'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAYACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABhAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABggQAAEEAgIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQhAAYFIgcRYQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABhEAAwABBAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDEQAEBkEFEhP/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AI3ZPIW4bPxE57YefmGGIC2FR4rTaA4pPtwKI6gEX2F5lVWyRX1F0uzgVkqIJQs3dqNk/cYwbx2lLvvfoxb0aQXPWVydNOSRlt9v40yQIaTqWx2Q2Br/2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Gary Hilton, dubbed the National Forest Serial Killer, followed hiking trails throughout the American South between 2007 and 2008, murdering victims while hiking through isolated regions. According to sources, he committed at least four confirmed murders in three states, all of which occurred within national forest territories.
Hilton, who was captured after the January 2008 murder of 24-year-old Meredith Emerson, was sentenced to life in prison in Georgia and North Carolina and the death penalty in Florida. He remains on death row at the Union Correctional Institution in Florida and is under suspicion for a number of other murders.
In an upcoming episode, Oxygen's Dateline: Unforgettable will further delve into the killer's life, re-examining details that might connect him to other unidentified victims. The episode, titled Mystery on Blood Mountain, airs on December 20 at 8:00 pm ET.
The synopsis states:
"Gary Hilton is a name Dennis Murphy will always remember; a hiker goes missing and authorities suspect Hilton is reenacting a slasher movie; Dennis reflects on the real-life murder spree that terrorized the American South."
National Forest Serial Killer Gary Hilton was convicted in four known homicides and stands as a suspect in multiple others
The investigation into Gary Hilton started when a University of Georgia graduate and Buford-based sales manager Meredith Emerson went missing after reportedly going on a hike on the Blood Mountain with her dog Ella on New Year's Day in 2008. The 24-year-old woman was climbing up the mountain in the Chattahoochee National Forest when she first encountered Hilton.
Multiple witnesses spotted the elderly man following her that day, and when she failed to return home, a search for her led authorities to Hilton on January 4, who was caught in the act while attempting to clean his vehicle of all evidence. Emerson's body was discovered after the killer confessed to killing her, detailing the accounts of what happened on January 1 and the three days that followed.
About Gary Hilton's early life
Gary Michael Hilton, who was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 26, 1946, reportedly had a difficult upbringing. At the age of 13, Gary shot and injured his stepfather Nilo after believing that he had kidnapped his mother. However, no criminal charges were pressed against him, as the stepfather wanted to give Gary another chance at life, and was instead sent to a mental health facility.
Hilton enlisted in the US Army as a young adult and excelled as a paratrooper. He joined the Davy Crockett Platoon and was stationed in West Germany. However, he had a schizophrenic episode in 1967, leading to his honorable release from the service, and was again sent to a mental institution. Moreover, he had been through three unsuccessful marriages by the time he met Emerson that day in 2008.
Sources state that he was once arrested for driving under the influence, unlicensed gun possession, drug possession, and 21 counts of solicitation. But news of his far more deadly and dangerous crimes surfaced only years later.
Gary Hilton murdered three individuals before he was arrested for killing Meredith Emerson in January 2008
Due to the widespread attention given to Emerson's case, officials received several tips and reports of Hilton sightings at campgrounds in Leon County, Florida. It was alleged that the burned head and hands of 46-year-old Cheryl Dunlap were found in a fire pit during a search.
Dunlap, a nurse and Sunday school teacher, was reportedly reading at the Leon Sinks geological region of Florida's Apalachicola National Forest. on December 1, 2007. Her body was discovered by hunters days later, on December 15, approximately seven miles from the site where her hands and head were recovered.
According to reports, Hilton also murdered John Bryant, 80, and his 84-year-old wife, Irene, who were out hiking on October 21, 2007, when they came upon the serial killer in North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest. On November 9, Irene was discovered dead of head trauma. Three months later, John's body was discovered in the Nantahala National Forest. Sources state that he was shot.
Where is Gary Hilton aka the National Forest Serial Killer now?
Authorities believe there are more of Hilton's victims out there. Rossana Miliani, a 28-year-old Florida resident who was last spotted in a general store in Bryson City, North Carolina, in December 2005 with an older man with gray hair, similar to that of the National Forest Serial Killer, is another alleged victim.
Gary Hilton remains on death row to date at the Union Correctional Institution in Florida for Dunlap's murder. He was sentenced to life in prison for Emerson and Bryant's murders.
Dateline: Unforgettable airs on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, at 8:00 pm ET on Oxygen.
