Evidence Discussion

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Truly said:
Good points , Interested. I have seen the type of hiking gear described only in specialty backpacking-type places. I think the airguns would be found at a more hunting/fishing type sporting goods store. I honestly don't know if hunting/fishing stores carry Sierra Designs, NorthFace, etc. I'm guessing the clothes for a hunter are more Carhart, etc.? I can't see Hilton posing as a hunter! He was outfitted for hiking, IMO.
Click to expand...

didn't he have more than one police baton, too? I think he might have a bit of a "survivalist" mentality. I think one can get the air guns at flea markets - I know one of the local ones here has a "light" weaponry booth that is semi-permanently set up. Blow guns, cross bows, air guns, knives...

Campmor for instance carries a wide range of items, from Carhart to North Face. But isn't REI the only place that carries REI?

I'm extremely intrigued by the thought of him selling out of his van. But of course, where/how did he get the goods? It would be nice to know whether the things they found still had tags on them, or whether they had obviously been worn.
 
Where can I access the list of items they have from the warrant? The link above from Christine only shows me the first page and the list isn't attached.

Thank you for your kind help,
DD
 
As some else has mentioned in this forum, the wide variety of hats is - 29 in all - is strange. While having several hats for hiking in different temp and weather isn't odd - no one has an array of hats like the one found in Hilton's van. They are from various manufactures, in various colors, styles and sizes -- they may well turn out to be trophies from victims. I hope they do as the DNA from those would be pretty conclusive proof that GMH was connected to the disappearance and probable murder of anyone whose DNA is found in his possession and is missing.

Is there a DNA bank for missing people? Can families give items belonging to missing individuals - like a hairbrush - to LE to be analyzed for DNA and the DNA profile kept on file for comparison when unknown DNA is recovered from a source like Hilton's van?
 
The numerous baseball caps, shirts, bottle coolers is what actually gave me the idea that he might be vending. You know, that he might have been selling this stuff. Again, the answer lies in whether these items were new or not. But it is all the same kind of stuff. If it all came from victims, wouldn't there would be a bigger alarm that lots of hikers were missing? And what are the chances, as you pointed out, that he would only attack people wearing purple/teal REI shirts? It also occured to me that other places he might have tried to vend in addition to Trail Days, etc. would be the big outdoor camping music festivals. I wonder what type of music was on the cassette tapes?
 
Evidence against Hilton to be tested..

Florida authorities will retrieve Thursday two vans and "tons" of evidence Georgia investigators collected against Gary Michael Hilton to see if the drifter and admitted murderer is also responsible for the death of a woman whose body was found in a Florida national forest in December.

Cagle declined to describe the evidence that could tie Hilton to the Bryants, who were abducted from North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest on Oct. 20, or to the death of Sunday school teacher and nurse Cheryl Hodges Dunlap, who was decapitated like Emerson.

But Cagle said Georgia investigators found evidence that will be "helpful to North Carolina and Florida. We found things Florida and North Carolina can use."

Authorities believe Hilton lived out of his van in the months leading up to his arrest.

In that time, he amassed an expensive array of outdoor wear and equipment, including 20 shirts, a dozen pair of pants, eight jackets — in sizes ranging from medium to extra-large — plus 29 hats, two pairs of boots and three sleeping bags.

Most came from REI, but Cagle said someone had removed the tags the high-end outdoor retailer attaches to its products to track purchasers.

"My gut feeling is, he was stealing [some of] it from camp sites," Cagle said.

*more at link* http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/02/13/hiker_0214.html

(bolding mine for emphasis)
 
I'm so glad to hear that Georgia, Florida, and NC are working together and cooperating with the sharing of the evidence. Sometimes LE can get a little "sticky fingered" when it comes to situations like this, but it's heartening to see that it doesn't have to be that way!
 
And I have to hand it to the AJC for their fine coverage of this case.. one of my favorite newspapers in all of the places I have lived....
 
Thanks, indigomood, for that link. Hmmm...tags removed. For some reason that strikes me as new - and possibly stolen - REI merchandise. I hope that anybody who has had stuff stolen from campsites anywhere will see this list and possibly pinpoint when and where Hilton was located when other assaults and murders occured.
 
Truly said:
Thanks, indigomood, for that link. Hmmm...tags removed. For some reason that strikes me as new - and possibly stolen - REI merchandise. I hope that anybody who has had stuff stolen from campsites anywhere will see this list and possibly pinpoint when and where Hilton was located when other assaults and murders occured.
Click to expand...

you're welcome Truly :blowkiss:
 
Truly said:
....laces he might have tried to vend in addition to Trail Days, etc. would be the big outdoor camping music festivals. I wonder what type of music was on the cassette tapes?
Click to expand...
Other than one guy that thinks he used his phone in Damascus, VA, during Trail Days, no one has seen Hilton at any of the hiker gatherings.

Having the tags removed likely means the merchandise was stolen from REI instead of from campers - or it was wholesaled out and or donated to something like a homeless shelter -- many manufactures do this and remove the tags beforehand so the clothing doesn't end up on Ebay.
 
Indigo, thanks for the info about the tags...that had puzzled me...that the stuff looked new, with no tags...
Hiker, I think you are right....Hilton is just the type to steal from a homeless shelter...
but mixed in with all of the REI stuff is clothing from his victims...of that I am sure....
 
Native New Yorker said:
...but mixed in with all of the REI stuff is clothing from his victims...of that I am sure....
Click to expand...
I believe this as well. I'm nearly positive the pink items aren't his... and I really hope they try to get DNA from all the hats. I just can't shake the sick feeling those hats are his trophies.
 
Native New Yorker said:
Indigo, thanks for the info about the tags...that had puzzled me...that the stuff looked new, with no tags...
Hiker, I think you are right....Hilton is just the type to steal from a homeless shelter...
but mixed in with all of the REI stuff is clothing from his victims...of that I am sure....
Click to expand...

you're welcome Native New Yorker :)
 
Hiker said:
Having the tags removed likely means the merchandise was stolen from REI instead of from campers - or it was wholesaled out and or donated to something like a homeless shelter -- many manufactures do this and remove the tags beforehand so the clothing doesn't end up on Ebay.
Click to expand...

I know REI donates to the community, but it's usually in the form of money for projects, volunteering with community parks projects and that sort of thing. I've never heard of them donating top of the line hiking gear to homeless shelters. I'm of the opinion this stuff was stolen from an REI shop/outlet or from campers.

Lots of outdoor and exercise items don't have tags in them any more - the info. is printed straight on the material. I think any of the items that are listed on the evidence sheet with sizes noted probably were like this - the sizes were printed on the material and the items never had tags to begin with.

I personally remove my tags because I don't like the itching. super light through hikers sometimes remove tags just to save weight.
 
I am so thankful LE are checking out both of his vans *whew* even though one was stripped, it still should have evidence. Also it would be interesting to know what they find out of it. Depending on how long ago Hilton last used that van, it may help in finding more victims.

"Florida authorities will retrieve Thursday two vans and "tons" of evidence "
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/02/13/hiker_0214.html
 
Published Feb. 14
Florida Officials Seize Hilton's Vans


Nothing new about the evidence, but contains a video of the GBI loading up the old van that Hilton abandoned to send it to Florida. There’s not much left of the van.

The video mentions that the GBI is putting together a time line of Hilton’s whereabouts for the last few years – it sounds as if they’re looking for links between Hilton and other crimes.

The article also states “A GBI Special Agent John Cagle said Thursday that investigators believe Hilton stole the REI clothing from hikers and campers. REI clothing has a tag which allows tracking of where the item was purchased, but Hilton had cut out all of the tags.”
 
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