Police Find Hiker's Blood-Stained Clothes, IDs

WSBTV.com, Action News 2, Atlanta ^ | 1/05/2008 | WSBTV

[Scoutmaster]

Police believe missing hiker Meredith Emerson is dead after finding her blood-soaked clothing Saturday in a dumpster.

[Scoutmaster]

The police also found Meredith Emerson's wallet, driver's license, college ID, and part of a blood-stained seat belt in a dumpster outside a QuikTrip convenience store in Cumming, Georgia. When police found Hilton and his van, part of one of the seat belts was missing.

Surveillance video and additional evidence puts Hilton at that QuikTrip.

According to the arrest warrant, Hilton was washing out his van with a bleach and water solution when taken into custody.

Sadly, it appears that Meredith Emerson is dead.

Wonder if the police also found the yellow coat Hilton was wearing when seen with Emerson? And, if so, if they can tie the coat to the missing hiker from last October, or the video of a man using the hiker's ATM card.

[chasio649]

The AT is one refuge for solitude i look forward to...and now crazies are running loose there....it’s hard to keep your spirits up in this world....this really gets me down....i seel so sorry for her family....i need to get the thoughts out of my head of what i would do to Mr. Hilton...it’s not healthy.

[forkinsocket]

Horrible.

[buckalfa]

Hilton is also now a person of interest in the death of an elderly woman and the disappearance of her husband in a wilderness hiking area in Upstate South Carolina last fall.

The AT has had it’s share of ghastly crimes over the years.
I guess solitude also draws the deranged.

[chasio649]

I think it was North Carolina....Pisgah National Forest....i admit to meeting some strange folks on the trail but i never thought they were dangerous...i’m sure this girl also thought this man was harmless.

[Skywalk]

If he looks his age(61,) then I can definitely see someone not thinking a man is as dangerous.

Sadly, this is what happens when serial killers get old. They don’t get better (and I feel this guy is a serial killer) they just keep killing. If they get older and less strong and stand out in a crowd more, they will simply go for the weakest possible targets—kids.

This kind of thing happening will not stop. The ones who feel most compelled to act on these evil impulses or hate are the ones least likely to stop killing. The only thing we can do is manage our risk and be prepared. That means being armed at almost all times, ESPECIALLY, as a hiker on your own.

Better that we all become armed and aware, rather than unarmed and paranoid about every person who approaches you.

[Paleo Conservative]

I think it was North Carolina....Pisgah National Forest....i admit to meeting some strange folks on the trail but i never thought they were dangerous...i’m sure this girl also thought this man was harmless.

People on vacation let down their guard.

[Scoutmaster]

The AT is one refuge for solitude i look forward to.

If Meredith was, indeed, murdered, I think this would be murder number ten on the AT since 1974 (three double slayings and four individuals). To my knowledge, no AT murders from 1923 through 1973.

I think the AT is particularly vulnerable because of how often it passes through or comes close to civilization. Access to the trail is relatively easy for those who intend to do wrong. The shelters are known places to find hikers. Also, so many through-hikers have a few places where they hike or hitchhike into town for a shower, mail, fresh food, and other luxuries. A hiker seen in town may be followed back to the trail.

As to your thoughts about Hilton, I understand them completely. My thoughts about what should be done to him aren't healthy either.

[Flintlock]

A nice little S&W Model 60 in .38 Special works for me.

[Roses0508]

Sad to think that in these beautiful places - where we go to get away to nature - we can be in danger from such a freak. I used to feel the only danger was a misunderstanding with a bear.

We hike armed now, have for some time. Where we can my dog comes with us also. I guess we’ve come full circle. Our forefathers hiked armed too - for entirely different reasons.

I used to let my kids loose in the woods for backpacking trips and camping trips on their own. My grandchildren will not have that experience until they are old enough to have good judgment with weapons. Not a change I am happy to see.

[blueheron2]

I can’t think of a park I’ve ever been to that I would want my daughter or son to be in by themselves.
Long record for the perp, no doubt he should have been incarcerated. You can probably thank ACLU/liberal judges for that one. In our county the largest expense, after public schools, is jailing criminals and only a small percentage of them actually have to do time.

[chasio649]

Most thru-hikers will tell you to don’t camp close to roads...may sound strange to some but i agree with it.

[blueheron2]

Ger dog was a lab mix, I’m assuming from this labs aren’t very protective.

[chasio649]

I think Hilton had a dog too.

[blueheron2]

Ger=Her

[lapster]

One look at the alleged perp, and you say to yourself, “Why do these micreants all bear such an uncanny resembleance to each other?” The answer, of course, is, “Because they are almost invaribly drunks, derelicts, or druggies” (almost invariably with a list of arrests a mile long).

Then — unless you’re a bleeding heart liberal — the inevitable next question is, “Well, if that’s the case, why don’t the authorities do something to keep closer tabs on these drunks, derelicts, and druggies?” And the horrifying answer to that question is that thanks to folks like the ACLU, drunks, derelicts, and druggies in the United States are now a protected class.

Should you have any trouble believing that, check out the appalling number of programs especially designed to provide your tax money to these upstanding members of the Welfare Vulture Culture.

By the way, did you know that your government now has a program to provide drunks with $600 cash a month — if they come in each month and prove they’re still stewed to the gills? You can’t make this stuff up.

[doodad]

That miserable scumbag. Give him to her Dad. This is playing out uncomfortably close to my home. I know that gas station and car wash. My daughter drives in that area as well.

[chasio649]

all bear such an uncanny resembleance

---

I don’t disagree with anything you say...but most thru- hikers look like derelicts after 6 months on the trail...it’s a running joke...it’s amazing to see the difference when they finish the trail and get cleaned up.

[Liberty Valance]

How very sad. Shoot the perp then hang him.

[Tax-chick]

I’m so sorry to hear this. The poor young lady.

[Stonewall Jackson]

Our forefathers hiked armed too - for entirely different reasons.

Wackos like this are just as dangerous as any Indian that Daniel Boone might have encountered while passing through the Cumberland Gap or Jedidiah Smith might have run into while exploring the Rockies. Unfortunately, most of these wackos look like the guy next door, making it a might bit difficult to discern friend from foe.

I like to go hiking, but I have started carrying a pistol with me whenever possible. There are too many meth labs popping up out in the woods in my area and too many cases of rabid animals for me to go traipsing through the woods without adequate protection.

[pax_et_bonum]

Ger dog was a lab mix, I’m assuming from this labs aren’t very protective.

?

Maybe a better assumption would be that labs aren't omnipotent.

[hellbender]

Ger dog was a lab mix, I’m assuming from this labs aren’t very protective.

Most Labs are almost as worthless for defense as Golden Retrievers. They are friendly, indiscriminately affectionate, and not very brave.

[Scoutmaster]

Most thru-hikers will tell you to don’t camp close to roads...may sound strange to some but i agree with it.

I've heard the same -- both because of the danger and the desire for solitude. Thru-hikers may not want to handle all of the questions and bonhomie from weekend hikers who are in the shelters.

However, aren't you allegedly 'required' to sleep in shelters rather than along the trail?

[Scoutmaster]

I think Hilton had a dog too.

Hilton did indeed. Meredith and Hilton were observed letting their dogs play together -- it may be how he approached her, like Ted Bundy and his fake cast.

The dog also played a role in Hilton's identification. At least one of the hikers who saw Meredith and Hilton together described the dogs and remembered the name of Hilton's dog. Once the description of the man and dog, and the dog's name, were announced, tipsters quickly gave police Hilton's name.

[hellbender]

Have any of the AT murder victims not been female? I think it is very dangerous for a woman to be on the trail alone. Another factor is that a hiker inside a sleeping bag in a small tent , esp. when actually asleep, is extremely vulnerable. It's almost like already being tied up inside a cage.

[doodad]

However, aren't you allegedly 'required' to sleep in shelters rather than along the trail?

No not at all. I have never stayed in them except one time when they built the new loft models. Many reasons, but mice being one of them. Also, we always liked to get off the trail and have a sense of solitude and/or better views. I have met some real wierdos out in the woods. Another reason to stay off trail and out of sight.

[dljordan]

“The AT is one refuge for solitude i look forward to...and now crazies are running loose there....it’s hard to keep your spirits up in this world....this really gets me down....i seel so sorry for her family....i need to get the thoughts out of my head of what i would do to Mr. Hilton...it’s not healthy.”

Back in the 80’s and 90’s my friends and I used to hike a portion of the trail every month. Hikers were being killed, raped and robbed even back then. I always carried a Charter Arms .38 in my pocket just in case.

Another factor is stupidity. I used to hike with some Sierra Club people and they were totally clueless about the back woods of Tennessee and Georgia being mostly from NYC and LA but they thought they knew everything. I had a hell of a time one day convincing them that they didn’t want to go down a certain trail in the Cherokee National Forest that was being guarded by a “Deputy Sheriff” with a .357 on his hip. The lawyers in the group wanted to argue with him and I just couldn’t come out and tell them that he was guarding a pot crop. Dumbasses.

[chasio649]

No...you don’t have to sleep in shelters...except for the Smokey Mountain part of the trail....I don’t like to sleep in shelters myself...too many mice and it’s warmer in a tent anyways...the best advice i have is be aware of your surroundings but it is hard to do when you have been hiking all day and negotiating rocks and roots....really the best advice is don’t go alone...always hike with a partner for many good reasons.

[Scoutmaster]

I think it was North Carolina....Pisgah National Forest.

If you are thinking of John and Irene Bryant, the elderly Colorado couple who disappeared in late October, then you're correct. It was the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina, about 150-170 miles north of Vogel State Park. Vogel is the area of the AT where Meredith disappeared.

The body of Irene Bryant was found three weeks later. She had been beaten to death. John Bryant is still missing.

From Pisgah, the story headed to Ducktown, Tennessee, about an hour from Vogel. A surveillance tape captured images of a man in a yellow coat using the Bryant's ATM card. The yellow coat is thought to have belonged to John Bryant.

At the beginning of the search for Meredith, it was reported she was last seen with a man and a second dog - and the man was wearing a yellow coat.

The Bryants:

Meredith Emerson:

[Southerngl]

OH NO!!

This is my territory down here and when they found that guy cleaning out his van I knew it wasn’t good. He had rolls and rolls of paper towels in his windshield area as if he were washing out with paper towels. And her dog was found 50 miles from where she went missing. I bet the guy didn’t expect the dog to have a microchip implant.

So sad, but I was afraid of this from the start. Her friends said she was a bluebelt in martial arts and she probably felt a false sense of security hiking alone on BLOOD MOUNTAIN.

[chasio649]

Honestly...i hope he did both murders.

[Alberta's Child]

I learned an interesting lesson as a young adult when I was out camping in the woods with a couple of friends and came across someone on the trail who just "wasn't right" (without knowing exactly what his story was). He turned out to be a very nice guy, but we never felt safe around him and were glad to see him go off on his way.

When we talked about later one of my friends asked me why the guy seemed so excessively nice to us.

"Just look at us," I said (we had been in the woods for three days without a shower, shave, or anything of the sort -- and some of us include various and sundry military equipment in our hiking/camping gear) . . . "That strange dude is probably a serial killer, but one look at us and he could barely keep from crapping in his pants."

My rule of thumb in the outdoors is to make sure the group I'm with looks almost like something out of a Mad Max movie. The best defense in a situation like that is an aura of borderline derangement.

[devane617]

I also wonder about the missing teacher from south Georgia. I can’t recall her name, but she was from Ocilla, or the Tifton area. Went missing about a year ago without a trace.

[CurlyDave]

...dog was a lab mix, I’m assuming from this labs aren’t very protective.

My labs will bark & growl at strangers, but have never bitten.

If I interact peacefully with the stranger, they calm down.

I suspect this guy interacted with her long enough for her dog to treat him as a "friend", since they were seen talking together. Then, when there were no witnesses he did her in.

She should have been carrying...

[Uri’el-2012]

Meredith Emerson should have taken an NRA Refuse to be a Victim course.

One is taught to carry OC Pepper Spray.

[buckalfa]

Thank you for the clarification.

[Scoutmaster]

Have any of the AT murder victims not been female?

Yes. Three men. The murders:

• 1996 (Virginia)- Two women found in Shenandoah National Park with their throats slashed. They were camped off the trail, and had a golden retriever which was unharmed. The man convicted of killing them indicated he did so because he hated women and gays (the women were lesbians).

• 1990 (Pennsylvania)- A man and woman shot to death in a shelter as they slept. The killer was caught.

• 1988 (Pennsylvania) - Two women attacked by a man on the trail in Pennsylvania. He shot and killed one. Again, the killer was captured and indicated he did so because the women were lesbians.

• 1981 (Virginia) - Man and woman thru-hikers killed in cabin. Killer was caught.

• 1975 (Tennessee) - A woman hacked to death with a hatchet. Killer was caught.

• 1974 (Georgia) - Man killed in shelter.

[blueheron2]

She should have been carrying and she should have had a dog like my last two German Shepherds. They thought they invented “trust but verify.”
I told my daughter’s boyfriend not to move but he thought he knew more about dogs than he did.

[Concho]

It seems to me that there have been other missing persons or deaths in that area associated with the stranger in the yellow coat.

Wonder what the take would be if they began finding those drunks, druggies and derelicts along the AT? Human nature being what it is, I’m surprised that there isnt a citizen uprising in that area.

[Scoutmaster]

Thanks for the clarification.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

We had a lab who lived to the ripe old age of 15.
If he was on the deck and someone came into the front door..so long, farewell.

If someone came thru the garage (his domain) he’d show teeth.

He grew more protective as he aged At the age of 1 the world was his friend.

[PeteB570]

Sad news about Ms Emerson but...

Your post really described me and my friends. Any nut case that runs into us would be standing straight, eyeballs spinning and looking for an escape route.

Same mixed military gear and boots, look like a bunch of pirates when we don’t shave and by the looks of us - somebody, if not all, have some type of weapon. And about half are Good ‘ol Boys so we have that problem covered also.

[Scoutmaster]

"I also wonder about the missing teacher from south Georgia. I can’t recall her name, but she was from Ocilla, or the Tifton area. Went missing about a year ago without a trace."

Tara Grinstead of Ocilla. Missing since October 2005. More here, here, and here.

[lapster]

Unfortunately, in American society today, drunks, derelicts, and druggies have become the citizens of choice for many, many state and local governments. They bring in federal funds (food, housing, medical care, and they employ lots of fat-butted social workers. All at taxpayer expense, of course. So, the local governments make believe there’s nothing they can do about them (even to the point of refusing to enforce loitering laws). And the politicians and their protected vermin live happily ever after. While we foot the bills and suffer the crimes and degradation of our homes. Pretty sich, huh?

[Scoutmaster]

In Tara Grinstead’s case, she had a tumultuous relationship with a former boyfriend, and a former student from her school who was essentially stalking her. The 20-year old former student was arrested for banging repeatedly on her door about six months before she disappeared. The relationship with her former boyfriend had her taking long drives and calling in sick because of the emotional stress.

[Gritty]

My wife and I hike a lot in the area where the Bryants were murdered. There are an awfully lot of remote places out there where skulduggery would be extremely easy. Also, there are Wiccans, Satanists and druggies who hang around in these woods for their own various reasons - none of them wholesome. We completely avoid the area in the days around Halloween (we have seen clear evidence of rites).

I am always "visibly" armed and careful of anybody I meet out there. There is no sense calling 911 when out there (just ask the Bryants, who tried). Most people you run into are good people but one never knows when or where you will meet a bad one and they may not appear "threatening" (although the one time my alarm bells got working really overtime, they certainly were).

The woods may be a place for solitude but it is not a place where you want to let your guard down, either.

[devane617]

Yep, that’s her...I read you post below, but you never know. I am certain it is being looked at...

[EEDUDE]

“By the way, did you know that your government now has a program to provide drunks with $600 cash a month — if they come in each month and prove they’re still stewed to the gills?”

What are you talking about? Please fill me in.

[Sender]

Speaking of “my territory”, it creeps me out that they found her clothes and wallet at the Quiktrip that is practically across the street from me.