ATLANTA—The parents of 24-year-old hiker Meredith Emerson will adopt her dog Ella and take the retriever back to their Colorado home.
The black Labrador retriever mix was with Emerson when she disappeared while hiking at Vogel State Park in north Georgia on New Year’s Day.
Authorities charged 61-year-old Gary Michael Hilton with murder in the woman’s death after he led them to her body in a wooded area Monday night.
Emerson family spokeswoman Peggy Bailey said during a telephone interview yesterday that it was an easy decision for Emerson’s parents, Dave and Susan Emerson, to decide to adopt the dog.
Bailey says the dog is “a part of Meredith that they’ll always have.”
The Emersons live in Longmont.
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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
