NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Court TV) — If you were around in the 1980s, you likely know the name John Walsh. Dressed in dark blue jeans and his legendary black leather jacket, the now 78-year-old father turned criminologist revealed intimate details of his life to hundreds of true crime fans at CrimeCon 2024 .
“John Walsh: From Father to Crimefighter” panel at CrimeCon on June 1, 2024 in Nashville. Walsh’s panel was moderated by NCMEC’s director of communications, Angeline Hartmann. (Court TV)
Walsh was thrown in the spotlight in 1981 when his six-year-old son, Adam, was kidnapped from a Sears store in Florida. John and his wife, Revé, worked tirelessly to advocate for their missing son. Walsh fought to get information and attention on Adam’s case and he and his partners used their ad agency to print the first missing child posters, Walsh mentioned during his heartfelt recollection.
John Walsh’s son, Adam Walsh, was abducted from a Florida department store and tragically murdered at just 6 years old. (NCMEC)
But just as his case was starting to get the national attention it deserved, Adam was found brutally murdered. Part of his remains were discovered two weeks after his disappearance, but Walsh said it would take 27 more years to learn the truth of what happened to their son.
In 1996, police records revealed that a 17-year-old employee kicked Adam out of the department store after older children had an argument while playing an Atari game that Adam was watching. This reportedly gave known drifter Ottis E. Toole the opportunity to kidnap and murder Adam. He originally confessed to the murder twice but later recanted twice. In 2008, Hollywood Police Chief Chadwick Wagner closed the case and named Toole as the perpetrator.
After suffering through this tremendous loss, he channeled his grief into a mission to prevent this from happening to other children. He was adamant Adam’s death wouldn’t be in vain. Advocating for others gave him a purpose, Walsh said. He helped found the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), whose job is to help find missing children, reduce child sexual exploitation, and prevent child victimization. 40 years later, the center has helped recover over 426,000 missing children, according to the NCMEC website .
The NCMEC also created Code Adam. ‘The program is a powerful search tool for lost and potentially abducted children. It is designed to help businesses, parks, government buildings, and other establishments ensure that they have safety protocols in place to respond quickly and effectively to situations involving a missing child.’
John Walsh, host of the Fox show “America’s Most Wanted,” talks about the show at the Summer Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif., Tuesday, July 25, 2006. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
In 2006, President George W. Bush signed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act to protect children from sexual exploitation and violent crimes, as well as to prevent child abuse, child pornography, and to ‘honor the memory of Adam Walsh and other child crime victims.’
Walsh began hosting “ America’s Most Wanted ” in 1988 and has since helped law enforcement capture over 1,100 fugitives while fighting crime. He graciously said during his appearance at CrimeCon that he couldn’t have captured this many without the help of the viewers. Walsh came out of retirement to return as host of America’s Most Wanted with his son, Callahan Walsh, in January 2024.
Walsh is also known for not only talking the talk but walking the walk. Presented to him by Gabby Petito’s family, John received the Crimefighter of the Year award at the CrimeCon Clue Awards. When Gabby went missing in 2021, John personally reached out to help in the search for Gabby.
John Walsh continues to be a household name, helping capture criminals and preventing harm to children worldwide…for Adam.
Most Popular
Comments / 0