The drifter accused by authorities of kidnapping the 24-year-old missing hiker has led the investigators to her corpse Monday. The dead body was found in the mountains of northern Georgia.

The kidnapper was identified as Gary Michael Hilton, 61. He showed the investigators were he had left the body of young Meredith Emerson, according to agent John Cagle, with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Field Division.

Meredith’s body was located in the forest, a 24,000-acre tract north of Dawsonville and east of Dahlonega on Ga. 52 that contains Amicalola Falls State Park.

Some locals told the investigators that they have seen Hilton's car (a 2001 Chevrolet Astro van) in the Dawson Forest Management Area, an area located miles from where Meredith was last seen. Investigators were planning to start searching for the missing girl there, but in the mean time Hilton decided to inform authorities about his deed and tell them were Meredith’s body can be found.

Hilton was well known by the locals, who said he could be seen very often with his dog, Dandy, and police-style baton, according to Union County Sheriff Scott Stephens.

The first charge that Hilton faces is kidnapping with intent of bodily injury, but several more charges could be brought against him, Enotah Judicial District Attorney Stan Gunter said.

During the short appearance (about 11 minutes) before Union County Magistrate Judge Johnie M. Garmon, Hilton’s attorney, Neil Smith, chose not to intervene for his client. Smith is a public defender assigned to the case early, who attempted and succeeded in convincing Hilton to cooperate in the search of the missing young lady.

Authorities investigating the crime are also examining whether the death and the disappearance of two other hikers in October in North Carolina has anything to do with the Georgia case. The two hikers who went missing in North Carolina are John and Irene Bryant, both in their 80s. Irene’s body was found in November, while her husband’s corpse is still missing.