BLAIRSVILLE, Ga., Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Police in Georgia are looking for a man described as a "person of interest" in the disappearance of a 24-year-old female hiker last seen New Year's Day.
Meredith Emerson, originally from Colorado, was hiking the Freeman Trail on Blood Mountain -- part of the Appalachian Trail -- with her dog, and was reported missing Wednesday, CNN reported.
Union County Sheriff's investigator Kimberly Verdone said the man was seen talking to Emerson several times on the trail. The man was described as a white male between 50 and 60 years old, weighing about 160 pounds, and having "bad dental," she said.
"One of the eyewitnesses described him as being weathered and no teeth and looked as if he had been hiking for quite some time," Verdone said.
Police and volunteers traversed the cold mountains for a second day Thursday to search for Emerson and a Georgia State Police helicopter also was flying over the area, Verdone said.
Verdone said a person easily could become lost on the trails, particularly when they're snow-covered, ABC News reported.
"It's a very difficult trail especially when it's covered with snow," she said.
