ATLANTA -- 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.

Memorial Service Today For Meredith Emerson

Hundreds of friends and family members of 24-year-old Meredith Emerson are expected to show up Friday afternoon at a memorial service in her honor.

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

ON THE NET: Central Presbyterian Church

Emerson's godparents are members of Central Presbyterian.

Reverand Bob Bohler said they're preparing for a large crowd because so many people loved Meredith. "One of the things we'll do is remember Meredith. We'll talk about things in her we remember that were wonderful and cherished by so many people," said Bohler.

An announcement is posted on the church's web site.

"We invite the congregation, community, and friends to a service of prayer for Meredith Emerson, missing hiker, this evening Friday, January 4 at 5pm in our Central Sanctuary. Meredith is the goddaughter of church members Doug & Peggy Bailey. She worked for several years in Central's nursery while a student at UGA. We will ask for prayers for Meredith, her family, and the search teams as they continue their intensive efforts at Vogel State Park," it said at www.athenscentralpres.org.

Bohler said Emerson will be cremated. 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.

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.