6:19 p.m. Wednesday, December 7, 2011

‘Most Wanted' host John Walsh praises law enforcement in Canton case

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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

TV crime show host John Walsh began tracking the case of slain Canton first-grader Jorelys Rivera after he flew into Atlanta Monday to tape an "America's Most Wanted" special.

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John Spink. jspink@ajc.com Cherokee County Sheriff deputies bring in Ryan Brunn, a suspect arrested in the Jorelys Rivera murder.

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Channel 2 Action News The GBI's Vernon Keenan said Brunn did not have any connection to the 7-year-old girl prior to her disappearance.

Cherokee Sheriff's Office Ryan McCabe Brunn was a maintenance worker at the River Ridge apartments in Canton.

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Channel 2 Action News Jorelys Rivera.

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Investigators in the case "did a fantastic job," said Walsh in an interview Wednesday. He had just learned maintenance worker Ryan McCabe Brunn was charged in the death of 7-year-old Jorelys."

Walsh said the level of coordination in the case -- once local law enforcement mobilized Georgia's Child Abduction Response Team -- was in stark contrast to what happened when his 6-year-old son, Adam, was abducted and killed 30 years ago in South Florida.

"There wasn't a joint effort," Walsh recalled. "The FBI refused to get in Adam's case in ‘81.

"So what happened here is an example of doing it right. Lock it down, search, find, interview, get DNA. There wasn't any DNA in 1981. It took 27 years to solve Adam's case."

If an arrest had not been made by Friday, Walsh said he planned to feature the Canton case on that evening's weekly episode of "America's Most Wanted."

"It's a real example it can happen anywhere," Walsh said. "That girl was on the playground in her apartment complex... I say to parents, especially in this holiday time, keep a good eye on your children."

Since his son's murder, Walsh has successsfully lobbied for the creation of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and a national database of convicted child molesters.

"America's Most Wanted" has helped capture nearly 1,200 fugitives since its 1988 debut. Fox canceled the program in May but has begun airing occasional specials like the Atlanta-based one scheduled for Dec. 17. Walsh has moved the program to cable network Lifetime, where its first episode aired Dec. 2.