The Hunt with John Walsh

The Hunt with John Walsh
Genre	Documentary
Starring	John Walsh
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	16 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	40–44 minutes
Production company(s)	Zero Point Zero Production
Release
Original network	CNN
Picture format	16:9 HDTV
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	July 13, 2014 – present
Chronology
Related shows	America's Most Wanted
External links
Website

The Hunt with John Walsh is an investigation/documentary series that debuted on CNN on July 13, 2014. The series is hosted by John Walsh.^[1] The second season premiered on July 12, 2015.^[2][3]

Format

The series profiles an unsolved and ongoing high-profile crime story as told by witnesses (including the surviving victims) and law enforcement officials, along with re-enactments of how the events happened. A picture of the person or persons involved is shown along with a number to call if a viewer has any information or leads on the subject featured on the program.

Aftermath

One of the suspects that was profiled on The Hunt that aired on July 20, 2014, Charles Mozdir, was shot and killed during a shootout with police and US Marshals in New York City on July 28, 2014. Mozdir had been wanted in connection with child molestation and pornography, including being convicted for molesting a child of a family friend in Coronado, California in 2012, when he fled after failing to show up for his sentencing.^[4] This would be followed five days later on August 3, 2014, when a hiker discovered the remains of Shane Miller, a convicted felon who was the subject of a manhunt after he murdered his wife and two daughters on May 7, 2013. Miller's body was found outside a creek near Petrolia, California, where he was last seen after evading authorities. Miller was the first person to be profiled on The Hunt (July 13, 2014) and its second to have met with a deadly conclusion.^[5]

Since the show's airing, five fugitives have been captured, one was killed, and three were found dead.

Reception

The series has received mixed reviews, mostly about the show's format. In a review from Variety writer Brian Lowry noted that the series was "Essentially a new iteration of Walsh’s America’s Most Wanted, the show feels more suited to TLC or Investigation Discovery, featuring reenacted shots like a dead body with blood artfully oozing from it. In the process, CNN further blurs the thin red line between news and Lifetime movie."^[6]

Audience reception, however, was and has been a lot more positive. The debut episode won the 9 PM ET time slot for cable news networks, delivering 989,000 total viewers and 330,000 in the 25–54 demographic range. It was the highest-rated debut episode in the demo for a CNN original series.^[7]

The Hunt continued to win its time slot in total viewers and the 25–54 demographic for the rest of the month of July.^[8]

Episodes

Season 1

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Featured fugitive(s)	Original air date
1	1	"Murder in the Mountains"	Shane Franklin Miller	July 13, 2014
An abusive husband goes on the lam in the mountains after he allegedly murders his wife and their two children in their home. Fugitive Status: Found dead August 3, 2014.[5]
2	2	"The Enemy Next Door"	Kevin Stoeser & Charles Mozdir	July 20, 2014
A former soldier escapes custody after being caught with child pornography, and an accused child molester shoots it out with police. Fugitive Status: Kevin Stoeser - Found dead in September 2014.;[9] Charles Mozdir - Killed by police on July 28, 2014.[10]
3	3	"Family Annihilator"	Bradford Bishop	July 27, 2014
After brutally slaying his entire family and torching their bodies, a former diplomat flees overseas, where he eludes authorities for decades. Fugitive Status: Still at large. Bishop is also on the FBI's top 10 Most Wanted List.[11][12]
4	4	"Under the Influence"	David Burgert & Christopher Ponce	August 3, 2014
A troubled ex-Marine fires on police and vanishes into the woods without a trace, and a drunk driver removes his tracking device and vanishes. Fugitive Status: Both still at large.[13][14]
5	5	"Point Blank Murder"	Rick McLean & Thayne Smika	August 10, 2014
A trusted neighbor disappears after facing multiple charges of child molestation, and new evidence in an old case leads to a manhunt for the suspect. Fugitive Status: Both still at large.[15][16]
6	6	"Trafficking in Death"	Guillermo Madrigal Ballesteros	August 17, 2014
Suspected of letting 11 undocumented immigrants perish in an overheated rail car, an accused human trafficker goes on the run from authorities. Fugitive Status: Still at large.[17]
7	7	"Preaching Lies"	Victor Barnard	August 24, 2014
The leader of a small cult flees overseas after he's accused of sexually abusing the underage daughters of many of his followers. Fugitive Status: Arrested in Brazil on February 27, 2015 [18]
8	8	"Justice Denied"	Jacob Wetterling's abductor & Genevieve Kelley	August 31, 2014
Parents of an abducted boy keep the search for their son alive after more than two decades, and a mother abducts her own daughter and hides her for more than a decade. In Memory of Adam Walsh Fugitive Status: Jacob Wetterling's Abductor - Remains unidentified and at large.;[19] Genevieve Kelley - Surrendered to police on November 17, 2014.,[20] and her daughter along with her step-father returned on April 13, 2015.[21]

Season 2

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Featured fugitive(s)	Original air date
9	1	"Crimes of the Father"	Yaser Abdel Said	July 12, 2015
An Egyptian-born taxi driver takes deadly advantage - and control of - his Texas family by abusing his wife and incest his two daughters, whom he would kill in 2008 after learning they had boyfriends and were trying to flee with their mother to Oklahoma. Fugitive Status: Still at large; Said is also on the FBI's top 10 Most Wanted List.[22]
10	2	"Deadly Lust"	Tomas Magallon Gonzalez & Daniel Hiers, Jr.	July 19, 2015
Family members in California details the manipulation and sexual molestations of a man who they trusted as a father, which leads to the 2008 murder of a step-daughter who he molested and had a child with; a Charleston, South Carolina Police officer becomes a fugitive from justice after he killed his Brazilian-born wife and charged with sexually molesting a student from his karate class in 2005. Fugitive Status: both still at large; Hiers is also on the United States Marshals Service top 10 Most Wanted List.[23][24]
11	3	"Torture House"	Paul Jackson	July 26, 2015
The search is on to track down a Oregon man who has eluded authorities since 1992 after he was convicted and arrested for kidnapping, rape, and torture of a teenage prostitute that he and his half-brother held prisoner for several hours until she escaped. The victim eventually led police to the home and discovered that they also kidnapped and tortured many more women. While the half-brother has since turned himself in and is serving a 108-year sentence, he has remained silent on his sibling's whereabouts. Fugitive Status: arrested in Guadalajara, Mexico on September 28, 2015[25]
12	4	"Fugitive Mom"	Megan Everett (and her daughter Lilly Baumann) Johnny Napier	August 2, 2015
A Florida woman disappears with her daughter and leaves both the child's father and her family very concerned after she joined a group of supremacists known as the Virginia Flaggers, who might have influenced her behavioral pattern and her opposition against using vaccination; A pedophile is being sought by authorities in Texas and Montana. Fugitive Status: Everett was apprehended on August 3, 2015, the day after the show aired. Baumann was found safe.[26] The following Friday, August 7, authorities arrested Carlos C. Lesters, Everett's supposedly former boyfriend, for kidnapping, interference with custody and concealing minors contrary to a court order.[27] After this segment was completed, Napier was captured in Springfield, Missouri on November 20, 2014, and extradited back to Texas. He is expected to be tried in Montana as well.[28]
13	5	"Innocence Defiled"	Prakashanand Saraswati	August 9, 2015
A Hindu spiritual leader who was convicted of child molestation in Texas has managed to elude authorities. Fugitive Status: Still at large; might be in hiding in India and using aliases (the end of the episode mentioned that his sect is suspected of helping him and changing his name)[29]
14	6	"Deceived to Death"	Margaret Lorraine Smith Paul Winklebleck	August 16, 2015
A Texas woman is being sought in connection with the murder of her estranged husband - after she paid her boyfriend to have him killed so to make it look like an accident in order to get his real estate holdings, which is in the millions. Her deception of claiming innocence would come undone when the boyfriend, who is now serving life in prison, told authorities she planned it all along; A Oregon construction worker, who is wanted on felony warrants for kidnapping, criminal impersonation, assault, attempted rape, robbery, child sex abuse and failing to register as a child sex offender, disappears after his last attempt in 2010, when he tried to kidnap two young women after they attended a Snoop Dogg concert in Portland. Fugitive Status: Smith is still at large;[30] After this segment was completed, the remains of Winklebleck was found by hunters near Turner, Oregon in December 2014, and is awaiting DNA results.[31]
15	7		Herbert Maldonado Bruce Sawhill (with wife Keni Jo Sawhill)	August 23, 2015
The 2002 murder of a Texas woman who was trying to make money as a prostitute by a self-described "Vampire" continues to haunt authorities and her family members after his confession, even as they pursue his whereabouts after his disappearance upon learning that the murderer's family posted bail before he could be charged with the crime; A Missouri man who had been convicted for sodomy and had been on parole continued his pedophilia ways after moving back to his hometown and began molesting his best friend's daughter and was later charged for the crime in 2001. Unfortunately, he and has wife disappeared just as he was about to go on trial in November 2002. The disappearance would take its toll on the victim, who committed suicide by inhaling paint fumes after she moved to Colorado in 2003. Fugitive Status: both still at large[32][33]
16	8		Timmothy Pitzen Alexander Roosevelt Hill, Jr	August 30, 2015
After a woman's suicide in a Rockford, Illinois in 2011, the family wants know who has her son, whom she took off with and disappeared, leaving a note that states that he has found a family to take care of him; Jealousy and vengeance leads a Virginia man with a lengthy criminal record to commit arson and murder, killing his ex-girlfriend's sister and her son, her mother, and her grandmother. Fugitive Status: Pitzen is still missing;[34] Hill was arrested in Buffalo, New York after he was interviewed on local television; a viewer in Richmond, Virginia saw the story and identified him. He could face the death penalty if convicted but has refused to admit to the crimes or talk to authorities as he maintains his innocence.[35]

References

1. Genzlinger, Neil (2014-07-11). "Shoe Prints, Dripping Blood and Groping ‘Hunt With John Walsh’ Goes for Suspects Still at Large". Retrieved 2014-07-13.
2. "Season Two of The Hunt With John Walsh and Death Row Stories Premieres Sunday, July 12 on CNN" from CNN (July 6, 2015)
3. "On set shooting an all new season of The Hunt, premiering this Sunday at 9pm ET on CNN." from John Walsh on Facebook (July 6, 2015)
4. "Tip during CNN's 'The Hunt' led police to suspect killed in shootout" from CNN (July 28, 2014)
5. "Man featured on CNN's 'The Hunt' found dead" from CNN (August 3, 2014)
6. "TV Review: ‘The Hunt With John Walsh’" from Variety (July 11, 2014)
7. "Strong Debut For CNN’s ‘The Hunt’". mediabistro.com.
8. http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/category/cnn/press-releases/
9. "Dog finds skull of 'The Hunt' fugitive" from CNN (November 17, 2014)
10. "'The Hunt' suspect killed during standoff" from CNN (July 29, 2014)
11. "FBI — Ten Most Wanted". FBI.
12. "Diplomat wanted for family's murder" from CNN (July 2, 2015)
13. "Suspect vanishes in Montana woods" from CNN (July 2, 2015)
14. "The horrific crime that fuels John Walsh" from CNN (July 2, 2015)
15. "Child abuse suspect on the run" from CNN (July 2, 2015)
16. "Roommate missing after killing" from CNN (July 2, 2015)
17. "Journey to America ends in tragedy" from CNN (July 2, 2015)
18. "Hunt for U.S. pastor accused of sexual assult took months" from CNN (March 1, 2015)
19. "Where is Jacob Wetterling?" from CNN (July 3, 2015)
20. "Fugitive mom on CNN's 'The Hunt' turns herself in; daughter still missing" from CNN (November 17, 2014)
21. "Girl Missing for a Decade Resurfaces Along with Her Former Fugitive Mom's Husband" from People (April 15, 2014)
22. "'The Hunt': Yaser Abdel Said" from CNN (July 12, 2015)
23. "'The Hunt': Tomas Magallon Gonzalez" from CNN (July 16, 2015)
24. "'The Hunt': Daniel Hiers, Jr." from CNN (July 16, 2015)
25. "‘Hunt’ fugitive Paul Jackson, accused in Oregon sex slave case, captured in Mexico " from Q13Fox (September 28, 2015)
26. "'The Hunt': Megan Everett" from CNN (July 30, 2015); https://cwcrossroads.wordpress.com/2015/08/03/lilly-baumann-has-been-found/
27. "Virginia Flagger Arrested in Connection With Lilly Baumann Kidnapping". Crossroads.
28. "Social media helps catch fugitive wanted for sex crimes with children" from CNN (July 31, 2015)
29. "Guru convicted of abusing followers' children fled justice" from CNN (August 6, 2015)
30. "Wife allegedly paid man to beat husband to death over real estate" from CNN (August 14, 2015)
31. "Remains found believed to be fugitive sex offender" from CNN (August 14, 2015)
32. "Texas woman beaten beyond death" from CNN (August 20, 2015)
33. "The pedophile next door" from CNN (August 20, 2015)
34. "Four years after mother's suicide, search for son continues" from CNN (August 20, 2015)
35. "The brutal murder of four generations" from CNN (August 25, 2015)

External links

• Official website