Thanksgiving Killings Suspect Nabbed at Fla. Hotel

[The Streets Don't Love You Back]

Just as he has with many high-profile crimes, John Walsh, the host of "America's Most Wanted," made it a personal mission to locate the suspect in the Thanksgiving day killings.

This undated file photo shows the drivers license photo provided Friday, Nov. 27, 2009 by the...

This undated file photo shows the drivers license photo provided Friday, Nov. 27, 2009 by the Jupiter, Fla. shows Paul Michael Merhige. The Florida man suspected of killing four family members in a Thanksgiving shooting was arrested Saturday Jan. 2, 2010 in the Florida Keys, authorities said.

(Jupiter Police Dept./AP Photo)

He held a press conference with Sitton in late December urging the public to continue the look for the suspect, whose face was plastered on wanted posters in several Florida neighborhoods.

"This family needs justice, needs closure," Walsh said. "America needs to saddle up and find this guy."

In 20 years, Walsh's groundbreaking program has helped police across the country arrest 1,099 suspects, according to a spokesperson for the show. Walsh developed the program after his own 6-year-old son was abducted and brutally killed.

Saturday night's airing of "America's Most Wanted" was the fourth time the crime was featured on the show.

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In a press release after Merhige's arrest, the Jupiter police said the apprehension came "as a result of the continuous coverage on America's Most Wanted."

The tipsters, Melinda and Paul Pfaff also credited the show. The most-wanted posters and local news stories hadn't reached them in Monroe County, so they were unaware of the story until Paul Pfaff saw the preview during the football game.

"His behavior was never really odd," Melinda Pfaff said. "But my husband thought he might have been a little nervous when he first checked in."

On the Friday before the arrest, Paul Pfaff checked in on the guest in Room 14, who had registered under the name "John Baca." Pfaff said he was concerned because he had seen very little of the guest.

When Merhige opened the door, there was nothing out of the ordinary, so Pfaff forgot about it until Saturday night when he saw the suspect's face on TV. "It really bothered him that a mass murderer was in the room next to my daughter," Melinda Pfaff said. "I just wanted to make sure everyone was secure and do what we had to do. We had to get him out of here." THINK