‘America’s Most Wanted’ returns with new ways to fight crime
In a clip from the premiere of Fox’s fresh take on “America’s Most Wanted,” a series where viewers are told about crimes in the hope of leading to an arrest, new host Elizabeth Vargas examines a 3D avatar of a suspect who appears to be standing next to her on set.
“Standing next to him you can learn a lot,” said Vargas, circling the likeness of a male. “One of the first things, he’s on the tall side.”
Vargas said these renderings are actually far more specific.
“Our viewers can see distinctive tattoos or scars or moles or even, for example, a distinctive way of walking,” said the host in a recent interview.
Vargas, who covered countless crimes in past jobs including hosting ABC’s “World News Tonight” and “20/20,” said she “couldn’t be more excited” for this opportunity to help close the loop on some of these cases.
“We used to get a lot of viewer reaction but we weren’t set up to handle any of those tips. I mean, what we just did was call up the detective on the case and say, ‘Let me forward this to you,’” she said. “Now I get to tell the stories and ask the audience for help.”
The series will also take advantage of the advancements in DNA research. “With all these people on DNA database and the fact that law enforcement can figure out if the DNA at a crime scene. .. It’s extraordinary.”
“America’s Most Wanted” was previously hosted by John Walsh who became a victim’s rights advocate after his sixyear-old son, Adam, was kidnapped and murdered in 1981. It aired on Fox for 25 seasons before its cancellation in 2011. It was then picked up by Lifetime for a short run.