A tireless advocate for victim's rights and missing children, John Walsh has turned his passion for justice into the nation's number-one crime-fighting show, The New America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back. Walsh is no stranger to violent crime; in fact, his incredibly successful career as a host of a nationally televised program, and as an advocate for victims' rights, was a career Walsh never anticipated.
In 1981, Walsh was a partner in a hotel management company in Hollywood, Florida. He was living the American dream. He and his wife, Reve, had a beautiful 6-year-old son, Adam, the joy of their lives. But that joy was shattered on July 27, 1981, when Adam was abducted and later found murdered. The Walshes have never received the closure that America's Most Wanted has brought to the lives of so many crime victims. The prime suspect in Adam's murder, Ottis Toole, was never charged in the Adam Walsh case; he died in prison while serving a life sentence for other crimestaking the truth to the grave with him.
It wasn't long after Adam's death that the Walshes turned their grief into positive energy to help missing and exploited children. Battling bureaucratic resistance and legislative nightmares, John's and Reve's work led to the passage of the Missing Children Act of 1982 and the Missing Children's Assistance Act of 1984. The latter bill resulted in the founding of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which maintains a toll-free hotline number to report a missing child or the sighting of one. In their son's memory, they also founded the Adam Walsh Child Resource Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to legislative reform.
The story of the Walsh family's tragedy was been dramatized in the 1983 NBC television movie "Adam", and a 1986 sequel, "Adam: His Song Continues". After the airing of the broadcasts, a roll of missing children was featured, leading to the recovery of 65 youngsters.
In 1984, Esquire magazine voted John Walsh "one of the best of the new generation"; since then, his quest for justice has been featured in newspapers and magazines around the nation. CBS Portraits has named him one of the "100 Americans Who Changed History."
Today, Walsh continues his lobbying efforts, testifying before Congress and state legislatures on crime, missing children and victims' issues. His efforts include lobbying for a Constitutional amendment for victims' rights. He also runs a production company, Straight Shooter, in partnership with "America's Most Wanted" Executive Producer Lance Heflin. In its first year, the company syndicated "Manhunter" in 45 countries and created the syndicated "America's Most Wanted: Final Justice". In 1995, Mr. Walsh executive produced the highly rated made-for-TV movie, "If Looks Could Kill" and received his first prime time Emmy nomination for "Street Smart Kids", a labor of love he created and produced for the Fox network. In 1998, he published "No Mercy", a book that takes readers behind the scenes of "America's Most Wanted".