John Walsh

John Edward Walsh, Jr. (born December 26, 1945) is an American television presenter, criminologist, victims' rights activist, and the host/creator of America's Most Wanted. He is known for his anti-crime activism, with which he became involved following the murder of his son, Adam, in 1981; in 2008, the late serial killer Ottis Toole was officially named as Adam's killer. Walsh was part-owner of the now defunct National Museum of Crime and Punishment in Washington, D.C. He also anchored an investigative documentary series, The Hunt with John Walsh, which debuted on CNN in 2014. Early life Walsh was born in Auburn, New York, one of four children born to John E. Walsh, Sr. and Jean Walsh. He graduated from Auburn's Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School in 1963. He attended the University at Buffalo, from which he graduated in 1967 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. He married Revé Drew in 1971. After college, the Walshes settled in South Florida, where John became involved in building high-end luxury hotels. Murder of Adam Walsh In summer 1981, Walsh was an official with Paradise Island Hotel and Casino in The Bahamas, and worked 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 (today Hollywood Hills Plaza), across from the Hollywood Police station. Revé had left Adam in the toy department at a model video game console at the Sears while she looked for a lamp. When she returned several minutes later, Adam was missing. Police records in Adam's case, released in 1996, show that a 17-year-old security guard instructed four boys to leave the department store. Adam has been thought to be one of them. Sixteen days after the abduction, his severed head was found in a drainage canal away from his home. The rest of his body was never found.