Helicopters to be used in search for missing hiker

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation plans to use helicopters to search the northeast Georgia Mountains for the body of North Carolina hiker John Bryant.

Agent John Cagle said only trained investigators are involved in the search.

"This is being conducted solely by law enforcement," Cagle said. "They know the area. They are the best ones to go about this search."

Cagle said they are focusing on Towns, Union and Rabun counties because suspect Gary Michael Hilton was spotted in that area in October.

That's when Bryant and his wife, Irene, went missing while hiking in the Mt. Pisgah National Forest. Her body was found a short time later in North Carolina.

Hilton is, of course, the man accused of killing hiker Meredith Emerson. He has been linked to Irene Bryant's death, among others.