"America's Most Wanted" Puts Up Billboard in "Most Wanted" NY Case

Flushing, NY (March 16, 2006) - "America's Most Wanted" is using a new tool to help authorities find a killer who shot a New York corrections officer: a "wanted" billboard.

The "wanted" billboard will be installed at 8 a.m. (Eastern) on March 17 along heavily traveled Northern Boulevard in the Flushing area of Queens (Northern Boulevard east of Collins Place).

The 14-by-48-foot billboard will feature a photo of George Saravanos, wanted for questioning by the U.S. Marshals Service in the 2004 shooting death of New York corrections officer Robert Ross. Saravanos was put on New York State's 100 Most Wanted Fugitives list.

In addition to the "wanted" photo, the billboard also will display a toll-free number for anonymous tips from the public (1-800-CRIME-TV).

"America's Most Wanted," the long-running crime-fighting show on FOX hosted by John Walsh, has helped police apprehend 882 fugitives.

Since May of 2005, "America's Most Wanted" has been using billboards donated by the outdoor advertising industry. In the most recent success, a "wanted" billboard was put up in Dallas on December 29; the suspect featured on the billboard (wanted for murder and aggravated robbery) turned himself in on January 11, 2006.

"We reach a lot of people through television, but billboards are seen daily and serve as a constant reminder," said Walsh.