Man charged in missing hiker case

[DemoTex]

Source: CNN.Com

BLAIRSVILLE, Georgia (CNN) Gary Michael Hilton has been charged with kidnapping in the case of missing hiker Meredith Emerson, a spokesman for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Saturday.

He was the last person seen with Emerson in the north Georgia mountains.

Hilton, 61, was detained Friday night after a police officer spotted his van at a convenience store in suburban Atlanta.

Hours earlier, Ella -- Emerson's black Labrador retriever that had been with her as she hiked through the north Georgia mountains -- was found when the dog walked into a Kroger grocery store about 50 miles from where she disappeared.

More ..



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

[aquart]

1. Oh, shit.

[Kittycat]

2. I really hope they find her alive. eom

[hlthe2b]

3. God,the parallels frighten me.... I hope so much she is ok...

She was from Colorado, as am I.. She lived in GA and hiked the same areas with alone with only her dog that I did when I was living there, and like her, I never worried with my dog along...Now that the dog has been found, I really do fear the worst.....

I sure do hope for the best...

[pasto76]

4. as a search and rescue professional

the odds of her being alive now are extremely slim. Always hope for the miracle.

[Skittles]

12. may I say

many thanks to you for what you do - I imagine it is exhilaration and heartbreak

[et in Arcadia ego]

5. What a waste of humanity

I've been following this over the last couple days with growing sadness. I frequently hike in Pine Mountain which is south of Atlanta, and have a great appreciation for the escape it provides from the city grind. To meet what looks more and more like an ugly, tragic end to life in the bosom of the outdoors is just awful, particularly at the hands of a human predator. Can't say I have much hope of her rescue although I'd be flooded with relief to see that happen.

[tabasco]

6. Females should never hike alone.

Sadly, that's just how rotten our world is.

[Skittles]

11. NO ONE should ever hike alone

PERIOD

[Mike03]

7. Very sad

I'm a bit surprised at the age of the offender suspect.

[LisaL]

15. A guy that age could appear harmless.

[Danger Mouse]

8. Unwise for her to hike alone.

Sad as it is, there's too many pervert scumbags in the world.
If anybody ever hurt my Sara, I would castrate them with a rusty knife before washing the wounds in salt water.
on edit: i don't blame her IN THE LEAST for any harm that came to her. The scumbag is purely responsible for anything he has done.

[NoodleyAppendage]

9. Threw away personal items...sadly, she's likely dead.

Ridding oneself of the personal effects of your victim is a hallmark of covering up homicide. Hilton is rightfully screwed, but likely to cut a deal for a body location.

J

[et in Arcadia ego]

10. Indeed

"Investigators found IDs belonging to missing hiker Meredith Emerson along with blood-stained clothes, leading authorities to charge Gary Michael Hilton with kidnapping with intent to cause bodily injury, according to a criminal warrant filed Saturday."

God damn, man...

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

Nail this bastard to the fucking wall.

[Technowitch]

13. He was found scrubbing his car interior with bleach

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22513150/
(snip)
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."
(end snip)

I'd say yeah, I'd say right about now his attorney is urging his client that his only chance to avoid maximum sentencing is to tell the cops where the body is.

Sad...

[DemoTex]

14. SUNDAY A.M. UPDATE: Bloody clothes, hiker's IDs found; man charged

BLAIRSVILLE, Georgia (CNN) -- Investigators found IDs belonging to missing hiker Meredith Emerson along with blood-stained clothes, leading authorities to charge Gary Michael Hilton with kidnapping with intent to cause bodily injury, according to a criminal warrant filed Saturday.

Hilton, 61, was the last person seen with Emerson, a 24-year-old University of Georgia grad and tae kwon do expert who disappeared from Blood Mountain in north Georgia on New Year's Day.

The items were found in a trash bin of a convenience store next to the grocery store where Emerson's dog was found wandering around in the parking lot Friday about 50 miles from where she disappeared.

"The clothing was found to contain substantial amounts of human blood," the warrant says. More at link ..

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

[panzerfaust]

16. This is why I do support capital punishment

The problems with capital punishment are that it is used more frequently against disadvantaged groups (true I think in all societies), and, if a mistake is made, it cannot be rectified.

In favor of it is a case like this ... there are just some people who cannot live with the rest of us, and whom we should not have to support for the rest of their lives, always with the chance that they will be turned loose on us once again.

[DemoTex]

17. New CNN.com headline: "Missing hiker presumed dead"

"Friends hope for 'miracle' as missing hiker presumed dead"

http://www.cnn.com/