STATEMENT
ON THE CLOSING OF THE ADAM WALSH HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION
December 16, 2008
This afternoon, John and Reve Walsh, parents of Adam Walsh, who was abducted
from a Hollywood, Florida shopping mall on July 27, 1981 and brutally murdered,
joined with the Hollywood Police Department and the Broward County Prosecutor,
in announcing that Adam’s case has been closed and that Ottis Toole
was responsible for this brutal, unspeakable crime. Toole was never
charged with Adam’s murder, but died in prison while serving a life
sentence for other crimes.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) expresses
its profound gratitude to those who worked tirelessly on this investigation
for 27 years, and its hope that today’s announcement will bring some
measure of justice for the Walsh family.
The tragedy of Adam Walsh shook a nation to its core. Adam’s
abduction was the most high-profile child abduction case since the Lindbergh
kidnapping, and it fundamentally changed the way America addresses the problem
of missing children.
Twenty-seven years ago, for all intents and purposes, you could not enter
missing child information into the FBI’s National Crime Information
Center (NCIC). Today, you can, thanks to the Missing Children’s
Act of 1982, which became law as a result of the tenacity of John and Reve
Walsh. When Adam was abducted, most police departments had mandatory
waiting periods before they would even take a report of a missing child. Today,
waiting periods are outlawed by law. Twenty-seven years ago, there
was no National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Today,
there is, thanks to the vision of John and Reve Walsh, who founded NCMEC. Twenty-seven
years ago, there was no coordinated, national response to the problem of
missing children. Today there is, and more missing children come home
safely today than at any time in the nation’s history.
Adam’s legacy is all around us, in the way police respond to missing
child reports, in the dramatic expansion of the role of federal law enforcement,
and in the professionalism of law enforcement and child-serving professionals
at all levels who are better prepared and respond more swiftly and effectively
than ever before when a child disappears.
Twenty-seven years ago, John and Reve Walsh turned their anger and indignation
into action. John became America’s foremost champion for crime
victims. Together, they battled to change the nation’s
laws and create new systems to keep children safe. They are true American
heroes and deserve the gratitude of every person.
John and Reve Walsh have brought compassion and justice to millions. Today,
after twenty-seven years, we hope that they will finally achieve some sense
of justice for themselves and their family. They deserve it.
|
Privacy Policy
