Fascinating Facts About The Groundbreaking TV Show America’s Most Wanted

Host John Walsh Became An Anti-Crime Activist After His Son Was Murdered By A Serial Killer

walsh2.jpg

Photo credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images

In 1981, John Walsh’s six-year-old son, Adam, was abducted in Hollywood, Florida. The boy’s severed head was found 16 days later, but the rest of his body was never recovered. The police finally concluded in 2008 that serial killer Ottis Toole was responsible for the crime.

Walsh went on to start the Adam Walsh Child Resource Center and made it his mission to help missing and exploited children. He and his wife are responsible for the Missing Children Act of 1982 and the Missing Children’s Assistance Act of 1984. Walsh has also been active in making sure sex offenders are properly punished.