SEARCH FOR SIKESTON FUGITIVE GOES NATIONAL

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A search for one of Sikeston's most wanted fugitives went national recently when the case of Richard Yang appeared on an episode of "America's Most Wanted."

Yang, who has been missing since late February 2000, is wanted by Sikeston police for second-degree murder in the 1998 stabbing death of his estranged wife.

The episode led to a good response, said Sikeston police Lt. Mark Crocker.

"We actually picked up about 40 call-ins from viewers," said Crocker, who was at the studio in Washington, D.C., when the episode aired. "We had calls from places in California, New York, Texas and even Canada."

While some calls didn't produce any leads, Crocker said there was one intriguing call.

Crocker said there was a call from a woman in Washington who said there was a man working as a cook that she swore was Yang.

"I went with some local authorities to the restaurant but unfortunately it was closed," Crocker said. "Right now the FBI is running some checks and I have given them some information to help."

Crocker has yet to even see the episode because of the call.

"I was there before the show aired and was briefing them about the case," Crocker said. "Before the segment aired, the woman heard the 9-1-1 tape and called. She swore it was the voice of the man at the restaurant where she eats, so I jumped in the car and went there."

Before the murder, Yang and his wife, Louise, were owners and operators of Yang's Chinese Restaurant in Sikeston. They were living apart when the murder occurred on July 4, 1998. In fact, Yang had placed a personal ad in the Standard Democrat in search of a companion only a week before the murder.

According to authorities, Louise Yang left the restaurant on the afternoon of July 4 and when she unlocked the back door she found her husband just inside the door with a chef's knife.