I have to plead ignorance in this field. I have no working knowledge of indian artifacts and their trade outside arrowheads some friends go on digs for. I wonder if a specialist in the field, somebody that has been around the southeast studying them would have an idea how they were being "acquired" over the past 30 years. Such as, what part did flea markets play in the sale of stolen items? Rem flea markets up until the past 15-20 years were different from a lot of what we see today. Now, at least around here, it's a lot of import junk bought at wholesale auctions and then assorted junk. Gone are the days of real finds. In this town, the market on Mondays was the hottest place to be, where pocket knives were traded/sold among everything else from dogs to antiques to produce. What I am getting at, is could there be a person familiar enough with the region to know if old smack Mack was hawking Indian finds? Does he strike us as the type to even pay $10/table to get into a sale? Or would he sell out of his van after making some contact.

Well pals you can see my mind is going in all sorts of directions. Sorry for any confusion - just trying to get to the bottom of how these artifacts (and exactly what they would be) would have been "marketed". And if he was moving enough of them, you would think a historian might know something.

Also Tally slue - right on about his knowledge of rocks, etc. I don't think my genius son the eagle scout hiker could speak with the clarity mack does about geology as well as geography - the way he "orienteers" - it's never go past the barn and when you see the chicken turn right, it's go 200 yards SE of Route 123 and then N for 20 feet and look to the west. Something like that - very precise. How would you get this mind set going? You have to be very familar with the map, for one thing, and direction, for another. We are not talking GPS system, just what he could rattle off in the back seat of the cop's car. It's almost a specialized form of knowledge but I can't put a name to it right off.

Apparently tomb raiding is all the rage, especially with meth users. Many looters do extensive research in libraries and archives to find unexcavated historical sites where digging might be fruitful. (I wonder if they've shown Hilton's picture to the people working at the Museum of Florida History in downtown Tallahassee. The map room would have been like paradise to him).

There are three types, Kanaski said: Solo diggers collecting for themselves, history buffs involved in larger trading networks and those involved in criminal networks, who may cash in artifacts for drug money. "There's a whole subculture that does this almost professionally, crazed collectors and criminals," Kanaski said. Of the latter group, many are methamphetamine users, Louke said. He has trained about 100 federal law enforcement officers this year through the Archaeological Resources Training Program based in Brunswick. "I can't tell you how many calls I've gotten from sheriff's departments asking why they find what they call 'Indian rocks' when they bust meth labs," he said.

Those diggers take all the risk and sell the artifacts to broker middlemen for a fraction of their worth, Kanaski said. The middlemen reap most of the profits by selling to collectors for top dollar. Louke said illegal trafficking in artifacts amounts to a $5 billion to $6 billion business, on par with international trafficking in munitions[b].[/b]

http://www.macon.com/198/story/455821.html

TazeB- are you thinking of something in the autism spectrum? The autism spectrum, also called autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or autism spectrum conditions (ASC), with the word autistic sometimes replacing autism, is a spectrum of psychological conditions characterized by widespread abnormalities of social interactions and communication, as well as severely restricted interests and highly repetitive behavior.

Tally Slue Wow. The whole doing research at the Library just sets bells off for me. Again, I am really removed from this practice so thanks for that info. Esp the meth connection cause I swear he is a tweaker. Wish we could get some of those feds that had training to talk. Who is buying this stuff? Dan Halen? (squidbilly reference). What if he was out in the woods with those maps looking for a "treasure" - and I highly doubt it had anything to do with Hilton pretending to be Joshua from the Bible or something.

Wonder if Tabor has any "collections"?

Taze - I see we are on the same wavelength. I also wonder about any "collections" of Tabor or any of his former business partners, like that guy in Miami, Ruxton F. Schuh (I've got to look that name up, if you know what I mean).

I never felt there was any creedence to a posters belief that Hilton was emulating the Joshua traits, etc., BUT the word ceremonial mask made my mind go into high gear when I started thinking about $$$ angles. I had also run across a very strange article about a missing mentally challenged Florida man (he wandered away from a group home) who was discovered several years later living as a John Doe with amnesia at a Florida nursing home in another city. He was found with ID on his person that was of a man living in Pennsylvania.

I didn't realize what a big business stealing artifacts was until very recently. I bet those map skills come in real handy!

This is an interesting thought...artifacts being stolen... I really feel that GMH had to have some kind of "Reason" to travel from North Georgia, down to Tallahassee Florida. Gas was just beginning to go up..He did not come down here just to Abduct, Rob & Kill Cheryl Dunlap! Though he did use her money!

1. Why did he come here? (Artifacts, drugs, money laundering etc!)
2. Did he actually follow Cheryl & learn her habits? (It would have been easy, her neighborhood adjoins the Apalachicola National Forest.)
3. Did he cross paths with her at a small store such as Glenda's on 319 South or even WalMart parking lot? (just seeing a friendly old man & his yellow dog off & on for several days/weeks)
4. What did he do to get her to trust him? (The Cheryl I knew would not allow herself to be taken from a public place without a fight!)
5. How did he do it without help? (Jimmy Beale or some man in Tally or brought down from North Georgia, North or South Carolina)
6. Was she gagged, tired up and left alone in the deep part of the Forest? (I have been in those woods & it would be possible!)

Guess I'd better get to bed..It's bad when you Ask & then Answer your own Questions!!

Have you noticed that the story that is (was) slowly being revealed about the person that has been identified as Gary Michael Hilton, DOB 11-22-46, could easily be entitled "A Tale of Two Hiltons"?

There are discrepancies on his family background, name of his first wife (was it Ursula from Germany or Sue from Atlanta), dates of marriages/divorces, his job history, and places of residence.

The one that just screams at me is his "job" history with Tabor from 1997 - 2007. Tabor and Hilton both say Hilton was living at IWS (he had a small room or he was sleeping in the storage room of his employers place of business at 4169 Clairmont Road in Atlanta, GA). Yet there are accounts of Hilton being a squatter. Hilton had been seen regularly in GA, Fl, and NC over many years.

On Nov. 13, 2006, U.S. Forest Service
Ranger Jimmy Allen wrote the ticket for abandoned property, which was
mailed to the only address authorities had on record, Hilton's work
place.
When Hilton, who authorities say lived mostly out of his
cars, did not answer the citation, Cole signed a bench warrant for
failure to appear in court on Feb. 8, 2007.
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/archive/2823/
*************************************************************
"This guy’s been on our radar since March," said Winton Porter,
owner of Mountain Crossings at Walasi-Yi, a hiking gear store located
on U.S. 129 east of Blood Mountain, very close to the parking lot where
Emerson left her car on Jan. 1. Porter said Hilton, who was apparently homeless,
spent months migrating up and down the Appalachian Trail. "He
was squatting at the Gooch Gap shelter," Porter said. "He knew that
according to Forest Service rules, he could stay at a shelter for two
weeks, leave for a day, then stay another two weeks. He had (stuff)
scattered all over the shelter. He took over the place and wouldn’t let
anyone else stay there. We also had reports of him at Slaughter Gap
shelter a couple weeks ago." That was why investigators were
able to quickly identify Hilton as a "person of interest" in the case.
Most Forest Service rangers in the area had encountered Hilton before,
in response to complaints.http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/archive/2551/
***************************************************************
Hilton had no fixed address and lived most recently in a white van
that roamed north Georgia. A few details about the man are emerging
from court hearings, government records and park visitors who saw him
regularly.

According to records, Hilton was married -- and divorced -- twice between
1977 and 1979. The AP was not able to reach either of the ex-wives for
comment. Court documents also show he has a criminal record that includes
drug and theft charges and spans the metropolitan Atlanta area.

Around 1997 he answered a help wanted ad for Insulated Wall Systems, said Tabor,
the company's owner. For the next 10 years Hilton worked "on and off" to help the
siding company market its services. "He didn't have any contact with customers,"
added Tabor. "He kind of worked by himself."

His last listed address was a midtown Atlanta apartment building in 1999.
Since then, he appears to have drifted from place to place.

http://cbs4denver.com/crime/hilton.emerson.georgia.2.627617.html
****************************************************************

This last section is just my opinion. I hope LE will seriously look at GMH
in the 1999 unsolved murder of Melissa Dawn Wolfenbarger. This case
captured my attention in early January.

http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200301505W

Yes, I know a lot of the Forest very well. My first husband was a big hunter. We used to set up a small camper at a location called "Porter Lake/Three Bridges" (1965 till 1982). This was on Forest Road #13. It actually began in Crawfordville (near Cheryl' house) and crossed Hwy 375 ( Hwy375 runs from Hwy 20 along the East side of the Ochlockonee River and ends is Sopchoppy, FL). FR #13 continues on across Hwy 67 (Hwy 67 begins off Hwy 20 and runs on the west side of the same river and ends in Carrabelle, FL). This is very near to the location of Jimmy Beals RV death! There are many small, easy to travel roads that are in the middle of know where off each of these roads. I have walked & ridden so deep in those woods that you could not hear a sound! We discussed on the other forums that we were having a very mild winter from Dec. 1(Cheryl's dissapearence) until Dec 15(her Body found by hunters). He could have very welll kept Cheryl somewhere in the middle of that forest & know one would have seen or heard her!

In the 3 hr interview he talks about driving past her car daily to see if it has been ticketed or moved...thus the 3 different day visits to the Handcock Bank ATM (Hwy 90 West in Tallahassee!)

All of these locations are visable on Google Earth & my AAA Road Atlas/map!

Do you have more info on Delissa Dawn Waolenbarger..this is the first I've heard of her!

MustangSally since I last wrote about Melissa Dawn Wolfenbarger my five year old computer bit the dust while searching for additional information to post for you. I see that GeorgiaPeach placed some information on Melissa in her journal. See http://journals.aol.com/rmckin2146/construction-lawsuit/

I also saw an interview with her mother awhile back. Melissa's father is also a convicted murderer, but he is no longer a suspect in Melissa's murder. I wonder if he crossed paths with GMH?

I haven't ventured too far into the Apalachicola National Forest. Have the Rainbow People or other squatters taken over parts of this Florida national forest?