Man charged with Ga. hiker murder, suspect in similar NC case

BREVARD, N.C. - The man charged in the beating death of a hiker in northeast Georgia has become a suspect in a similar case in North Carolina.

Transylvania County Sheriff David Mahoney said in an e-mail Monday that 61-year-old Gary Michael Hilton is being looked at in the death of 84-year-old Irene Bryant and her missing husband, 80-year-old John Bryant. The couple disappeared after going for a hike in western North Carolina.

Hilton has been charged with murder in the death of 24-year-old Meredith Emerson, who disappeared while hiking in Union County New Year's Day. Authorities said Hilton tried to use her credit card.

Like Emerson, Irene Bryant died from a blow to the head and her body was found near a hiking trail.

Authorities are still looking for John Bryant and said he may have been kidnapped to provide a security number for the couple's bank account.

Hilton also has been named as a suspect in the death of Cheryl Hodges Dunlap, whose body was found in December in a national forest in Florida.