Read this - Post from another hiker- details about GMH a bit..

[Native New Yorker]

And, I must add, that there are regional differences in how people respond
...I have found that many Southerners can be too polite to intervene, as can many rural Midwesterners...not so here in the Chicago area, though....people are pretty outspoken if they see something amiss.....
though in a truly big city area, people can " mind their own business" out of fear....

 

[Alex]

Dear Folks, Am I correct in assuming that the purpose of the vB code is to discourage us from clogging up the forum with too much "cut and paste"? Or is it just something about my browser that won't co-operate when I try to put in text of url's. Finessing url's is not my strong suit. I wanted to share these two websites with their Pink Beds photos where those two sweet folks, the Bryants, were lost. Such a beautiful place! If these url's don't work, I'll try again.

http://www.hikewnc.info/trailheads/pisgah/pisgah/guidedhikes/pinkbeds.html

http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/PinkBedsLoop_0000.asp

Maps here say you get off the BRP at marker 41.2 and take US276 four miles south. I'm taking this layout to mean that Hilton was stalking trailheads up and down the BRP. Just trolling. First one place, then if no prey, on to the next.

I picture him "camped out" on one of the picnic tables at the trailhead. The Bryants pull up and park, start off up the trail and he simply waits a minute or two and starts out after them.

However, there is another parking area which looks to be on a dirt road beyond where the loop starts back which is nevertheless connected to the far end of the loop by a single footpath. That other area would have to be ruled out as a place for his van to be parked, waiting. It would be more trouble to set up his trap that way but it would have one distinct advantage. After murdering Irene he could avoid having to walk back with John on a trail up which a newly arrived hiker could be moving...assuming the parking area on the dirt road were the one less likely to be used.

 

[Alex]

gardenmom and Native New Yorker, you've got my idea exactly. Some commentators have seen Meredith as too sweet and polite to make a scene, but I don't get that impression. I think she was just gritting her teeth, counting on her martial arts, and trying to suffer through it. But I do not believe for a minute that she would try to hide her distress. That's not the way her roommate described her in one TV interview I saw. She said Meredith would have no trouble at all letting you know if she saw something she didn't like.

 

[eachandevery]

I am just so, so disturbed by this case. I know that if I had come across this "kind, old man" with a dog, I would think nothing of it and happily strike up a conversation, walking along with him. As a dog owner, I just - wrongfully - assume that anyone who has a dog is a decent person. I would have totally fallen for his act. The case has really opened my naive eyes. Poor, poor Meredith, and all of the other victims (and I'm sure there are plenty). I hope he gets exactly what he deserves.

 

[ThoughtFox]

I am just so, so disturbed by this case. I know that if I had come across this "kind, old man" with a dog, I would think nothing of it and happily strike up a conversation, walking along with him. As a dog owner, I just - wrongfully - assume that anyone who has a dog is a decent person. I would have totally fallen for his act. The case has really opened my naive eyes. Poor, poor Meredith, and all of the other victims (and I'm sure there are plenty). I hope he gets exactly what he deserves.

From the beginning it's been apparant to me me that this guy liked dogs better than people. He let Meredith's dog run free in a store parking lot where it would be found and adopted, but slashed her throat and decapitated another human being. That just tells us everything we need to know about his priorities. :furious:

 

[Native New Yorker]

Two things:

I think that Meredith did grow uncomfortable with GMH, but could not leave, because she did not have her dog....
Ella was running with his dog, so she was stuck...until it was too late....

I also do not think that GMH liked dogs. He used his own dog as a lure, much as Bundy used a cast. I have read other accounts of other dogs that GMH had, so I just wonder how many dogs he went through in his awful reign of terror?
I think that Ella escaped ( as others have suggested) when he was dumping evidence from his van. He could not get her back, without drawing undue attention, so had to leave her. I do not for one minute think that this was an act of charity on his part.....

 

[Pure Maple Syrup]

I know the main foottraffic--at least when I've been there-- used to be on the switchbacked AT segment to the summit. The Freeman Bird Trail is a sidetrail, which, at one end, joins the AT roughly opposite the AT access trail to the Reece Loop parking area. Possibly Pure Maple Syrup could update me on this. Used to be that the Bird Trail travelled, fairly level in pitch, around the south flanks of Blood Mtn, and then rejoined the AT (not far from one of the three shelters in the area) on the southwestward side of the mountain.

I wish I could be of more help, but my experience in this area is limited to the AT itself, specifically a NOBO hike from Springer to and through most of NC last spring. I do recall the intersection of Meredith's trail to the AT, I stopped to have a snack there on way my down Blood Mtn. She would have turned right from where I was and headed uphill to the summit.

I know from earlier reports and trail journals that she was seen at the summit of Blood Mtn, so it makes sense that she parked, took the trail from the Reece trailhead, got on the AT, went up Blood and then retraced her steps back down. Hilton apparently got her not far from the parking area as she was headed down.

That's about all I can add. I do remember Gooch shelter especially well, since I stayed there almost 24 hours waiting out a humongous thunderstorm and resting an injured knee. I don't recall a road near it, but there could have been, I suppose. It was a great shelter!

 

[Truly]

I have been reading more AT thruhikers logs this evening, and a hiker on trailjournals who is currently hiking named stumpknocker posted on Tues, Jan 11, 2008 that he discovered an abandoned tent w/sleeping bag and blanket, pots and cups, water bag frozen solid, a can of ravioli, and a bunch of handwarmers. He said, "From the looks of things, it's been there for awhile." The abandoned camp is at Locust Cove Gap in NC, near Cheoah and the Fontana dam. Made me think of the Millani missing hiker?

 

[Pure Maple Syrup]

I have been reading more AT thruhikers logs this evening, and a hiker on trailjournals who is currently hiking named stumpknocker posted on Tues, Jan 11, 2008 that he discovered an abandoned tent w/sleeping bag and blanket, pots and cups, water bag frozen solid, a can of ravioli, and a bunch of handwarmers. He said, "From the looks of things, it's been there for awhile." The abandoned camp is at Locust Cove Gap in NC, near Cheoah and the Fontana dam. Made me think of the Millani missing hiker?

Hasn't Milliani been missing about three years? I saw Stumpknocker's photos and also read the discussion of the items over on Whiteblaze. Looks like the stuff's only been there a few weeks at best. A cheap walmart tent like that wouldn't still be standing after much longer than that.

 

[gardenmom]

Alex, I am not too "tech savvy" but I do know that you have to post pictures here through a host site like photobucket. The way I do it is to save picture as to my pics and then go to photobucket and upload the pic there, then copy the url here. It's kind of complicated to explain, but it might be posted somewhere in the forum. I will try to find it for you. Unfortunately all we can do right now is post the link, because the website is experiencing some technical issues, but that is not usually the case.

 

[panglossian]

I am just so, so disturbed by this case. I know that if I had come across this "kind, old man" with a dog, I would think nothing of it and happily strike up a conversation, walking along with him. As a dog owner, I just - wrongfully - assume that anyone who has a dog is a decent person. I would have totally fallen for his act. The case has really opened my naive eyes. Poor, poor Meredith, and all of the other victims (and I'm sure there are plenty). I hope he gets exactly what he deserves.

Yeah and Hilton must have been really turning it on to appear kind and old. Not his usual demeanor from what I can tell. And not old, especially from the dash-cam where he was hopping around, more like spry. I don't know why she would have fallen for his act, but then wasn't Meredith preoccupied and upset as stated on her MySpace acct...
Does this mean women can't walk in the park if they are preoccupied?! Now there are all these qualifiers that have entered into the freedom to hike.:furious:

 

[panglossian]

Oh!! And welcome eachandevery!!!

 

[ThoughtFox]

Two things:

I think that Meredith did grow uncomfortable with GMH, but could not leave, because she did not have her dog....
Ella was running with his dog, so she was stuck...until it was too late....

I also do not think that GMH liked dogs. He used his own dog as a lure, much as Bundy used a cast. I have read other accounts of other dogs that GMH had, so I just wonder how many dogs he went through in his awful reign of terror?
I think that Ella escaped ( as others have suggested) when he was dumping evidence from his van. He could not get her back, without drawing undue attention, so had to leave her. I do not for one minute think that this was an act of charity on his part.....

You're welcome to believe that, but the dog is alive, and Meredith is not. There's no evidence this guy has ever killed a dog. So to me, this means that people can love their pets, but hate humanity in general.

 

[Native New Yorker]

Ella is alive possibly because there is no fun or power in killing animals, as they cannot beg for their lives.
Many murderers do begin with abusing animals, and then escalate to humans.

There is absolutely zero evidence that GMH liked dogs, other than the fact that he has been seen over the years with several. He was reported for "beating a black dog " in Atlanta.
It has also been written that he threatened poorly behaved dogs, on at least one occasion.
Dandy, from all accounts was perfectly behaved, and I wonder just how she was trained....
Of course, I could be wrong, and he might have been a loving dog owner, taking his dog for regular check ups, etc.
Somehow I doubt it.
Meredith's murder is so upsetting to me, on so many levels, but as a dog owner, I find it most disturbing that he seemed to use her dog/his dog to lure and distract her......

 

[Native New Yorker]

oh, I forgot to also say welcome to each and every!

Couldn't Meredith have been distracted just by the two dogs playing together (focusing on how much fun they were having), then as it dawned on her that this guy was NOT someone she wanted to be with....then it was not so easy to get Ella to come back to her....she might have been having fun with Dandy....

For those who are not dog owners, imagine taking your toddler to a playground, where she starts playing with another cute child....the kids are having fun, but then it dawns on you that the child is with a very creepy and weird acting mom...how do you easily call your child and leave quickly??? Not so easy, I am afraid. ALL of your attention would be on trying to leave, and you would not focus so much on the other adult, I would think....

 

[panglossian]

Ella is alive possibly because there is no fun or power in killing animals, as they cannot beg for their lives.
Many murderers do begin with abusing animals, and then escalate to humans.

There is absolutely zero evidence that GMH liked dogs, other than the fact that he has been seen over the years with several. He was reported for "beating a black dog " in Atlanta.
It has also been written that he threatened poorly behaved dogs, on at least one occasion.
Dandy, from all accounts was perfectly behaved, and I wonder just how she was trained....
Of course, I could be wrong, and he might have been a loving dog owner, taking his dog for regular check ups, etc.
Somehow I doubt it.
Meredith's murder is so upsetting to me, on so many levels, but as a dog owner, I find it most disturbing that he seemed to use her dog/his dog to lure and distract her......

Really, we don't know if Ella escaped from the van or if he turned her loose because she was evidence. Either way, she was loose for quite awhile on a busy road at risk of getting hit and killed. No one said they saw him chasing a lab that day to save her from that fate.

 

[Truly]

Hasn't Milliani been missing about three years? I saw Stumpknocker's photos and also read the discussion of the items over on Whiteblaze. Looks like the stuff's only been there a few weeks at best. A cheap walmart tent like that wouldn't still be standing after much longer than that.

Thanks, Pure Maple Syrup, I haven't seen the photos, or other discussions yet. What do you think of the idea that the abandoned camp might have belonged to Hilton? He's been in custody for a few weeks, and might have had a camp somewhere in addition to his vehicle. Just an idea.

 

[Tallytowngirl]

Either way, she was loose for quite awhile on a busy road at risk of getting hit and killed. No one said they saw him chasing a lab that day to save her from that fate.

My thoughts exactly. Plus, it sounds as if he's had several different dogs, and he wasn't too nice to other people's dogs. He might have had some sort of feeling for his own dog, but it doesn't sound as if he much cared for *all* dogs.

The guy on WhiteBlaze who was quoted earlier in this thread did say that the guy that might be Hilton carried tweezers for his dog... But then, Hilton might say that to everybody hiking with a dog - as an opening line or something, and that's the sort of line that would probably work on Meredith. "oh, what a nice, considerate, thoughtful old guy! To care for his dog so much..."

Thing I wonder about - He took Ella with them - that's how she got to the parking lot. She was just a baby, I know, but I wonder - does Hilton have any bite marks? (I wish, at the very least...)

 

[panglossian]

It was said that Ella was timid and was to be a therapy dog, which takes a certain personality. Maybe the fact she might not have bitten him is what gave her a longer life than Meredith.

When I was on the AP I was warned by a couple of hikers about my dog coming in contact with porcupines. Stories of dog owners carrying their dogs off the trail to a vet. When I heard tweezers, that's what came to my mind- not for burs, stones or whatever he said, so I wonder about that, too. If there are porcupines in N.Carolina/ Georgia...

 

[eachandevery]

Thanks for the warm welcome, panglossian and Native New Yorker! Having lurked - man, that sounds creepy - on these boards for so long, it's nice to have finally registered and to be able to share space with such wonderful sleuths.

I wish there were some way to force Hilton to tell them everything he's done and knows, especially the location of John Bryant's body because I can't imagine anything worse than losing a loved one and never being able to locate the body. Personally, I would need it for complete closure.

Animal lover or not, I wonder what happened to his previous dogs - if he had any, that is. It wouldn't help this case at all, but I do wonder if they simply died of old age or if he conveniently got rid of them until he found Dandy, the dog who was able to "get it right" (i.e., help him lure victims). I also wonder if the dog belongs to one of the many victims we still don't know about; I'm having a hard time seeing him put in the time to train the dog when he had so much to do.