Searchers Zero In on Missing Hiker

Police pick up 'person of interest,' but he's not cooperating
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 5, 2008 2:03 PM CST
Searchers Zero In on Missing Hiker
In this May 2007 photo released by Pat B. Mitchell, Meredith Emerson is seen with her dog Ella, in Flowery Branch, Ga. The 24-year-old hiker has been missing since Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Pat B. Mitchell)   (Associated Press)

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.)

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