Topic: John Walsh

John Edward Walsh (born December 26, 1945) is an American television personality, criminal investigator, human and victim rights advocate and formerly the host, as well as creator, of America's Most Wanted. Walsh is known for his anti-crime activism, which he became involved with following the murder of his son, Adam, in 1981; in 2008, the now deceased serial killer Ottis Toole was named as the killer of Walsh's son. Walsh is part owner of the Museum of Crime & Punishment in Washington, D.C.

Walsh was born in Auburn, New York. He attended the University at Buffalo. After college and marriage to Revé, Walsh moved to South Florida where he was involved in building high-end luxury hotels.

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 about 7 minutes later, 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 120 miles away from home. His other remains were never recovered.