You Never Know Whose Path You'll Cross

When the news broke this week that Meredith Emerson went missing while hiking, I wasn't too surprised. I know that sounds insenstive, but with all the "runaway bride" and other type stories in the past year, I couldn't help but think, maybe she just wanted to get away for a while.

But when authorities started talking about the person of interest, Gary Michael Hilton, it quickly became clear that the worst has probably happened to Meredith.

And now, although they have not found Meredith, it's pretty obvious what has happened.

Police believe missing hiker Meredith Emerson is dead after finding her blood-soaked clothing Saturday in a dumpster.

Shortly after that discovery authorities charged Gary Michael Hilton with her kidnapping.

Officers also found Emerson's wallet with her driver's license and her University of Georgia ID, as well as part of a blood-stained seat belt in a trash bin outside a QuikTrip convenience store in Cumming. When police searched Hilton's van they found a seat belt with part of it missing.

When Hilton was picked up by police he was washing out his van with a bleach and water solution, according to the arrest warrant.

My family and I travel to the North Georgia mountains all the time, just to get away for a bit, and last month when we took the kids on the "Polar Express" we stopped at a BP gas station to get some snacks on the way home.

When we walked in the store, there was a creepy looking guy paying for something, a newspaper I think, at the counter. I noticed him, and my wife noticed him, but neither one of us mentioned it on the trip. Last night, when the news showed the picture of the "person of interest" in this case, we both looked at each other, because we're pretty sure that's the guy we saw at the gas station that night.

Needless to say, that kind of freaked us out. We can't be 100% sure it was him, but this guy certainly looks like him.

I hope they find Meredith soon, and I pray that by some miracle she is alive.