By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
WASHINGTON — The Fox show “America’s Most Wanted”, which aired for 23 years, and helped capture some of the most dangerous fugitives wanted by the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and other law enforcement agencies, is being cancelled.
The Associated Press reported Monday that the show, hosted by John Walsh, attracted about 5 million viewers, and claimed it had helped nab 1,151 fugitives worldwide.
But Kevin Reilly of Fox Entertainment Kevin said the show was too expensive and had not been making money for a while, AP reported.
Angeline Hartmann, a correspondent for the show, told ticklethewire.com on Monday:
“I can tell you that the news today came as a devastating blow to all of us at AMW.
“For every one of us, this is not a job but a passion that dictates our lives. We feel privileged to work so closely with law enforcement and we consider it an honor to help victims seeking closure and justice.”
“We helped capture more than 1150 fugitives and recovered dozens of missing children. The feedback we’ve been getting all day has been a resounding “Why?” and “How on earth…?”
“We don’t have the answers and I feel saddest for crime victims and their families.”
John Walsh told AP: “I was quite surprised. We performed hard for you and we had a good year. We caught more guys than we’ve ever caught.”
Walsh told AP he was going to talk to other outlets about airing the show.
