Still ‘In Pursuit’
JOHN Walsh, who’s helped nab nearly 1,500 criminals over his 31-year TV career, says he came out of retirement to hunt down “dirtbags” on his new Investigation Discovery (ID) series, “In Pursuit with John Walsh.” “I thought I could hang up my spurs ... and all these different agencies, including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, were bugging me the last year to come out of retirement,” says Walsh, 73, who hosted “America’s Most Wanted” (on Fox) followed by “The Hunt with John Walsh” (CNN/HLN).
“They’re so overwhelmed and kept saying, ‘Look, the public trusts you.’ For 25 years ‘America’s Most Wanted’ was a hit ... and I caught 1,422 of the world’s most dangerous guys in 45 countries. But best of all we recovered stranger-abducted kids alive — Elizabeth Smart being one of them. I have a predilection toward people who hurt women and prey upon children and we’re picking out some real dirtbags ... who always prey upon the nicest women who put up with their lies and cons and bulls--t and when they get close to being caught, they kill these women. “That’s a real coward.” Walsh co-hosts “In Pursuit” with his son, 34-year-old Callahan Walsh, who works at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and acts as the show’s liaison with local law enforcement.
“I wanted him to work at my production company and he said, ‘Dad, I want to help children.’ He’s handsome and a really articulate, nice young man,” Walsh says. “We’ll use him as a field reporter. He works all week at the Center then shoots stuff for me on the weekend. I love the fact that Callahan’s got that sensitivity. He said, ‘Dad, I’ve been following you around while you were speaking since I was a little boy. I want to help you.’ ”
Walsh — who’s been a high-profile crime crusader since the 1981 murder of his 6-year-old son, Adam — rattles off crime statistics to emphasize the need for “In Pursuit.” “Last year we broke all kinds of [crime] records — 144 cops killed in the line of duty and Chicago is a nightmare,” he says. “Detroit, New Orleans, Chicago ... their [casesolving] rates for homicides are down 26 percent and it’s so disgusting. They’re so overwhelmed ... the public is not talking about it and the media is not talking about it but we’ve got the worst [case-solving] rate in the world. We’re the most violent first-world country and we’re the richest, most powerful country in the world. “We’re gonna catch some of these dirtbags,” he says. “Since the word got out a couple months ago that I was coming out of retirement we’re turning down about 250 cases a week ... when I see these pleas online it breaks my heart to say no because I’ve walked in these peoples’ shoes.” Walsh says “In Pursuit” will handle a variety of criminal cases. “If it was up to me we’d only hunt down people who prey on women and children — they’re the real cowards in the criminal world,” he says. “But we’re going to mix it up. I’m going to be able to do some cases that haunt me ... and, along the way, we’re going to choose some of my toughest unsolved cases. “We’re an in-denial country and it’s so disgusting,” he says. “We’re all about, ‘What’s the next Disney movie? When’s the Super Bowl?’ I’m going to saddle up and do my thing and see how it goes.”
“In Pursuit with John Walsh” airs 10 p.m. Wednesday on Investigation Discovery.