ATLANTA -- Friends and family members of 24-year-old Meredith Emerson attended a memorial service for her today in Athens.

Friends set up the service at 2 p.m. at Central Presbyterian Church to honor Emerson -- a University of Georgia graduate and an avid hiker.

ON THE NET: Central Presbyterian Church

"We're just absolutely devastated for them. It's every parent's worst nightmare. Such a wonderful, loving family. We're just absolutely devastated," said Suzanne Trexler.

Besides the family friends like Mark and Suzanne Trexler, besides the family members themselves, there were strangers. Lots of strangers who felt moved to drive to Athens and grieve for Meredith Emerson.

Joe Plymel is a hiker from McDonough who drove up hours early. "She'll be with me, certainly on every visit to Blood Mountain, if not every hiking trip I take from now on," said Plymel.

Central Presbyterian Church of Athens is the church where Emerson worked in the nursery for three years as a college student at the University of Georgia. Sarah Martinez and Afton Seybold worked with her and the children.

"The kids would run straight in there to her, give her a hug and play with her. She was really great with them," said Martinez.

Three friends and a cousin spoke to the overflow crowd. One said true beauty like hers can never be gone from the lives she touched. Another said a light as bright as Meredith does not burn out. Another thanked Meredith for being her angel, and as she looked at the gathered mourners said, 'I can find peace today knowing Meredith was so very loved.'

Her parents are also planning a smaller service in Colorado.

Gary Michael Hilton is charged with the murder of Emerson, who authorities say was bludgeoned to death three days after she disappeared during a New Year's Day hike.

Florida authorities say the 61-year-old Hilton also is a prime suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found last month in a national forest there.

Attention has been turned to other unsolved killings in the Appalachian mountain region and other parts of north Georgia, as well as Florida.

Emerson's Parents Will Adopt Her Dog

The parents of 24-year-old hiker Meredith Emerson will adopt her dog Ella and take her back to their home in Longmont, Colorado.

The black Labrador retriever mix was with Emerson when she disappeared while hiking at Vogel State Park in north Georgia on New Year's Day. Authorities charged 61-year-old Gary Michael Hilton with murder in the woman's death after he led them to her body Monday night in a wooded area of Dawson County.

Emerson family spokeswoman Peggy Bailey said during a telephone interview yesterday it was an easy decision for Emerson's parents, Dave and Susan Emerson, to decide to adopt the dog. In Bailey's words the dog is, "a part of Meredith that they'll always have."

The dog was found last Friday wandering around a Kroger parking lot in Cumming. Bailey says she spent a few days being checked out by a veterinarian.

The future of Hilton's dog, Dandy, a reddish Irish Setter, is less certain. He was taken into custody the same day that Ella was found. DeKalb County police officers found the dog with Hilton at a gas station.

Police spokeswoman Mekka Parish says the dog has been staying at a DeKalb County animal shelter in a separate area from the other animals because the dog is considered to be evidence. She says the dog is not eligible to be adopted while the case is being investigated.

Former Employer Set Trap

A former employer of the suspect said Thursday he helped set a trap that may have led to the capture of Gary Michael Hilton.

Hilton called his former boss from a Huddle House in north Georgia just hours before authorities arrived at the building.

John Tabor, who owns a siding company, said Hilton used the restaurant's phone to call him on January 3, shortly before authorities asked employees and customers at the restaurant whether Hilton had been there.

Tabor said that he had already tipped off authorities that he thought Hilton might be Meredith Emerson's kidnapper. When Hilton called, he said he helped set up a trap.

He Hilton told him he was ready to come back to work and needed some money to get started. Tabor told him he would leave him a check at the office on Clairmont Road in DeKalb County that he could retrieve the following day.

He said that was the last time he had talked to Hilton, who may have been on his way to the office the next day when he was arrested at a service station cleaning out his van.

The GBI would not comment on the conversation between Hilton and Tabor.