Now that a man named as a person of interest in the disappearance of a Buford woman has been located, Forsyth County sheriff's officials are hoping to find surveillance video footage of him at a Cumming shopping center where the woman's dog was found abandoned Friday.

Forsyth County Sheriff's Lt. Col. Gene Moss confirmed that some personal effects were recovered from a trash bin of a QuikTrip convenience store near the Kroger on Ga. 20. Authorities are still trying to determine whether those items belonged to 24-year-old Meredith Emerson.

Authorities said Emerson has not been seen since midday Tuesday, when she and her black Labrador, Ella, set off on a trail just south of Vogel State Park near Blairsville. Emerson was apparently last seen on the Freeman Trail, a rocky, 1.9-mile spur that connects two sections of the Appalachian Trail south of Blood Mountain.

Her Chevy Cavalier was discovered at the trailhead early Wednesday morning. Police confirmed that a water bottle and dog leash found near the hiking trail belonged to Emerson.

Emerson's black Labrador was found in the shopping center parking lot Friday afternoon by a passerby, Moss said. The dog was taken to a veterinarian's office, where an identification chip confirmed it belonged to Emerson, Moss said.

Investigators are now viewing surveillance camera video from the shopping center in hopes of finding evidence that 61-year-old Gary Michael Hilton was there. Linking Hilton or his white van to the abandoned dog would be a key in the ongoing investigation, authorities say. Emerson was last seen talking to him on New Year's Day in the Blood Mountain area of Union County.

Hilton was taken into custody at a DeKalb County convenience store Friday afternoon and was taken to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Decatur headquarters, where he was being questioned. Emerson was not found with him.

Verdone said investigators want to know when Hilton last saw Emerson and what they talked about. John Cagle, special agent in charge with the GBI's Field Division, declined to specify how investigators learned Hilton's name and other details about him.

Union County investigator Kimberly Verdone said 15 professional search and rescue teams searched for Emerson throughout the day Friday as volunteers traveled across north Georgia and parts of North Carolina to post fliers of with pictures of her and her dog, which friends said was with her when she disappeared.

Emerson grew up in Longmont, Colo., and was an experienced hiker and athlete, well acquainted with wintry weather. She moved to Georgia to attend the University of Georgia, where she graduated in 2005 with a degree in French. She works as an account manager at Progress Container & Display in Winder.

Hall County fire officials are among those helping in the search for Emerson. Fire Chief David Kimbrell, who is the emergency management director for Hall County, is assisting with logistics at a command center in Union County, Capt. Scott Cagle said. Battalion Chief Milton Keller, who is a volunteer with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' search and rescue team, is aiding in their efforts around Blood Mountain.

Searchers have had to work in rugged, hilly terrain that rises from 3,000 to 4,500 feet above sea level and still has remnants of snow that fell Tuesday evening. Temperatures have ranged from the mid-20s to the mid-40s.

Emerson's roommate, Julia Karrenbauer of Buford, said as many as 100 friends and relatives have come to the park to aid in the search. Emerson's father, Dave Emerson of Longmont, Colo., headed to the mountain trails Friday with investigators and rescue workers to help look for his daughter.

"They're frightened, scared and we're all very hopeful," Karrenbauer said of Emerson's parents. "We're all trying to stay really positive here. It's been a really long three days."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.