TV & VIDEO - Dec. 15, 1988

Seattle police said Wednesday that “Manhunt: A Chance to End the Nightmare,” a TV special on the Green River serial murder case in Washington state, generated only a fraction of the number of tips originally reported by the show’s organizers. The show urged viewers to phone in tips on the slayings or any other crimes, but most callers got busy signals, did not get through because of technical problems or else apparently changed their minds and ended their calls prematurely, the police said. Earlier reports by the show’s organizers and police said as many as 60,000 calls were made to a special phone bank staffed by investigators. But as of midnight Monday, Nolan said, investigators had answered no more than 7,660 calls, yielding about 3,000 credible tips.