CLEVELAND, Ga. -- Authorities began searching in two states Thursday for an 80-year-old hiker presumed dead in an attack that killed his wife and has been linked to another slaying in Georgia.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said local, state and federal officials will search parts of northeast Georgia and eastern Tennessee for John Bryant Thursday and Friday.

The North Carolina man and his wife, 84-year-old Irene Bryant, disappeared in October after setting out for a hike in western North Carolina. Irene Bryant was found dead from multiple blows to the head. The Bryants' ATM card was used in Ducktown, Tenn., shortly after their disappearance.

North Carolina authorities have said there is a "positive link" between her death and Gary Michael Hilton, who has been charged in the beating death and decapitation of 24-year-old Meredith Emerson. Investigators have not provided specifics.

Police found the Emerson body Georgia state forest with Hilton's help, almost a week after she disappeared while hiking on New Year's Day. Authorities also are looking at whether the 61-year-old Hilton was involved in two murders in Florida.

Bankhead said that if anyone recalls seeing Hilton, or his white van, in Towns County in late October, they should contact the GBI's Cleveland Office at 706-348-4866 or 888-233-5680.