ATLANTA -- The man charged in the disappearance of hiker Meredith Emerson is now in the Union County jail.

Gary Michael Hilton, who authorities said was seen with missing hiker Meredith Emerson the day she vanished, was charged Saturday with kidnapping with bodily injury. Hilton was transported from DeKalb County to Blairsville Saturday night.

Hilton was already in custody after being served by the U.S. Marshals Service with a prior warrant for failure to appear in federal court. He was expected to appear in court Monday on that warrant, authorities said.

Police picked up Hilton at a convenience store in DeKalb County Friday night.

Meanwhile, investigators said Saturday evening that it is unlikely that Emerson is still alive.

"The search has changed from rescue to recovery, based on the evidence we've uncovered so far," Bankhead said.

Investigators opened a second area of investigation Saturday at least 40 miles from the state park where the 24-year-old woman disappeared.

Teams searching for Meredith Emerson focused on a 5-square-mile area of rugged mountain territory about 90 miles north of Atlanta in the Chattahoochee National Forest, near where her car was discovered Wednesday, said Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead.

The search had been focused on Vogel State Park, at the base of Blood Mountain in the national forest, where Emerson was last seen on New Year's Day hiking with her dog.

Also on Saturday, authorities went to Forsyth County in the Atlanta suburbs, where Emerson's black Labrador retriever named Ella was found Friday at a grocery store, Bankhead said. Authorities identified Ella using her implanted microchip, Union County investigator Kimberly Verdone said.

The searches were called off Saturday night due to darkness.