Meredith Emerson was last seen hiking with her dog on Blood Mountain in Georgia on New Year's Day.Person of interest in missing hiker case in custody
BLAIRSVILLE, Georgia (CNN) -- The man last seen with missing hiker Meredith Emerson in the north Georgia mountains is in custody and is being questioned by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, authorities announced Friday evening.
Gary Michael Hilton, 61, was detained after a police officer spotted his van at a convenience store in suburban Atlanta.
Investigators also have another piece of the puzzle: Emerson's black Labrador retriever, Ella.
The dog walked into a grocery store about 30 miles north of Atlanta hours before Hilton was spotted Friday.
The animal was positively identified through an implanted microchip.
Watch how the dog was discovered »
Emerson's roommate, Julia Karrenbauer, said she's encouraged that Hilton has been found and still hopeful "that [Emerson] walks right into that same damn Kroger that her dog did."
The search for Emerson will continue Saturday morning, said Union County sheriff's investigator Kimberly Verdone.
Earlier Friday, a Georgia State Police helicopter and search dogs joined in the effort to find 24-year-old Emerson, which now spans 400 square miles.
She was last seen hiking along the Freeman Trail on Blood Mountain on New Year's Day.
Witnesses saw Hilton and his reddish dog with Emerson on "multiple occasions" Tuesday before she disappeared, Verdone said.
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