Georgia authorities meet NC authorities about missing hiker

ATLANTA (AP) — Authorities are exploring whether there is a link between the disappearance of a female hiker in Georgia and the presumed killing of a couple from North Carolina last October.

Investigators say 61-year-old Gary Michael Hilton was the last person seen with 24-year-old Meredith Emerson. He’s been charged with kidnapping with bodily injury.

Georgia authorities say there could be a connection between the Emerson case and the unsolved case of John and Irene Bryant, who disappeared while hiking in the western North Carolina mountains.

The body of 84-year-old Irene Bryant was found covered with leaves in November. Her 80-year-old husband is still missing. Authorities say he may have been kidnapped to provide the couple’s bank account security number. Someone withdrew $300 from the
account.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)