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Hunter Finds Murderer Gary Hilton's Campground

Posted: 9:55 am EDT September 17, 2009Updated: 3:33 pm EDT September 17, 2009

A hunter accidentally found camping supplies, clothes and books belonging to convicted killer Gary Michael Hilton in the Chattahoochee National Forest, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

It happened last Friday at a concealed campsite and the hunter thought the supplies were illegally dumped or stolen.

Fannin County Sheriff's Sgt. Justin Turner said it's an area Hilton frequented.

Hilton is serving life in prison for the January 2008 murder of Buford hiker Meredith Emerson, 24. Emerson was reported missing on New Year's Day 2008 when she failed to return from a hiking trip. Her body was found a week later.

Hilton is also awaiting trial in the decapitation of hiker Cheryl Dunlap, of Tallahassee, Fla. Dunlap's body was found Dec. 19, 2007 in the Apalachicola National Forest, southwest of Tallahassee.


SLIDESHOW: Hilton's Suspected Victims

Hilton also is suspected in the slayings of an elderly North Carolina couple -- Irene Bryant, 84, and her husband, John Bryant, 80. Officials said the Bryants disappeared while hiking in the Pisgah National Forest near Asheville. Irene Bryant had been beaten to death. John Bryant's skeletal remains were found in Feb. 2008.

The GBI turned over the items to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Officials have contacted the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation and are investigating whether items can be tied to the Bryants' killings.

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