Woman Locks Keys In SUV; Dies Of Hypothermia

MACON COUNTY, N.C. -- Authorities said an Alabama woman whose body was found outside her locked SUV in a parking near a hiking trail died of hypothermia after being unable to reach her keys inside.

The body of Sandra Ordner, 47, of Daphne, Alabama was found on Jan. 31 hours after she had phoned home to tell her husband she was going hiking.

Sheriff Robert Holland of Macon County, North Carolina told the Press-Register in Mobile that it had been cold and raining in the hours before Ordner's body was found in the parking lot of the Whiteside Mountain Trail.

A funeral for the Atlanta native was held Wednesday in Norcross, Georgia.

Second Macon County Tragedy In Recent Weeks

Macon County was also the location where the skeletal remains of missing hiker John Bryant, 80, were found a week ago. The cause of his death has not yet been released.

John and Irene Bryant disappeared while hiking in the Pisgah National Forest in October. Irene Bryant's body was found in the forest in November after an extensive search. The location where John Bryants' remains were found was about a two-hour drive from that location.

Irene Bryant may have tried to fight off her killer. According to the autopsy report, she died from multiple blows to her head but also suffered a broken left hand and forearm.

Investigators said they believe that Gary Hilton killed the Bryants.

Hilton, a 61-year-old drifter, has admitted killing Atlanta-area hiker Meredith Emerson, 24, and decapitating her. He pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison last week.

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