John Walsh (born December 26, 1945 in Auburn, New York)
is the host of the program America's Most Wanted. Walsh is well-known
for his extraordinarily low opinion of criminals. He usually appears
wearing a black leather coat, which has become his signature style.
In the summer of 1981, Walsh was a partner in a hotel management company
in Hollywood, Florida. He and his wife, Reve, had a six-year-old son,
Adam. On July 27, 1981, Adam was abducted. His severed head was later
found in a nearby canal, although 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 while serving life
for other crimes.
It wasn't long after Adam's death that the Walsh family turned their
grief into action, helping missing and exploited children. Against bureaucratic
and legislative problems, John and Reve's efforts eventually led to the
creation of the Missing Children Act of 1982 and the Missing Children's
Assistance Act of 1984.
Subsequently, they founded the Adam Walsh Child Resource Center, a non-profit
organization dedicated to legislative reform. Recently, the centers,
originally located in West Palm Beach, Florida; Columbia, South Carolina;
Orange County, California; and Rochester, New York; merged with the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), where John Walsh serves
on the Board of Directors.
Today, Walsh continues to testify before Congress and state legislatures
on crime, missing children and victims' rights issues. His latest efforts
include lobbying for a Constitutional amendment for victims' rights.
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