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Article by
Boo 11/8/07
“America’s Most Wanted” is Fox’s longest running series, being on the air for 20
years. John Walsh has had some great success stories in helping to capture
killers, finding missing persons, and bringing home children that have been
abducted from their loved ones. I have been a fan of this show for many years,
and even had some personal experience with the show when my best friend’s 9 year
old little boy went missing in 1992. Today I had the opportunity to be a part
of a conference call with John Walsh. I am so happy I did it. I was very
nervous, but it was an experience I will not forget.
The first 15 minutes or so, John talked about the next two shows coming up on
Saturday the 10th, and the 17th. On the 10th,
the show is centered in Hawaii in search of a serial killer that has already
killed three women and a man that killed a personal friend of John’s. Some
items that John personally bought his friend figure heavily in the solving of
the crime. On the 17th, John is off to Portugal to look into the
disappearance of Maddie McCann. He told of meeting with the parents and how
badly the Portugal police had botched the investigation right from the start.
Both cases are very interesting ,and I know I will be doing what I can to catch
both episodes.
After he finished telling of these cases, they opened
the call up to questions.
One caller at a time was allowed to ask as many questions as we wanted. There
were about 8 callers. Each asked two or three questions, then thanked him for
his time and let the next caller ask their questions. He was patient, polite,
and thorough with all of the answers. He sounded very relaxed and comfortable,
also. He was asked why he felt the Portugal police had messed up the
investigation into Maddie’s disappearance. He said that they don’t have the
resources or the know-how that we have in America. America sets the bar for
other countries to strive to reach. They don’t have anything like a sex
offender’s registry or Amber alerts. In some countries, child pornography and
child slavery are still legal. Even though we are already the best, he says
there is still so much more that we can do to keep our children safe.
One
thing he mentioned was to push the government to put The Adam Walsh Child
Protection And Safety Act Of 2006 to use. Even though it was signed into law by
President Bush in July of 2006, it has not been acted upon. You can read more
about it
here.
When asked what his most rewarding case was, he said that he had been
involved in many cases of which he was proud. He mentioned several of the serial
killer cases, including BTK. What he is most proud of ,though, is the children
they have been able to actually bring back home, with Elizabeth Smart being at
the top of that list. He also talked about why many of the crimes against women
and children go unsolved. He blames it on poor training in police departments
and the fact that in some states, coroners do not even have to have any kind of
medical training. That statement floored me. He said that even a hair-dresser
can sometimes be elected to the position of coroner. Another thing he said that
alarmed me a little bit was that serial killers will hit small rural areas more
often because the small police forces don’t know how to deal with them and
because the women and children are more trusting and naïve.
Finally, it was my turn to talk to him. I told him who I was and thanked him for
talking to us. I asked him how they handle all the thousands of tips they must
receive after every show. He explained that was part of the reason they have
been as successful as they have been. When people call in tips to the show, they
only talk to people that work for the show - never to police or to anyone in
authority. It is totally anonymous. It takes away the fear that people have of
helping out the police. Often, people won’t tell what they know out of
fear of retribution or fear of having to testify. AMW takes away those fears.
Over the past 20 years, they have become pretty good at knowing which tips are
real and which are not. I also asked him what they do if a case is solved
before it airs. He said they simply don’t air it. I asked him about
the case of Baby Grace
as well. He has seen some of the evidence and the autopsy, and he talked about how sad
the case made him because he believes the child’s parents or a step- parent
killed her. I thanked him for his time and let the next caller have his
chance. The last question asked of him was why he always wears the black
leather jacket. His answer was very simple: because he rides a motorcycle.
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