In Pursuit, the New John Walsh Program on ID, Aims to Close Cold Cases

America is a very dangerous place. And that is why I am happy to report that John Walsh, the justice advocate who turned his family’s personal tragedy into a national crime solving movement, is back on television. 

Last night we attended the premiere screening of his new program, In Pursuit, on Investigation Discovery which previewed on the network at 10p, January 17, 2019.

Walsh and his son Callahan team up to showcase unsolved crimes in the hopes that some of these cold cases can finally be solved. They appeared on a panel with Paula Zahn, whose own show on ID, On The Case, focuses on the investigations behind some of America’s most fascinating crimes. Callahan Walsh has taken up his father’s cause, serving as the Strategic Advancement and Partnerships Senior Specialist for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

In the premiere episode, In Pursuit focused on two unsolved crimes of husbands killing their wives and then eluding the police. Each segment includes photos of the criminal with a toll free number to call and a website address. The program also features photos (age enhanced where needed) of two missing children in the hope that someone will recognize them and help reunite them with their families

John Walsh explained that he wants to highlight unsolved crimes in small towns whose police forces are small and often not equipped to handle many of the heinous crimes in their community. He explained that 70% of all police forces in America have fewer than 10 police. To help support local efforts, Walsh has set up a network of retired veteran police, marshals and detectives, called Team Adam after his son who was tragically kidnapped and murdered 27 years ago. Team Adam participants fly in and help local forces fight for justice by doing immediate actions such as grid searches and hot interviews.  Walsh is also committed to reforming the justice system to find more ways to protect child victims, such as enabling them to testify in the judges’ chambers instead of the courtroom. “We know what it is like to wait for justice,” Walsh stated.

 

In the case of his own son, Walsh explained that the local Hollywood, Florida police refused to act upon his abduction and the case languished until Walsh was able to obtain all of the police files of the case and hire his own private detective to investigate. The case was then solved in one month.  The importance of having experienced investigators on the case and a system that is actively committed to pursuing justice cannot be understated. I speak from experience. 

My mother-in-law was the victim of a homicide in Pasco County Florida in 1997. We were fortunate that two local detectives were actually retired NYC Brooklyn homicide police who solved our case in two weeks. But the then District Attorney of Florida would not prosecute, citing not enough evidence… until one of the local detectives brought the case to the FBI and the U.S. Federal court where it was successfully prosecuted. This hard lesson underscored to me how lucky our family was in having two veteran law enforcers working on our behalf and how they took a risk to go over the heads of state agencies to seek full justice on the national level. 

Callahan Walsh summed it up best when he said, “We want to make the world a smaller place for criminals.” Not even home is safe; John Walsh reported that 35 families turned in their own sons after hearing about criminal cases on America’s Most Wanted, his previous show. So far, the Walshs’ efforts have helped bring to justice hundreds of criminals globally with arrests made as far as India. “The tips from the public are vital,” Callahan continued, “so we want to lower the threshold for tips.” To that end, they are leveraging social media such as Facebook, in addition to their website www.inpursuittips.com. I know that when a family member is a victim of a crime, there is never closure. “But,” as John Walsh pointed out, “Justice helps.”

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com