BLAIRSVILLE, Ga.—A judge denied bond Monday for a man accused of kidnapping a missing hiker, while investigators searched for the woman’s body and looked into whether the disappearances of two other hikers were related.
Gary Michael Hilton, his hands and feet shackled, did not speak during his first appearance in a Union County courtroom. His attorney, Neil Smith, did not enter a plea on Hilton’s behalf.
Investigators say Hilton, 61, was the last person seen with 24-year-old Meredith Emerson on the trail before she disappeared on New Year’s Day in the mountains of northern Georgia. Authorities believe Emerson is dead.
Hilton is charged with kidnapping with intent of bodily injury, but more charges could be added, even if Emerson’s body is not found, said Enotah Judicial District Attorney Stan Gunter.
“It’s been done before,” Gunter said. “If the blood evidence is matched to DNA, essentially, we do have a body.”
Hilton was detained Friday. He had tried to use Emerson’s 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 beside a convenience store where Hilton had used a pay phone, the warrant stated. Hilton had tried to vacuum and wash portions of his 2001 Chevrolet Astro van, which was found without the rear seat belt, according to the document.
Hilton was not cooperating with authorities, said Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead.
Gayle Bachelor, an officer at the Union County jail, declined to allow The Associated Press to speak with Hilton by phone.
Authorities said they are exploring whether the disappearance of a couple in North Carolina is related to that of Emerson. John and Irene Bryant, both in their 80s, had gone hiking in the western North Carolina mountains in October.
Irene Bryant’s body was found in November; authorities say she was killed with a blow to the head. Her husband remains missing but is presumed to have been killed.
Sheriff David Mahoney of North Carolina’s Transylvania County agreed that there are similarities “that we’re certainly wanting to look more closely at—nothing that we can release at this point.”
Mahoney did note that authorities in both cases were looking for someone wearing a yellow jacket, and that an ATM transaction was made with the Bryants’ card about 50 miles from the area of the Georgia investigation.
Authorities have changed the search for Emerson to a recovery effort, not a rescue mission. Better weather helped in the search Monday, Union County Sheriff Scott Stephens said.
Stephens said Hilton was a drifter well known in the area and was often seen with his dog, Dandy, and a police-style baton. Since he was identified as a person of interest in Emerson’s disappearance, Stephens said his office has gotten thousands of calls from people saying they recognized his wiry frame.
Emerson was last seen hiking with her dog in Vogel State Park, about 90 miles north of Atlanta. The dog was found 50 miles away Friday in a grocery store parking lot in Cumming, a suburb north of Atlanta, and identified using an implanted microchip.
Emerson’s father pleaded for information Monday.
“Please have everyone search their minds to recall any evidence that could help bring our daughter home,” said Dave Emerson during a news conference near the trail where Meredith was last seen.
Vogel is one of Georgia’s oldest and most popular state parks. The area includes a segment of the Appalachian Trail, the hiking route that stretches from Georgia to Maine.
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