John Walsh: Hunting 'America's Most Wanted' criminals

John Walsh is the host of television's “America's Most Wanted,” and a best-selling author. After the 1981 abduction and murder of his six-year-old son, Adam, John Walsh became one of the country's leading crusaders for victims' rights. He was central in the fight for passage of the federal Missing Children Act and the founding of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and has helped to enact hundreds of state and local laws. He joined the CNN.com chat room from Dallas, TX, to discuss his new book, "Public Enemies."

CNN: Thank you for joining us today, John Walsh, and welcome

JOHN WALSH: Hello, everyone... thank you for keeping "America's Most Wanted" on the air for 14 years. You are the reason that 679 dangerous fugitives are off the streets, and 24 missing children are home safe.

RESOURCES Message Board: Missing intern   CNN transcript: John Walsh on Unsolved Cases and Missing People

CNN: What prompted you to write this book?

WALSH: We get about 17 million hits on our web site www.AMW.com every two weeks. A lot are people downloading fugitives, pictures of missing children, victims asking us to do their cases, but a lot of them are people saying, "John, we want to know the behind-the-scenes story, why did you pick that case, how did that fugitive stay out there so long, what happened to the victims, and what kind of penalty is he paying?" I wrote the book for the fans, to give them a real insider's look, and hopefully people will also learn something about criminals and the criminal justice system.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: John, what is the best catch you have had? Who made you feel the best about getting them off of the street?

WALSH: I'm right in Dallas as we speak, and the trial has just started for the ring leader of the Texas Seven, George Rivas. These are the guys that escaped from a Texas prison in December of last year, with 15 guns and 1 automatic rifle. They robbed a sporting goods store on Christmas Eve, and when Aubrey Hawkins, a 29 year old Irving, Texas, police officer, responded to a disturbance call, George Rivas shot him with an automatic weapon. The Texas 7 dragged him out of his car, lifted up his flak vest, and shot him 11 times. They then drove over his head repeatedly with an sports utility vehicle, until they flattened his skull. They left his 9 year old son without a dad on Christmas morning.

I took the whole show, and for the first time, dedicated an entire hour to trying to capture these seven dangerous murderers, rapists, and one child-beater. Fortunately, a couple in Colorado Springs, CO was watching the show, downloaded the pictures of the Texas Seven when we covered the case, and had the courage to make the call. They had rented the Texas Seven a mobile home in their mobile home park. The Texas Seven were posing as traveling born again Christian singers. The couple had no idea they were violent murderers and escaped convicts. In spite of the fact they feared for their own lives, they had the courage to call our 800 number and take down the Texas Seven.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: About how many tips does your organization get after each show?

WALSH: During the week, because our hotline is open 24 hours, we average about 2-3 thousand tips a week.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: John Walsh, what do you think happened to Chandra Levy?

WALSH: I don't know, but I do know that not knowing is killing the Levy family. I think police should be doing a parallel investigation, looking at Gary Condit, but also looking very closely at the unsolved murders of two young women about the same age as Chandra Levy. Both were of slender build and dark hair, both were former Capitol Hill interns. One was walking home from a barbecue in broad daylight, and was found murdered five days later in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. The other, Joyce Chang, a very accomplished lawyer for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, was missing for more than three months. She lived very close to Chandra Levy. Her body was found 75 miles downstream from Washington in the Potomac River. Both murders remain unsolved. There are incredible similarities to Chandra Levy's story. I believe the D.C. police should not rule out the possibility that there is a very smart serial predator in the Dupont Circle area. To work the case in parallel investigations is simply good police work.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Mr. Walsh, thanks for everything. I was just wondering if you might belong to a victims group?

WALSH: I am very closely associated with, and helped found, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, with four branches around the United States. I also work very closely with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and have tried to assist the many chapters of Parents of Murdered Children around the country. With 40 million crime victims in this country every year, people are starting to realize criminals have all the rights, and victims have hardly any.

CNN: Do you have any final thoughts to share with us?

WALSH: Hosting "America's Most Wanted" has been an incredibly rewarding experience for me. It not only catches dangerous criminals and saves lives, it brings closure and justice for thousands of victims who have nowhere else to go. All of that has been accomplished by the support of the American people.

CNN: Thank you for joining us today?

WALSH: Absolutely.