI is now a suspect. He has been charged with her kidnapping with intent to cause bodily harm. They have found enough evidence to believe she is no longer alive. Very sad for her friends and family.”

“Stories like this have two overwhelming affects on me..

1. It breaks my heart to think someone's life was (a) cut short, and (b) cut short by some violent act.

2. I cannot imagine, as hard as I try, why someone would do something so heinous. We need to do something in our country to better identify people with severe mental illnesses & figure out how to treat them medically/psychologically, or what to do with them.”

“THANK YOU so much for urging my daughter and I to hike on that! We have not forgotten that trip and your kindness.�
~nightlight

Cool beans!

TT comes full circle. All in all, you gotta love fellow bpers. We're really a close knit group. Oh yes we are.”

“I'd forgotten that they still came to the shelter. Lots of us were eating on the benches and they just showed up. 2 other things I remember about that one is that I had some smoked sausage I had grilled that I was handing out and it was a big hit, and that I was sick in the early part of the week and had no stamina for the hike. The day that all of this happened I got pretty dehydrated, woke up in the middle of the night, drank a quart of water and slept like a baby. Don't know what that had to do with anything, just memories. MDShiker that posted a bit ago, or maybe he posted with the new handle of Stew was the trip organzier for that one. Very wild stuff that you run into someone you met on the trail years before. Glad yall did camp with us and glad you were safe. I've always remembered how spooky those guys were.
last edited: 1/05/08 3:09:13 PM”

“TT'rs are the best!”

“It's sounding like POS describes this guy better than POI.”

“I read somewhere yesterday that there is a possibility that Hilton may be connected to the murder of an older woman hiker who was killed (in North Carolina?) in the recent past. She was hiking with her husband, they found her body and she had been killed by blunt force. Husband remains missing. This possible connection is speculation at this time.

These tragic events leave me with a heavy heart. Again, those families (and friends) are in my thoughts.

This news of Meredith makes my heart feel heavy....”

“There was a double murder mentioned in the book, "Walk in the Woods." Was that crime ever solved?”

“yes it was dayhiker. The only double murders that have not been solved concerning the AT was the murder of the two women in Shenendoah National Park a few years back.
last edited: 1/05/08 4:09:53 PM”

“cnn.com has a new article on their front page.”

“Here it is. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/05/missing.hiker/index.html”

“From CNN link:

*The animal [Meredith's dog] was positively identified through an implanted microchip

*A witness noted the license plate on a 2001 Chevrolet Astro minivan registered to Hilton

Good work. Smart moves.
last edited: 1/05/08 5:24:07 PM”

“the whiteblaze thread is now locked, but if you wanted info on the search that was teh place to be. If it was anywhere in the news, it showed up in a post.”

“They opened a new thread in the 'straight forward' section. there is also a thread to send your thoughts and sympathies to her family and friends”

“http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/05/missing.hiker/index.html

" BLAIRSVILLE, Georgia (CNN) -- Investigators found clothing believed to belong to missing hiker Meredith Emerson with "substantial amounts of human blood" on it in a trash bin, according to a criminal warrant filed Saturday.

Meredith Emerson was last seen hiking with her dog on Blood Mountain in Georgia on New Year's Day.

The clothing was discovered in near a convenience store next to the supermarket where Emerson's dog was found Friday.

A black leather wallet that contained Emerson's Georgia driver's license and student ID from the University of Georgia also was found.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation also recovered a portion of an seatbelt with "apparent blood transfer stains as well," according to the warrant filed against Gary Michael Hilton."

This really sucks......”

“This is terrible.”

“Sad.”

“Terrible indeed...blah.”

“People make me sick, if you cant enjoy a walk in the woods without being comforatable, what is there to enjoy. This poor girl better be ok, she has so much going for her. If that scumbag Hilton is guilty, I hope he goes in for the rest of his miserable life.”

“do we know why the police wanted to talk to this Hilton guy in the first place?”

“He was the last person seen with Meredith. Several witnesses reported them talking on the trail and their dogs running with each other.

A vehicle plate was reported as being seen at the trail head. Matched the vehicle plate they found him in.”

“wow pretty good. makes you think twice at the people that you see at the trail head and on the trail. I guess you never know...”

“gojo,

your comment about toothless law enforcement i'm only assuming was sarcastic? because, honestly, i feel it was extremely rude and uncalled for...”

“21 - Sometimes it is necessary to read all or most of a string to understand what is being said. It appears that you have not done so in this case. If you go to the beginning of this string and start your reading there, you will understanding from where that comment is coming.

You are correct that there is something sarcastic, but please read the entire string. Thank you.”

“Gojo - I requested that your post be restored.

---

“Union County authorities want to talk to the man, who witnesses described as having no or bad teeth.

not to make light of the situation but come on, they just described 75% of the state”
thriftyhiker
12:49:52 PM
1/03/08

The above post started things and Gojo immediate objected to the statement!
last edited: 1/05/08 9:21:04 PM”

“I have been following this thread for a couple of days.....seems like things are not going to be alright. :o(

Hopefully, since Meredith had some martial arts training....maybe she had a chance and fought off the attacker and took off into the woods..... All speculation since the whole story is not out yet.”

“my apologies for my lack of knowledge... next time i will read the entire thread... i read a handful but obviously not enough... i stand corrected...”

“21 - Thank you. I apologize for jumping on you.”

“my prayers as well”

“That's sickening news.”

“Unfortunately a blue belt will likely make things worse. Blue belts, and anything less than blackbelt, are still trying to figure out the basics and are often in an awkward phase of being less effective as a fighter than somebody without martial arts training who still uses more raw instinct, plus, their extra bit of confidence allows them to be bolder in their daily actions, further endangering their safety.

Of course, there are some natural fighters who the above doesn't necessarily apply to.

Plus, being a blue-belt she may be learning tae-kwon-do, which utilizes techniques designed to create minimal damage to their opponent.”

“:-(”

“This is news is horrible.

I read in a 1/3/08 Altanta Journal Constitution article that this Hilton guy wore a yellow jacket. In October 07, another older woman hiker was killed in North Carolina. They have seen a man (wearing a yellow jacket) on surveillance tape using the older victims credit card. It is creepy that this Hilton guy used Emerson's credit card, too....I suspect a correlation. The older victim was hiking with her husband (they loved hiking the AT together), he was presumably murdered as well, but his body has not been recovered.
If Hilton is guilty in either of these crimes, I hope the rest of his days are miserable ones.”

“Very, very sad. We backpackers and hikers have to look out for each other. The trail is our home, our domain, and it is so disturbing to see it violated with such violence.”

“If Hilton is guilty in either of these crimes, I hope the rest of his days are miserable ones.�
nightlight
10:53:01 AM
1/06/08

I hope his lack of teeth makes him popular in prison.”

“I'm not making fun of the south, but the only times my creep meter ever went off on the trails were in the south mostly...only once in the west on the TRT when a family group came hiking by... creep meter went off like crazy. Later, at camp, I found them snooping around our gear---my bro was napping in the tent, I had been hiking around a little taking in the views. I always trust my creep meter. I yelled at them and they left peacefully enough but We didn't relax untill I had watched them hike off the mountain from a good view point.

the other times were mostly in KY. Once a group of older men stopped to get friendly with me and stomper....my creep o meter was going off then too------ I was glad when they continued on and glad I hadn't been hiking alone like I normally do.”

“It's terrible to hear news like this. I remember when they found the two thru hikers killed south of Duncannon, PA. People in that part of the state were locking their doors and people were staying off the AT. They caught up with the killer 100 miles south with the boots and backpack of one victim. I remember seeing it on TV when he got caught and the guy looked frightening. I'm pretty sure they said he was living in a cave near the trail.
last edited: 1/06/08 9:25:17 AM”

“Is it any wonder creeps end up on a trail like this? It has easy access, in a very poppulated area, backpackers as a whole are very giving and tend to give food freebies....a homeless creep hiding out from the law would have an easier time on this trail then more remote less traveled trails for getting supplies.... I would never hike solo on the AT, in fact it has very little draw for me, but I would not hesitate (except in the southern CA portion of the PCT) to hike solo on The PCT or the CDT”

“I don't know if that killer was a fugitive before the killings, but you never know who can be out there.”

“"The Georgia Bureau of Investigation declined to specify how investigators learned Hilton's name and other details about him."

That quote from news sources really bothers me. I have this suspicion that this guy already has a record.”

“According to news reports he had a record but not for murder or serious violence. "Theft by taking" was one of the the ones mentioned. Witnesses reported a vehicle plate number on an astrovan at the trailhead. Beyond that I have seen no other reports than what you have pointed out.”

“"Over the years Hilton has moved around quite a bit and had several run-ins with the law. Channel 2 found at least five arrests in DeKalb and Cobb Counties � both misdemeanors and felonies."

A man that age just doesnt suddenly start taking up crime out of no-where. i KNEW he had to of had some kind of record.”

“Here's what one news source said about how they were able to name him so quickly...


Investigators said they were able to name Hilton as a person of interest in the case so quickly because Hilton frequented the
Blood Mountain area and Vogel State Park over the last several years and knew the people well in the area. When Emerson went missing and hikers described the person she was last seen with, people came forward and told the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Hilton's name.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=5401449&version=28&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1
last edited: 1/06/08 3:55:30 PM”

“I am a local of that area, and I can tell you that I do not go into those woods without a gun. Period. Although I am usually hunting that area, still I would carry something, and be prepared. I do this becuase I know some of the other locals that go out there, and I have had bad experiences and had to bradish my weapon before. Some ugly people think the backcountry is lawless, and think they can do whatever. I know, it is a shame that I can not go out unarmed, but the fact is that it is dangerous out there and people should protect themselves. *Please protect yourselves* I hate going on these type searches every other year, to many of them.”

“How sad....

I am wondering--do you think they could take the dog back to the area to find her? I'm not a dog person, but it seems like if her dog was near her when she was killed, the dog might want to try to find her?

I hope that they find her soon so that her family can have some closure. Doesn't sound like good.....

If Hilton is the person who injured/killed her and the 2 other hikers, I hope that his arrest means that all 3 crimes are solved.....”

“I just think this whole thing is so sad.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/07/georgia.hiker/index.html

[quote]He also said investigators in Georgia were comparing notes with authorities in North Carolina to determine whether any evidence links Hilton to a similar case there.

"We're working with the authorities in North Carolina," he said. "There are some similarities, but I am not in a position to discuss it further than that."

His comments were an apparent reference to the killings a few months ago of John and Irene Bryant, an elderly couple who were found dead after going for a hike in the North Carolina mountains.

Authorities searched for any signs of Emerson on Sunday in Forsyth County, Georgia, where the woman's dog was found in a grocery store parking lot three days after her disappearance.

They made a point to look behind churches as a result of a 2004 case in which someone apparently kidnapped a hairdresser in Forsyth County. Her remains were later found behind a church, said Capt. Frank Huggins of the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office.

There is no evidence to link the disappearance Patrice Endres, the hairdresser, to Emerson's case, but investigators looked behind churches out of an abundance of caution, Huggins told CNN.[/quote]


How any guy would get his jollies out of killing people is beyond me.

Also this link of Meredith's roommate.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/01/06/intv.ga.hiker.roommate.cnn
last edited: 1/07/08 5:16:37 AM”