GA - Meredith Emerson, 24, Blood Mountain, 4 January 2008

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Susan, I understand what you are saying and it could still be a possibility but the wsb article above said that "Hikers" saw her talking to this older man. Meaning more than one person. Also, the person who found the baton etc. turned it in to the Visitor Center. As the story gets updated a few more things become apparent than the first story.
 
JinxieJada said:
I don't hike - go through the trails maybe, but not like that - So forgive my ignorace =)

But - is having your dog off lead something that is normal to do? Does it depend on the dog etc? Not sure what type of certificate she's holding in the one pic released of her and her dog, but I was thinking she's done some type of training with it (dog).

Has anyone searched petfinder or called the local shelters in that area to see if they've had a "drop off" or a pickup complaint of a dead animal that matches her dog's description?

I know it seems I'm focusing on the dog. BUT if I were going to do something, The dog would be the first thing that would be "dealt" with. That's just based on personal history w/ My dog though. If it came down to it, I know/seen what he'll do/ is capable of.

Or am I "barking up the wrong tree" here?
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I used to hike and camp a lot before I developed a foot problem. You never take your dog off their leash. And for the most part, victims of foul play usually don't have a dog with them. Dogs are a deterent to two legged creatures. However, they attract four legged ones because they view dogs as a food source. For that reason it's not a good idea to hike with a dog at all.

The LE friend and the sighting of the other person is just too wierd for words. Finding the batton, water bottles and leash is very strange. In all my years of hiking and walking trails, I've never found a batton or seen one on another person. And I've never seen a leash or collar laying around.

Two things come to mind. They were attacked by an animal and she let her dog off the leash and bacame prey herself as well. Or her dog went into water because she let him off the leash and got into trouble going after the dog.
 
SuziQ said:
I used to hike and camp a lot before I developed a foot problem. You never take your dog off their leash. And for the most part, victims of foul play usually don't have a dog with them. Dogs are a deterent to two legged creatures. However, they attract four legged ones because they view dogs as a food source. For that reason it's not a good idea to hike with a dog at all.

The LE friend and the sighting of the other person is just too wierd for words. Finding the batton, water bottles and leash is very strange. In all my years of hiking and walking trails, I've never found a batton or seen one on another person. And I've never seen a leash or collar laying around.

Two things come to mind. They were attacked by an animal and she let her dog off the leash and bacame prey herself as well. Or her dog went into water because she let him off the leash and got into trouble going after the dog.
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Thanks for the insight on the hiking with animals!

Maybe I misunderstood, I *thought* the baton and stuff was located right by her car. Is there a body of water or anything near her vehicle that she would have let the dog go to? On one of the links there was an updated pic, looks like the "Puppy" isn't a puppy any longer...I'm hoping for the best with this one, but I feel the worst may have happened unfortunately.
 
SuziQ wrote:Two things come to mind. They were attacked by an animal and she let her dog off the leash and bacame prey herself as well. Or her dog went into water because she let him off the leash and got into trouble going after the dog.----------------------------------------------------------------Those sound like good possibilities to me, but it still seems like a strange coincidence about the baton and sunglasses near her car. A baton and sunglasses are two things that could make a person appear to be a cop, and why were they near her car?I need to learn a few things before I go hiking with my dog. I would have probably let her off the leash because she enjoyes running so much. I can see now that it would not be a good idea!
 
Jinxie, I'm confused as to some of the facts as well. They are different in each article. I could see a leash being taken off, but the collar? One of the reasons I never take my dog off a leash is they could spot a rabbit or something and just take off after it. Even the best trained dogs do this, and there is no prayer in the world of stopping or catching up to them.
 
TGIRecovered said:
SuziQ wrote:Two things come to mind. They were attacked by an animal and she let her dog off the leash and bacame prey herself as well. Or her dog went into water because she let him off the leash and got into trouble going after the dog.----------------------------------------------------------------Those sound like good possibilities to me, but it still seems like a strange coincidence about the baton and sunglasses near her car. A baton and sunglasses are two things that could make a person appear to be a cop, and why were they near her car?I need to learn a few things before I go hiking with my dog. I would have probably let her off the leash because she enjoyes running so much. I can see now that it would not be a good idea!
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Accidents do happen all the time, but it's the human element here that bothers me. If the items were found near her car at the trailhead, then I doubt she was attacked by an animal. And do we really know if more than one person spotted the baton toting person? Every article is different.
 
When using a leash with my lab mix, I attache it to a harness rather than the collar, so it won't hurt her neck. I have to watch out to be sure I get the harness all of the way past the collar so they won't get tangled. I can see how, if I were holding the leash attached to the harness, and someone tried to hurt me, my dog would jump on them, and they might grab her collar and pull it off in the struggle. Susan
 
SuziQ said:
Jinxie, I'm confused as to some of the facts as well. They are different in each article. I could see a leash being taken off, but the collar? One of the reasons I never take my dog off a leash is they could spot a rabbit or something and just take off after it. Even the best trained dogs do this, and there is no prayer in the world of stopping or catching up to them.
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After talking talking dh's head off about this case he brought up a friend of ours who used to hike w/ her dog. She used to use a slip collar on her in case while exploring she would get caught on something. Does anyone know if they've released what type of collar/leash etc.

Also, does anyone know if they've tried to track the baton down? Sometimes only certain companies only deal w/ certain "brands" or will sell only to certain companies/areas. I understand he could have picked it up anywhere, and it may in fact not be a "true" police baton.


Has anyone else seen where it was stated the person they are looking for (not suspect yet, but I guess maybe a person of interest at this point?) had a large sheath attached to his side/leg? Could there be two different people and because of what this guy had on his leg the assumption is being that he is one and the same? I haven't seen anything stated about him wearing sunglasses, and it seems to me that it would be unlikely they would just "fall out" if he weren't wearing them. (going on thing, i would think they would be in a backpack etc)

BUT at the same time, if someone is noticing he's missing teeth, why wouldn't they notice he was wearing sunglasses?

I'm not trying to take away interest in finding either party, just trying to figure out if they are looking at the right (guy)for the right reasons.
 
TGIRecovered said:
When using a leash with my lab mix, I attache it to a harness rather than the collar, so it won't hurt her neck. I have to watch out to be sure I get the harness all of the way past the collar so they won't get tangled. I can see how, if I were holding the leash attached to the harness, and someone tried to hurt me, my dog would jump on them, and they might grab her collar and pull it off in the struggle. Susan
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I agree that the collar being off would indicate a struggle. I've gone through that just trying to get my dogs into the vet!

I can't get WSB to open for me. But it sounds like there is more than just the LE officer that witnessed the other guy. Another thing that bothers me is if she made it back to the trailhead, then she probably isn't lost as she was probably on her way home. Really not much trouble to get into at a trailhead.
 
Union County is in the mountains and it has been freezing the past few days - I mean bitter cold and wind.

All the big animals are in hibernation. Snakes and Bears would not be out and about this time of year, which usually makes this a good time to go hiking. Except that most people wouldn't go out when snow is forecast in the mountains and the temperature is dropping.

Someone might have a baton to fight off dogs or wild boars, and then there are foxes and bobcats which are much smaller. Otherwise, there is no real reason to arm yourself in that area.

That wasn't just any trail either, but the Appalachian Trail. That is a very rugged part of the Trail, with ridges that go up and down, and those valleys would get dark early and very cold. It's wild there.

However this article says she was from Colorado, which is probably why she wasn't afraid to hike there. Going there alone was probably not a good idea, though, because it is remote, and the trails are empty this time of year.

This isn't just a walking trail, but wilderness, so I'm not surprised she let the dog off the leash. Perhaps she had one of those harnesses with an attached collar, and that's what they might be talking about. I doubt the actual collar was found, unless that dog is like mine and tries to slip out of the collar if you grab hold of it? (Sorry - I see some of the rest of you already posted that idea!)
 
SuziQ said:
Accidents do happen all the time, but it's the human element here that bothers me. If the items were found near her car at the trailhead, then I doubt she was attacked by an animal. And do we really know if more than one person spotted the baton toting person? Every article is different.
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I can see how, in situations such as this, eye-witness accounts can get jumbled together. Say, several hickers recall a mid-fifties man with a dog, one remembers the backpack, another hears him call out to the dog by name. I wonder if the bit about the baton came from the cop or if others saw a sheath only, which could have contained any number of things...baton, knife, flashlight, pepper spray etc.I'd still like some names, if anyone comes across any. My thinking on the ex-cop was that if he did anything to her with the baton and knew she would eventually be found, it would seem smart to say he saw her with someone he knew others would remember on the trail, such as a drifter he's seen before.Also, why is he "ex"?...Retired, fired, pursueing a more profitable career?Susan
 
ThoughtFox said:
Union County is in the mountains and it has been freezing the past few days - I mean bitter cold and wind.

All the big animals are in hibernation. Snakes and Bears would not be out and about this time of year, which usually makes this a good time to go hiking. Except that most people wouldn't go out when snow is forecast in the mountains and the temperature is dropping.

Someone might have a baton to fight off dogs or wild boars, and then there are foxes and bobcats which are much smaller. Otherwise, there is no real reason to arm yourself in that area.

That wasn't just any trail either, but the Appalachian Trail. That is a very rugged part of the Trail, with ridges that go up and down, and those valleys would get dark early and very cold. It's wild there.

However this article says she was from Colorado, which is probably why she wasn't afraid to hike there. Going there alone was probably not a good idea, though, because it is remote, and the trails are empty this time of year.

This isn't just a walking trail, but wilderness, so I'm not surprised she let the dog off the leash. Perhaps she had one of those harnesses with an attached collar, and that's what they might be talking about. I doubt the actual collar was found, unless that dog is like mine and tries to slip out of the collar if you grab hold of it? (Sorry - I see some of the rest of you already posted that idea!)
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Thoughtfox -


Thanks for the headsup about the area - puts things a bit more into perspective now that I can sort of imagine the type of trails/areas this is in. I was thinking it was more along the lines of groomed trails but "in the wilderness" if that makes sense?
 
The kind of collar/leash would indicate if it could have even come off in a struggle or not. I've seen alot of people use break-away collars on active dogs.

I don't know what kind of wildlife is in that area at all. Out west the biggest threat at this time of year is mountain lions. But they usually leave an obvious trail. So I'm pretty sure authorities have ruled that out by now.

This whole case is creepy and doesn't look good, IMO.
 
concernedperson said:
Susan, I understand what you are saying and it could still be a possibility but the wsb article above said that "Hikers" saw her talking to this older man. Meaning more than one person. Also, the person who found the baton etc. turned it in to the Visitor Center. As the story gets updated a few more things become apparent than the first story.
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In one article I posted it stated that the WORKERS at the VISITOR center saw this man talking w/her I believe..I will go get it..but there are several reporting and reporting differently:

According to workers at the Visitors Center, someone saw Emerson coming down the mountain, trailed by someone with a police baton.

WXIA reports a hiker turned in a dog leash, two water bottles and a police baton to the Visitors Center. Emerson's car was also found. According to WXIA, the significance of the findings was not realized until later; authorities do not know the identity of the hiker who turned in the belongings but they would like to speak to him because he may have seen something.

According to WXIA, despite the finding of the police baton, the Union County Sheriff's Department is considering this a missing person search, not a criminal investigation.

http://www.9news.com/news/local/arti...?storyid=83799
 
Im confused - the (ex)cop (sideline why is he an ex? retirement? fired? quit? etc?)

Did he turn in the stuff before she "went missing" and then came back around when it was reported she was? Or was the stuff turned in AFTER she was reported missing?

Sorry if I appear "not with it" but something is really bugging me here, and I can't quite put my finger on it yet. Just that "feeling" anyone else?
 
TGIRecovered said:
SuziQ wrote:Two things come to mind. They were attacked by an animal and she let her dog off the leash and bacame prey herself as well. Or her dog went into water because she let him off the leash and got into trouble going after the dog.----------------------------------------------------------------Those sound like good possibilities to me, but it still seems like a strange coincidence about the baton and sunglasses near her car. A baton and sunglasses are two things that could make a person appear to be a cop, and why were they near her car?I need to learn a few things before I go hiking with my dog. I would have probably let her off the leash because she enjoyes running so much. I can see now that it would not be a good idea!
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And they are MALE sunglasses. Not for a lady.
 
JinxieJada said:
Im confused - the (ex)cop (sideline why is he an ex? retirement? fired? quit? etc?)

Did he turn in the stuff before she "went missing" and then came back around when it was reported she was? Or was the stuff turned in AFTER she was reported missing?

Sorry if I appear "not with it" but something is really bugging me here, and I can't quite put my finger on it yet. Just that "feeling" anyone else?
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I want to know more about this witness.
 
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