John Walsh

About John Walsh

John E. Walsh (born December 26, 1945) is the host of the TV show America's Most Wanted. Walsh is known for his anti-crime activism, which includes ride-alongs with law enforcement and, at times, taunting and harassing criminals who were arrested as he watched, particularly those who target children, following the murder of his son, Adam, in 1981. He usually appears wearing a black leather coat, which has become part of his visual signature.

In the summer of 1981, Walsh was a partner in a hotel management company in Hollywood, Florida. He and his wife, Revé, had a six-year-old son, Adam. On July 27, 1981, Adam was abducted from a Sears department store at the Hollywood Mall, across from the Hollywood Police station. Revé had dropped Adam off in the Sears toy department while she looked for a lamp. When she returned, Adam was missing. Police records in Adam's case released in 1996 show that a 17-year-old security guard asked four boys to leave the department store. Adam is believed to have been one of them. Sixteen days after the abduction, his severed head was found in a drainage canal more than 100 miles away from home. His body was never recovered. The prime suspect in Adam's abduction and murder, Ottis Toole, was never charged in the Adam Walsh case. He died in prison in September 1996 while serving a life sentence for other crimes. In January 2007, however, deceased serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer fell under suspicion for the murder of Adam. This speculation was discounted by Walsh in an America's Most Wanted statement on February 6, 2007.

The Walsh family soon began a campaign to help missing and exploited children. Despite bureaucratic and legislative problems, John and Revé's efforts eventually led to the creation of the Missing Children Act of 1982 and the Missing Children's Assistance Act of 1984.