BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

Police Officer William Campbell JACKSON - "America's Most Wan-ted" wants you to tune in and to vote on-line, and so does one Jackson police officer.

"I have been nominated for the 'America's Most Wanted' all-star program and I need your vote," said Police Officer William "Bill" Campbell, a 15-year veteran of the Jackson Police Department. "I am asking for your support by visiting the 'America's Most Wanted' Web site at www.amw.com and voting for me."

Campbell, 41, was nominated for all-star status by Ashley McNabb, a 14-year-old girl from Texas, after Campbell found Ashley, her 10-year-old sister, B.J., and the girls' mother stranded last August after they had spent a night outside a local convenience store.

"The girls were sleeping," Campbell explained. "They had a couple of suitcases with them."

Campbell said he was on patrol and asked the woman and her daughters if they needed assistance.

"Suzanne, the mother, said they came to visit some relatives here and during their visit they were asked to leave," the officer said. "I guess the visit went bad."

Campbell said the McNabbs had no money, no housing and no transportation and sought refuge in the street. He determined that they had not eaten in a day and brought them to police headquarters where they were given food and a safe place to stay.

The McNabbs had airline tickets for a flight back to Texas from Newark, but they had no place to stay until the day of the flight, four days away.

Campbell made the airline aware of the situation and asked the airline to accommodate the family, which it did by providing tickets for an earlier flight.

He took the McNabbs to the Lake-wood bus terminal and provided them with tickets to Newark and money for food so they could make their way safely back to Nacona, Texas, near the Oklahoma border.

As a token of her family's apprec-iation for his efforts, Ashley contacted "America's Most Wanted" and nominated Campbell for the all-star program.

In an Aug. 25, 2005, letter to Jackson Public Safety Director Christopher Dunton, Suzanne McNabb praised Campbell for responding in a time of need and helping her family return home.

"He gave up his lunch money to my children, so they would have something to eat," McNabb wrote.

She sent Campbell a money order to repay him, but the officer said he returned the money and asked McNabb to use it for her daughters.

"They still send me cards," he said. "Yesterday, I got an Easter card."

The officer said he eventually got a telephone call from representatives of "America's Most Wanted."

Campbell is now asking people to vote for him in the online poll. The votes will make him eligible for a grand prize of $10,000, which he said will go toward a college fund for the McNabb girls and a scholarship for deserving Jackson students and/or educational programs in Jackson.

"Please remember to vote once a week because the nominee with the highest number of online votes by April 21 will be eligible for the grand prize," said Campbell.

Campbell said he considers the nomination an honor and the highlight of his career.