Could Masked Man be Gary Hilton?

Investigators in Tallahassee say the similarities between the murder of a Florida nurse and the killing of a University of Georgia graduate are striking.

Like 24-year-old Meredith Emerson, Cheryl Hodges Dunlap, 46, was abducted and her body found in a remote area. Dunlap was last seen at her Florida home December 1 and her body was eventually discovered December 19 in the Apalachicola National Forest southwest of Tallahassee.

Emerson, of Buford, Ga., was last seen January 1 and her remains were found in the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area January 4. An autopsy report said Emerson was decapitated after her death, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

In the Dunlap case, authorities would not say whether her body was also dismembered. "There's evidence to indicate that this perpetrator made efforts to delay our ability to identity Ms. Dunlap," is all Maj. Mike Wood of the Leon County Sheriff's Office would say after her body was found.

Florida investigators also say credit and debit cards from both women were used after their abductions.

"Because of that, we are now making Mr. Gary Hilton our main suspect," Maj. Wood announced Wednesday.

Dunlap's ATM card was used at the same machine for three days after she disappeared -- Dec. 2, 3 and 4. Investigators conducted surveillance of the ATM for one week, but after the third transaction the man didn't return.

The thin man who used Dunlap's card was fully covered in a long-sleeve shirt, gloves and some type of mask, Wood said. He also wore a knit cap and goggles every time.

Leon County investigators say they can prove Gary Hilton was in the area when Dunlap was abducted and murdered. A long list of witnesses, including a forest ranger, report seeing Hilton and his white van in Leon County in early December.

Maj. Wood says Florida crime scene technicians will meet with the GBI to compare evidence in the two murders.