Page 113 - Meredith News Today

Shed marked in her hiking guides. >> there were four of us in the car, trying to call park rangers, anybody that may have seen her or her car. then a friend of hers called her car, called us and said, i found it. there was snow on it. >> the car was in a parking area at the base of blood mountain. >> we just drove as fast as we could there, and just knew that sinking feeling when you first see it. >> the friends raced up the blood mountain feeder path to the appalachian trail, but no trace of me...

Had been recovered on the trail. what were the things found out on the trail area that you thought were alarming? >> a couple of water bottles, a dog leash and a police expandible baton. >> this is a piece of professional gear. >> it is. its just a metal pipe that is expandible. you see almost every uniformed police officer in the nation carrying these things. >> did those artifacts, the water bottle, baton, found together tell you a story at all, or suggest something ominous? >> yes. we found t...

Here again -- meredith emerson and her lab ella were two days missing on georgias blood mountain early in a freezing january of 2007. her friends had alerted the authorities and people from all over the greater atlanta area were scouring the hiking trails. so many volunteers they couldnt use all of them. >> people just showed up and just said, i have a daughter who likes to hike, i have a sister who could have been meredith easily. and they just volunteer their time. >> but the search in the n...

He knew to come and show up? >> it was certainly my objective to get him to a place where authorities could apprehend him. >> the trap was set at a building owned by tabor where hilton had lived for a while. the s.w.a.t. team was dispatched. would hilton fall for the "pick up some money" ruse? and what about the missing woman? in your gut, did you think meredith was still alive? >> merediths name was meredith hope emerson. we all hoped she was alive. but, you know, the longer these things carry ...

A blue belt in judo. if anyone could survive, it was meredith. ♪ did you know you can save money by using dish soap to clean grease on more than dishes? try dawn ultra. dawn is for more than just dishes. with 3x more grease cleaning power per drop, it tackles tough grease on a variety of surfaces. try dawn ultra.

Could this old movie hold the key to these cases? >> a little blood, a little sex, a little violence. >> a film fantasy turned chilling reality. >> if someone has her, shes afraid. >> who could be behind this, and how would this real-life story end? >> she was a blue belt in judo. if anybody could survive or fight, it was meredith. >> "mystery on blood mountain." >> hello and welcome to ""dateline" extra." im craig melvin. this is a puzzling case centered in national forests. its about what happ...

Welcome back to "dateline extra." where was meredith hope emerson? could she still be alive somewhere out there in georgias chattahoochee national forest? and did the 24-year-old hiker have a prayer if she were indeed in the clutches of mystery man gary hilton? the search on blood mountain went into a third day. >> we had the hope. i mean, we were there from sunup to sundown, plus. we were there through the night in the cold and all the searchers. but if anyone could survive, it was meredith. ...

We need you. >> their next lead, the big one, came from an unlikely source, the suspect himself. three days into merediths disappearance, gary hilton called his old boss tabor. >> i answered my cell phone, and i heard his voice. couldnt believe it. he pretended -- acted as if nothing was wrong. >> he didnt let on that he was the subject of a manhunt? >> oh, absolutely not. he acted as if he had no idea about it, which was apparently the case. he apologized at length for his past behavior and on ...

Arts skills, as he tells it, very nearly got the better of him. first she disarmed him, taking away his knife and then his police baton. >> i lost control of both of them, both the knife and the bat. shes real quick with her hands and had no hesitation about grabbing weapons and everything. and not only that, she was hard to subdue. she fought like hill, man. >> hilton said they scrapped so hard they tumbled off the trail. separated by a few yards now from that dropped police baton and merediths...

Dave amerson. >> i appeal to everyone to search their hearts and memories for anything they can remember and do to help us find meredith. >> after i met the emersons, i knew that i had to tell them everything. i couldnt hold back any information from these two people. they were terrified. >> why did you take it personally? >> this case was a little bit different because not only me but the other investigators recognized the fact early on that we have to embrace this family and tell them everythi...