Where is John Walsh now? How 'America's Most Wanted' host dealt with son's gruesome murder and why he left FOX show
Iconic television personality and crime-fighter John Walsh was the face of 'America's Most Wanted' — one of the most popular shows to air on FOX — that was telecasted between 1988 to 2012. Luckily, the show has been revived by the network but in the latest season, 10 years after Season 25 aired, Walsh will not be making a comeback.
The leather jacket sporting host of 'America's Most Wanted' was known for his calm yet vehement conduct as he spoke about the heavy talking points on the show. Using the series as a medium that highlighted real-life cases of fugitives and suspected criminals who continued to be on the loose — evading arrest or rearrest — Walsh was turning citizens into crime-solvers. The network was two years old back then and still struggling to engage audiences but the show turned out to be a phenomenal hit and helped establish FOX's positioning as one of the frontrunners.
Walsh is not returning for the revival but he's very positive about the show hitting screens again and he sort of gave his blessings for the new season that will be hosted by another FOX host Elizabeth Vargas.
“Capturing dangerous fugitives, bringing justice to victims, and finding missing children is my life’s work,” Walsh said. “I am so excited to hear 'America’s Most Wanted' is coming back and I support its return. God bless," he added. Continue reading below to know more about the former host, his struggle with his firstborn's abduction and murder, his activism, and what he's doing now in 2021.
John Walsh: Early Life
Born in 1945, John Walsh was raised by parents Mary Jean Callahan and John Edward Walsh and grew up in a traditional Irish Catholic home in upstate New York. His father was a World War II hero and was very involved with the local parish. Walsh and his brother Jimmy did not really mirror their father's ways and were often involved in street fights, which reportedly involved feuds that would leave them with a black eye on multiple occasions.
Walsh finished his graduation after which he moved to Florida where he married Reve, his long-time girlfriend and their first son Adam was born in 1974. Tragedy struck in his life when he lost his son to a gruesome murder, and in 2008, the late serial killer Ottis Toole was officially named as Adam's killer.
How did John Walsh's son Adam die?
On July 27, 1981, Adam John Walsh was abducted from a Sears department store in Florida with his mother. Reve had left him near the gaming arena where he watched older boys play video games and advanced to a nearby store to continue shopping. Barely within 10 minutes, she returned for him, but he to be found nowhere. Frantic to learn that her son had gone missing, she checked with security and camera footage revealed that Adam followed a group of older boys and seemingly got kidnapped from outside the mall.
The Walshes' launched a massive hunt for their son. Disturbingly, on August 10, 1981, his severed head was discovered by two fishermen in a drainage canal in Vero Beach, Florida and his body was never found. Over the years criminals, not only Ottis Ellwood Toole but serial killer Henry Lee Lucas was also speculated to have been involved in the crime. Moreover, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer also reportedly confessed to killing Adam but they all died of natural causes and none of them were prosecuted in this case.
John Walsh used his grief to help stop crime against children
Walsh founded the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 1984. He and Reve also stressed the fact the country lacked a national, centralized system to track missing children, and when the FBI and other groups neglected these issues, the couple worked tirelessly to establish resources for parents who had been in the same situation as theirs.
He put his career as a resort manager on the backburner to crusade for measures that could help ensure the safety of missing and abducted children. It soon became his full-time job. He and Reve also campaigned to pass the Missing Children's Act of 1982 and the Missing Children's Assistance Act of 1984.
Elizabeth Smart and other missing children
Walsh was appointed host of the show in 1987. He hadn't attained celebrity status at that point but FOX was sure about making him the face of this show. Reluctantly, he accepted the offer, after which he immediately was trusted into the limelight permanently.
Over the years, 'America's Most Wanted' helped capture many fugitives as well as recover a sizable number of missing children alive. Not just that, the show was also lauded for its high-profile search for Elizabeth Smart, kidnapped from her own bedroom on knifepoint by a self-styled godman who reportedly raped her while holding her captive.
A viewer called up with information after spotting her with her captors and she was found a couple of miles away from her Utah home. FBI has credited the show for resulting in the capture of 17 fugitives featured on the agency's 10 Most Wanted List. The show was also able to find and capture murderer John List who killed his wife and three children and had evaded prison for 18 years.
What is John Walsh doing in 2021?
In his chat with Deadline, Walsh did not reveal much about why he wasn't returning to host 'America's Most Wanted'. But an appearance by him wasn't completely ruled out and the article stated that Walsh would be seen on the show if he could squeeze out time from his prior commitments.
Walsh is the host of 'In Pursuit with John Walsh' — a crime-justice series on Investigative Discovery — that debuted in 2019 and its second season aired till April 1, 2020.
There is a possibility that Walsh is shooting for Season 3 of the ID show in 2021 and this could be one of his prior commitments that stood in his way of becoming the host of the FOX show yet again. However, it should be noted that there has been no official confirmation about Season 3 from the network yet.
'America's Most Wanted' Season 26 with Elizabeth Vargas premieres on Monday, March 15, 2021, at 9 pm ET on FOX.