From 11Alive:
The right to hike — it’s the mission friends of slain hiker Meredith Emerson have undertaken. Emerson’s friends have founded a non-profit organization called Right To Hike that will give hikers a device that could mean the difference between life and death.
“We want to make sure that this doesn’t happen to anyone again — for her to go through what she went thru, for her family her friends,” said Julia Karrenbauer, Emerson’s roommate.
It’s been over five months since Emerson was abducted and murdered.
Out for a New Year’s Day hike with her dog when Gary Hilton overpowered her, Emerson managed to stay alive for three days, with authorities coming close to finding her — but not in time.
“It’s basically a mobile alarm system you would have in your house,” Karrenbauer said.
Twenty-four-year-old Meredith Emerson went hiking with her dog New Year’s Day on Blood Mountain. Confessed killer Gary Michael Hilton struck up a conversation with her about their dogs. He told investigators his only motive that day was to target someone, anyone, for their credit cards and pin numbers.
Emerson put up a valiant fight against Hilton, but in the end he won. Hilton said he raped Emerson the first night and over the course of three days, kept her tied up, chained to trees or in his van and at night they camped out. The day Hilton killed Emerson, he told her he was going to release her, but instead bludgeoned her with a tire iron.
In celebrating the life of Meredith Hope Emerson, friends and family have founded Right to Hike, Inc., a non-profit organization that plans to support causes that were close to Meredith’s heart, including hiking safety. Funds will be donated to provide hikers and outposts with GPS transmitting devices that will allow hikers to send signals to emergency personnel when in distress.
OK, I have not only no problem with their efforts, but I soundly applaud them. Meredith Emerson was a young lady with a love for life. She deserved much better than to be repeatedly raped over three days and then to die by being beaten to death with a tire iron.
But I have grave opposition to their efforts in providing these GPS transmitting devices in any hopes that they will save the life of someone, like Meredith, that is attacked by a Predator. I know the devices they are talking about; they’re the SPOT GPS Satellite Messenger Service (subscription activation required). “SPOT is the only device of its kind that uses the GPS satellite network to acquire its coordinates then notify local emergency personnel of your location (subscription activation required).”
But what happens if you’re five miles from the nearest trailhead when a predator like Hilton comes upon you? What happens if the nearest park ranger is 10 miles away? What happens when the nearest law enforcement officer is in town 20 miles away? What happens when you’re in a place where no one can hear your screams? Do you really intend to pull out that GPS thingie and send a message 100 miles back home that you’re about to die? After all, if they’re really that good in saving lives why aren’t they issued instead of rifles to the troops in Iraq?
Or do you pull out your handgun and go Mozambique on his sorry carcass, and THEN call home with SPOT?
The continuing tragedy here is that many will dutifully obtain their SPOT GPS Satellite Messenger toys and head out on the trail, safe and secure in their false assumption, furthered by Emerson’s well-meaning but misguided friends, that their battery-operated thingie will somehow protect them. And more innocent people will needlessly die.
People, you have to understand and take to heart Shamalama’s Axiom: It is vitally important that all potential Victims be as dangerous as they can be to all potential Predators in order for the Victims to survive another day. If this is not the case then only the Predators will survive another day.
Meredith Emerson, Right To Hike
