Body of Missing Meredith Emerson Hiker found Deceased
The sad but not unexpected news is being reported that the body of missing Meredith Emerson has been found. Gary Michael Hilton has previously been charged with kidnapping with bodily injury. Now he will be charged with her murder. Meredith Emerson, rest in peace.
The body of Buford hiker Meredith Emerson, missing since New Year’s Day in the North Georgia mountains, has been found by authorities, her family’s spokeswoman confirmed Monday night.
“We did find out just now, not that it was unexpected,” Peggy Bailey said.
She did not confirm exactly where the body was found but said, “I know it was a place where they have been looking.”
As search parties continued with a sixth day of scouring the mountains for Emerson, the man suspected of killing her faced a judge but made no comment.
Although the father of the young hiker went before cameras Monday to ask the public to “search their hearts and memories” for anything that might lead to his daughter, attorneys said that even if searchers had never found her body, Gary Michael Hilton still could have been charged with her murder.
Hilton was charged Saturday with kidnapping with bodily injury, felonies that carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. (AJC)
Report: Body of Missing Georgia Hiker Found
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.
A source close to the investigation, who was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity, said the remains of 24-year-old Meredith Emerson had been found. The disclosure came after authorities scheduled a “major announcement” in the case in Dawson County, south of where Gary Michael Hilton, 61, appeared in court.
Investigators are examining whether Emerson’s death and the disappearance of two other hikers in October in North Carolina are related.
UPDATE I: Officials: Georgia Hiker Died of Blow to Head, Later Decapitated