Tonight, as long as it doesn't get bumped by baseball or racing, Brad and I will be glued to our favorite Saturday night fun - 'America's Most Wanted'. We've been watching this show since it first aired over 20 years ago.
John Walsh is our hero. He never holds anything back. If he feels a guy should be called a slimeball, he calls it like he sees it. He is seriously on my personal list of heroic people. He took a personal tragedy - losing his son in a gruesome murder - then dropped the life path he'd been on to show the world what a difference ONE person can make.
During 9/11, he was among the few civilians given access to Ground Zero. The police and firefighters, emergency response teams, all walked up to him to shake his hand with deeply felt respect. He's not just the host of a crime-fighting show. He has changed the way law enforcement shares information with each other, has gotten child protection laws through Congress, and all through his own unrelenting force of will. If the foot soldiers at Ground Zero drop what they're doing to pay respects to John Walsh, that's good enough for me.
As diehard AMW watchers, Brad and I have seen several 'scumbags' profiled over and over again as the law continues to dog their trail. After awhile, viewers know these on-the-lam characters inside and out. So imagine our shock/glee/pride when our local newscast reported the takedown of an 'America's Most Wanted' suspect right here in the Maritimes by a rookie RCMP officer.
April 8, 2006 was the first airing of the Richard McNair case on AMW, who was "serving a life sentence at the federal prison in Pollock, La. for killing a man during a 1987 burglary attempt in North Dakota. According to Marshals, on April 5, 2006, McNair literally put himself into a package and mailed himself to freedom." (AWM.com)
Here's the capture story as it appeared in The Halifax Chronicle Herald by Kevin Bissett: Mounties nab escaped American killer in N.B.
This guy was playing a game of catch-me-if-you-can that he still probably intends to continue. But I'm looking forward to the footage tonight when I get to see him wearing that lovely shade of prisoner orange that's always so becoming.
Stupid World Series.
ReplyDeleteYou've probably seen my childhood friend on there then. She disappeared just short of her 15th birthday. I met Lisa when I was about 12 years old or so. I last talked to her about 6 months before she disappeared (knew her for 3 years) and it was obvious she was going down a bad path at that time. In retrospect, I think her homelife might have had "issues" as well. What really troubles me is her mom's remarks that Lisa called her several times over a year or more (can't recall the comment exactly), and they knew whom she left town with (an adult male). It makes me wonder if she bothered to report her dd as a runaway, since she didn't become a "missing person" until she stopped calling. :( I soooo wish I knew what happened to Lisa.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
~Toni~
http://www.amw.com/missing_persons/case.cfm?id=30011
ReplyDeleteIn a way, I am not sure if that is good news or bad! Criminals escaping to our neck of the woods might do bad things to the crime rate in the area. I already feel like 2007 has been a bad year already, we don't need the US's cast offs or escapees. Glad he was caught, though. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so with you about John Walsh. He's an inspiration who has probably saved countless lives by getting "scumballs" off the street.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine how that rookie cop must feel? Only on the job for weeks and he lands one of AMW.
ReplyDeleteAnd these criminals always get caught in a car - stolen, speeding, etc. So stupid. You'd think they'd try to keep a low profile.
I don't watch AMW but sometimes I watch Cops - which is hilarious.
Toni - I'm very sad to hear about your friend Lisa. Thanks for giving me the link to her case profile. I'll definitely have a look.
ReplyDelete