On New Year's Day 2008, then 24-year-old Meredith Emerson left her home with her dog Ella for a day long hike in the mountains of the Chattahoochee National Forest 90 miles north of Atlanta, Georgia. She failed to return home that evening. Investigators discovered her car, a dog leash, and water bottle the first day of the search. On Friday, January 4, 2008 police questioned Gary Michael Hilton outside a convenience store as a "person of interest" in the disappearance and served a warrant to search his van and a dumpster outside the convenience store. There, they discovered three bloodstained fleece tops and a bloodstained car seat. The next day, Meredith's dog was found wandering outside a grocery store 40 miles from here her car had been discovered. Hilton was taken into custody. On Thursday, January 31, 2008, he pleaded guilty to the murder of Meredith Emerson and was sentenced to life in prison with possibility of parole after 30 years. He will likely die in prison. This is the story of the events that took place.