“He thought he’d die in prison,” he said. “He told me more than I ever wanted to know,” including details about the other three murders he committed over a span of 10 weeks, McNeill said. His failure to immediately notify law enforcement proved costly.Īt that point, Emerson was still alive but “we were two hours behind,” Cagle said. In a follow-up call later that day, that man, John Tabor, said he had heard from Hilton, a former employee, two hours earlier. 3 from an Atlanta attorney who recognized the picture of the man last seen with Emerson. I was surprised at how big it got and how fast it got so big.” “There were probably 19 different police agencies up here helping,” Cagle said. “It was terrible conditions,” Cagle said.īy the hundreds, hikers and everyday citizens showed up. There was blowing snow and temperatures in the single digits when search began in earnest on Jan. But that assumption quickly changed after her car was found parked at the trail head and a former cop reported that he found a baton, two water bottles, a dog leash and canine treats abandoned at a spot along the trail where the ground had been “disturbed. Then in April 2013 Hilton received four life sentences after pleading guilty to kidnapping murdering John and Irene Bryant, an elderly couple he encountered while they were hiking in a national forest in North Carolina in October 2007.Įmerson was initially classified as an overdue hiker, feared lost or injured. He was convicted and sentenced to die in Florida on April 21, 2001, for murdering and decapitating Cheryl Dunlap, a 46-year old nurse and Sunday School teacher whose body was found in the Apalachicola National Forest near Tallahassee. Hilton, now 71, eventually pleaded guilty to murdering Emerson and was sentenced to life in prison. During the search, Hilton was even spotted inside Dawson Forest - a remote wildlife management area that once housed a secret Air Force facility that sought to develop nuclear-powered aircraft - but he was not questioned because his van didn’t match the exact description provided by law enforcement. There were delays in providing critical information that could’ve saved Emerson’s life. His emotions sometimes get the best of him when he thinks of how close searchers unknowingly came to Hilton and Emerson.Īlthough law enforcement and searchers were out in force, deployed expeditiously, not everything proceeded smoothly. Trained in two different martial arts, Emerson came close to escaping from Hilton right after he pulled a knife, demanding her ATM card. When Emerson died, she was the same age as Cagle’s step-daughter. But for Cagle, the memories are as fresh as if they happened last week. Neither Emerson’s then-roommate, her boyfriend or the godmother who acted as the family spokesperson responded to requests for comment. They did not respond to the AJC’s requests for an interview. Their insights shed new light on how close law enforcement came to rescuing Emerson and what motivated Hilton to set off on a murderous spree spanning three states and several months.Įmerson’s parents have not spoken publicly since they returned to their home in Colorado days after their daughter’s body was found. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently caught up with the lawman and attorney, along with other key figures in the case.
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