Page 137 - Meredith News Today

And they just volunteer their time. >> but the search in the national forest had become something more ominous than a lost hiker incident. meredith had been last seen in the company of an unsavory looking stranger, and law enforcement was about to identify him. the tip came from john tabor, an atlanta businessman. he was watching the continuing news coverage of missing meredith during his morning workout. >> when they started giving the description of the person of interest, my ears really perke...

And bludgeoned meredith emerson to death. in an attempt to thwart investigators, he decapitated and poured bleach over the body. this is gruesome beyond belief. >> yes. >> for what reason? >> i dont know. >> hilton had confessed to killing meredith emerson. but what about those other cases in the national forest? a woman in florida, the elderly couple in north carolina. >> he would not talk about anybody to us other than meredith. >> because you have to wonder when the switch was thrown in this ...

Police were convinced the missing hiker meredith emerson was under the control of gary hilton somewhere in north georgia. the more they learned about the survivalist odds ball who was the person of interest in two murders in national forests elsewhere, the more they feared for her. a friend of merediths family appealed directly to hilton. >> i hope that if he realized that this would be helpful, that his heart would be softened and turned to come forward with information. so, please, please have...

And he hung up. >> hilton called from a pay phone at a convenience store near where merediths dog had turned up. you have a living pet, a missing owner and a phone somewhere in the vicinity of this guy you believe is her abductor. >> yes. while the agents are searching in the area of the convenience store, they look in a dumpster. it was in the dumpster we found merediths identification, her purse, bags of bloody clothing. at that point, we felt that this was not going to turn out as we had hope...

Even though what we were telling them was not good news. >> hilton, meredith, her lab ella. the tip line kept ringing with leads good and bad. then four days in, a friday afternoon, a shopper called to say that shed found a black lab mix wandering around a supermarket parking lot. >> surprised to see any dog running loose in the parking lot. then to find out its the one that meredith was -- it was her dog, you know, was a pretty big surprise and shock. >> she took the dog to an animal clinic whe...

He began with merediths abduction here on a hiking trail on blood mountainment he said that he ambushed meredith and her dog ella as she came down the trail. it was a struggle and meredith with her martial artsz skills, as hilton tells it, nearly got the best of his. she disarmed him, taking away his knife and the police baton. >> i lost control of both the bat and the knife. she was real quick with her hands and had no hesitation about grabbing weapons and everything. not only that, she was har...

Hilton it seemed was moving south toward atlanta. metro pd s.w.a.t. concealed themselves in and near tabors building, the old drop point where tabor had promised him $800. >> youre staking out the location? >> he didnt show. >> no-show. >> were still look gt and woeshing, where could this guy be? now we have this guy 50 miles from blood mountain. >> the veteran detective was talking constantly with merediths parents, her father dave amor son. >> i appeal to everyone to search their hearts and me...

This chevron gas station on asher dunwoody. >> the man is there? >> the van is here. the dog is here, the road dog. and i saw the mans face. ive been watching the news and i know its him. i know its him. hes emptying the stuff out of his van, looking around like hes guilty as sin. i can go take him down if you want. >> no, sir. stay right there. >> here comes the cops. yes. yes. >> police are there? >> theyve it got him now. two cruisers pulled up on him. >> gary hilton was under arrest. detecti...

He apparently had no idea. he apologized at length for his past behavior and on the terms of which he left, he said that he was ill and that now he felt better and he realized the errors of his ways and he was ready to get back to work. >> startled but thinking past, tabor tried to lure hilton to an agreed-upon location with the promise of money. >> i was trying to play it cool, like i didnt know anything about what was going on. i told him that i would give him a check for $800. we discussed a ...

Started hearing about yet another national forest homicide, this one in north carolina. >> so theb youve got to be saying to your team of vectors, what do we have here? >> thats right. >> now were wondering who we really have here and where is he? and, more importantly, wheres meredith? do we have a killer running around loose in the national forest? >> concerned for meredith deepens, but her friends know something that man on the mountain couldnt. >> a blue belt in akeyed dough and a blue bel...