Hiker Possibly Still Alive When Suspect Spotted

She may have been trussed up in van at restaurant stop
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 11, 2008 5:05 AM CST
Hiker Possibly Still Alive When Suspect Spotted
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)

Witnesses saw a "real fidgety" suspect Gary Hilton at a Georgia restaurant when kidnapped hiker Meredith Emerson was probably still alive in his van parked outside, CNN reports. The owner of a restaurant eight miles from where Emerson's decapitated body was found says Hilton came into the diner a day before police believe Emerson was killed.

Hilton, 61, used a phone at the restaurant, apparently to explain his absence to his boss, who had already told police he suspected the drifter in the hiker's disappearance.  A waitress was upset to realize Emerson may have been captive in Hilton's van when she saw him. "It kills me to know that," she said. "We could have saved her." (More kidnapping stories.)

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