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The host of America's Most Wanted, who also helped create a national registry for sex offenders, says the same system is needed for mentally ill people looking to buy guns. We got John Walsh Saturday at LAX and asked what he made of Florida's new gun law -- in which the age limit to purchase guns was raised to 21 ... and teachers can now be armed. He says it's a step in the right direction, but also thinks arming teachers is the wrong way to protect schools from potential shooters -- he wants trained pros on the ground instead....

Smithfield, N.C. — A North Carolina state trooper noted for a talent for finding and helping people in trouble has been nominated for the "America's Most Wanted" All Star competition. Senior Trooper Jack L. Thorpe, who is assigned to Johnston County, is up for the annual award that lets viewers of the popular crime show pick a first responder to honor. Thorpe's nomination praises him for saving the life a wreck victim, helping deliver a baby along the side of the road and taking care of three children whose father and stepmother he suspected of abuse.

They're back. Those gullible defenders of convicted multiple murderer Kevin Cooper are trying to free Cooper, who was convicted in the brutal 1983 slaying of chiropractors Doug and Peggy Ryen, their ten-year-old daughter Jessica, and 11-year-old house guest Christopher Hughes. Cooper also slit the throat of son Joshua Ryen, 8, and left him for dead. New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof, whose work I usually admire, blew it. In "Framed for murder", Kristof suggested that California law enforcement deliberately framed a black man. Kristof urged Gov. Schwarzenegger to commute his capital punishment sentence.

John Walsh just made an appearance on "Live With Regis and Kelly". Kelly Ripa is a big BO fan, and so is her guest host Anderson Cooper. John Walsh, commemorating his 1000th "America's Most Wanted" show, was guest #1. Immediately the conversation turned to Barack Obama. Barack will be on the show with John Walsh. John praised Obama and said, "He has got a piece of legislation passed called the 'Recovery Act' that has put $4 billion out for law enforcement..." or something like that. I shouted at the TV: "It is the PORK BILL, JOHN! AND IT IS A...

Life is returning back to normal for Edgewater Lodge owners Paul and Melinda Pfaff. But it's been a blur of interview requests and not much sleep since the couple phoned in a tip Saturday evening leading to the arrest of Miami resident Paul Michael Merhige, charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the slayings of four relatives Thanksgiving night in Jupiter in Palm Beach County. Merhige has been holed up at the couple's Long Key motel since Dec. 2 until Paul Pfaff, while watching a daytime football game, happened upon a commercial advertising an "America's Most Wanted" segment on...

A Florida man suspected of gunning down four family members at a Thanksgiving dinner was arrested Saturday night in the Florida Keys after a weekslong manhunt, authorities said. Jupiter Police Sgt. Scott Pascarella said Paul Merhige, 35, was taken into custody without a struggle by U.S. Marshals and Monroe County Sheriff's deputies at a motel on Long Key. Pascarella credited the TV show "America's Most Wanted" for the tip that led to Merhige's capture

Even before September 11, 2001, Oklahoma City residents knew the horror of terrorism. Nearly everyone remembers April 19, 1995, when explosives brought the Alfred P. Murrah building down. Since then, Oklahoma City residents have become a profoundly patriotic community. That's why when Kenneth Cofer claimed America got what it deserved from the Oklahoma City bombing and 9/11 attacks, Vietnam veteran Larry Buchanan defended his country and beliefs. Cops say this was just the beginning in a series of confrontations that would eventually end in murder. -snip- On September 13, 2002, Cofer and Buchanan ran into one another for the third...

Authorities hunting for suspects in the killings of three college students in a Newark schoolyard over the weekend taped a segment of the "America's Most Wanted" television show at the murder scene today in hopes of enlisting a national audience to help solve the killings.  As investigators continued to follow leads in the slayings, Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow visited the Mount Vernon School where the victims were shot execution-style on Saturday night to tape an interview for the nationally syndicated television show. "They have been very successful at times in breaking cases by the nature of their national audience,"...

David Osborne wants to let you know about AMW All-Star nominee Sheriff David Shoar. View the All-Star now: http://www.amw.com/allstar/2006/detail.cfm?id=721 AMW together with Sprint Nextel wants to honor the first responders who are All-Stars -- the law enforcement officers, fire fighters, EMTs and others who go above and beyond. One first responder will be voted the 2006 AMW All-Star and win the grand prize: $10,000 and a trip to the NASCAR Nextel All-Star race on May 20, 2006. Terms and Conditions: http://www.amw.com/legal/allstar_terms2006.cfm The AMW All-Star is presented by Sprint Nextel. Be sure to watch America's Most Wanted every Saturday at 9pm/ET...

AMW Capture #846 Fun in the Sun Comes to an End John Dallas Lockhart loved the beach and loved to party. But police say his quest for fun came at the expense of the most innocent of victims, including a 4-month old infant that Lockhart is accused of raping. The U.S. Marshals biggest concern was that Lockhart was the type of person who could blend in anywhere. But when he was profiled on America's Most Wanted on, June 4, 2005, tips came pouring in. Several were from the Venice Beach area in California. Akron, Ohio Police and the U.S. Marshals...

A Predator In Paradise Police created this sketch of a predator who attacked young children. A man who was arrested for preying on children at a popular tourist spot near Disneyworld is on the run. Police say 31-year-old Emanuel Veiga, a Brazilian citizen in the United States on a work visa has disappeared, and police fear he's victimizing more children. In 2003, there'd been dozens of sexual assaults near Disneyworld; the youngest victim was just nine years old. Most of the victims had been ambushed in hotel elevators or stairwells. For months, cops say the predator stalked, attacked and violated numerous small children. Then, it...

05/04/2005 By BRUCE SCHREINER / Associated Press Russell Winstead spent two years eluding Kentucky authorities who wanted him in the brutal slaying of his aunt, but his luck eventually ran out at a casino in Costa Rica. Winstead was arrested Tuesday by Costa Rican authorities at a casino in the capital city of San Jose. Kentucky prosecutors were eager to try him on murder and first-degree robbery charges. "It's a day we've been waiting for," Hopkins County Commonwealth's Attorney David Massamore said Wednesday in reacting to Winstead's arrest. Winstead, 40, fled in June 2003. A month later he was indicted...

Photos released in Smart case TV show seeks help in finding homeless man-- By Joe Bauman-- Deseret News staff writer "America's Most Wanted," the Fox network anti-crime program, has released photos and the name of a man the network says is sought for questioning concerning the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping. On Feb. 3, Elizabeth's parents, Ed and Lois Smart, released a police composite sketch of a transient called Emmanuel who had worked for them about a year ago. Police said they released the sketch because 9-year-old Mary Katherine Smart, who saw the abduction, said the man looks like the person she...

KING: All right, let's talk about the Elizabeth Smart case, which the media has kind of left now. What is your best read on that tragedy in Utah? WALSH: I spent yesterday by coincidence with Ed and Lois Smart. I had them on "The John Walsh Show" to kind of give an update to the case. You know, Ricci, the guy that was the main suspect, died in prison of an aneurysm. He's the guy that was the handyman at the house that put 1,000 miles on his pickup truck during the two days that she was missing. He was...

Bomb victim heading home to Dallas TV's 'Most Wanted' to feature half brother sought in attack 10/15/2002 By RICHARD WHITTLE / The Dallas Morning News WASHINGTON - Car bomb victim Wright Sigmund is coming home to Dallas, eager to sleep in his own bed and hoping America's Most Wanted can flush out the fugitive half brother he thinks nearly killed him. "They catch a good amount of people this way," Mr. Sigmund said Monday of the Fox TV show, which plans a segment on the disappearance of his half brother, Scott Sigmund, three days after a pipe bomb exploded...