Rescuers have narrowed the search for Meredith Emerson, the 24-year-old hiker missing since New Year's Day, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Officials won’t say why, but they’re now concentrating their search on the 5-mile area where Emerson’s car was found. Police yesterday found Gary Hilton, the last person Emerson was seen with, but he’s not cooperating with investigators.
Police have dubbed Hilton a “person of interest.” Other hikers saw the 61-year-old hiking up Blood Mountain with Emerson on Jan. 1, and police picked him up at a gas station. A day earlier, Emerson’s dog turned up at a supermarket, which surveillance tapes show Hilton visited. Hilton is being questioned, so far apparently fruitlessly, in an undisclosed location. (More Meredith Emerson stories.)