John Walsh

John Edward Walsh Jr born December 26 1945 is an American television personality criminal investigator victim rights advocate as well as the host and creator of the TV show Americas Most Wanted Walsh is known for his anticrime activism becoming involved following the abduction and brutal murder of his son Adam in 1981 he was their only child at the time Convicted serial killer Ottis Toole confessed to Adams murder but was never convicted of the crime because evidence was reportedly lost and Toole later recanted his confession In 2008 the late serial killer Ottis Toole was officially named as Adams killer and the case was considered closed John and Revé Walsh were portrayed by actors Daniel J Travanti and JoBeth Williams in Adam a 1983 NBC television film dramatizing the days following Adams disappearance The real Walshes appeared at the end of the broadcast to publicize photographs of other children who had vanished but were still missing Later a sequel called Adam His Song Continues was produced and aired Walshs life story was also featured on The E True Hollywood Story and Biography After securing a deal with Fox he launched Americas Most Wanted in 1988 By that time he was well known due to his sons murder and his subsequent actions to help missing and exploited children Americas Most Wanted was the longestrunning crime reality show in Foxs history and contributed to the capture of more than 1000 fugitives Fox canceled the series in June 2011 but aired four specials during the 201112 season Walsh also hosted his own daytime talk show The John Walsh Show which aired in syndication mostly on NBCowned and affiliated stations as NBC produced the series from 2002 to 2004 However since Americas Most Wanted was still on the air at the time he found it difficult to host both shows at the same time so he asked thenNBC president Jeff Zucker to release him from his contract Zucker granted his request and cancelled The John Walsh Show In 2003 John Walsh assisted in solving the Kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart on an episode of Americas Most Wanted where Ed Smart showed the picture of Brian David Mitchells Emmanuel appearance Mitchells stepchildren saw the episode identified him and called the show This led to the rescue of Elizabeth Smart and the arrests of Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Ilene Barzee He was the host of The Hunt with John Walsh a successor to AMW which debuted on July 13 2014 on CNN The Hunt was in turn succeeded by In Pursuit with John Walsh which premiered in January 2019 on Investigation Discovery and is cohosted by his son Callahan He is also the spokesperson for the American digital multicast network Justice Network In October 2008 he was awarded the Operation Kids 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication to protecting children and to raise funds for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children which he cofounded with his wife He was partowner of the now defunct National Museum of Crime and Punishment in Washington DC He has authored three books titled Tears of Rage 1997 No Mercy The Host of Americas Most Wanted Hunts the Worst Criminals of Our Time In Shattering True Crime Cases 1999 and Public Enemies The Host of Americas Most Wanted Targets the Nations Most Notorious Criminals 2001