DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — A missing hiker — found only after a drifter accused of murdering her took authorities to her body — died of blunt force trauma to the head and was decapitated after her death, officials said Tuesday.
Authorities were led to the hiker's decapitated body after Gary Michael Hilton, 61, charged with murder, reached an agreement with prosecutors to not seek the death penalty against him.
Hilton was earlier charged with kidnapping with intent of bodily injury before leading investigators to a spot in a wooded area in north Georgia where they found the body of Meredith Emerson, said John Cagle, special agent in charge of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Field Division in Cleveland, Ga. Hilton is being held in the Dawson County jail.
Click here for more coverage from myFOXAtlanta.com.
The 24-year-old woman had been missing since New Year's Day, when she went hiking with her dog. Hilton was the last person seen with Emerson on the hiking trail and had tried to use her credit card, according to his arrest warrant..."
Precisely when are young women going to learn that hiking alone in the wilderness is risky behavior. If you are going to to leave society's scant protection then at least arm yourself. And for some ungodly reason the elderly think themselves immune from harm as long as they travel together and nothing could be further from the truth. Every single day we learn of some other poor soul who has run afoul of yet another madman, so get smart people.
UPDATE
Over at The War on Guns David Codrea has posted his take on this tragedy, along with a link to simply the dumbest "news" story one can imagine.
Person of interest named in case of missing hiker..
"Whether she met with foul play or foul weather, Emerson was prepared for both, friends said. She was an experienced hiker and accomplished martial arts student described by her self-defense instructor as "120 pounds of pure tough."
"I've seen her take down men twice her size," said Ken Blumreich."
No, she was certainly NOT prepared, and if the above named idiot pumped false visions of sugar plums into her head regarding how tough she was, then the SOB must share some responsibility for her death. A unarmed 120 lb woman isn't ready to do much of anything else but die a horrible death when confronted by a madman. Her killer was far from a large man but outweighed her by 40 pounds and that friends and neighbors is more than enough when discussing a man vs. woman fight. And not just any man, but the kind of man who'd do what this monster did and that in itself makes all the difference. He had a plan, and executed it to a T.
But it wasn't just her "self-defense" instructor who believed she was ready to take on the world all by herself:
"Family spokesperson Peggy Bailey, Emerson's godmother, said Emerson's parents flew in from Colorado Wednesday night. Emerson's father joined the foot search for his daughter Thursday.
"Her parents, as you can imagine, are devastated and frightened but they are strong people, as is Meredith," said Bailey. "She is smart, level-headed."
Emerson, a University of Georgia graduate, just started a new job and was excited about taking on a leadership role there, Bailey said. She was also skilled at hiking.
"Meredith Emerson could do anything. She is feisty. She is strong. She is tiny and petite, 120 pounds, [but] she can run those mountains. She's a strong person. If anyone can survive this she can."
Sheeple. Who just don't get-it. And a defenseless young woman dies a horrible death because everyone around her believed that feisty trumps all. I simply cannot emphasize enough that you must be prepared to defend yourself and taking martial arts classes is NOT going to cut it, not alone it isn't. The Charlie's Angels mindset created yet another victim as, sadly, once again the real world triumphed over make believe.
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