ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 4, 1996 TAG: 9607050110
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: HOLIDAY
DATELINE: NEWARK, N.J.
SOURCE: RAVI NESSMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
After helping track down more than 400 fugitives and 17 missing children in nine seasons, ``America's Most Wanted'' is going off the air, and those most upset by the cancellation seem to be the police.
``This show is the most valuable asset to law enforcement,'' Newark police Lt. Vincent Gagliano said. ``There's no doubt in my mind that `America's Most Wanted' saves a lot of lives.''
The show twice spotlighted fugitives who had shot Newark law enforcement officers. Both men were caught within a week of the segments on them.
Fox is dropping the program from its fall schedule because it has been on the air a long time, its ratings have been falling and other networks are aggressively programming against it, a Fox representative said. The network still plans to air movies and specials based on the show.
Over nine seasons, ``America's Most Wanted'' helped find 423 fugitives and 17 missing children, said Kathy Swanda, spokeswoman for the show.
``We've caught serial killers, rapists, prison escapees a day after they escaped from prison. It's been a tremendous platform for victims,'' said host John Walsh, who helped start the show after his son, Adam, was kidnapped and killed.
Since the cancellation, Swanda said, the show's offices have been swamped with calls from viewers, law enforcement officials and politicians expressing their outrage. ``We weren't expecting this,'' she said.
The FBI issued a statement Thursday commending the show for putting ``a human face on crime'' and depicting the dangers of law enforcement. ``It successfully empowered millions of Americans to safely and constructively combat crime,'' the bureau read.
The Albany, N.Y.-based National Troopers Coalition hopes to get thousands of state troopers to join in a letter-writing and phone-call campaign to pressure Fox executives to renew the show.
``The production is the public's best defense against this nation's most notorious criminals,'' said Johnny Hughes, the coalition's director of legislative and congressional affairs.
Other shows featuring true-crime re-enactments and focusing on the capture of fugitives, including the syndicated ``U.S. Customs'' and NBC's ``Unsolved Mysteries,'' are scheduled to return in the fall.
LENGTH: Short : 49 linesby CNB