Twenty Years of Catching Perverts and Pedophiles

It's depressing. I read the paper every day and, more often than not, I run across a story about an abused child or a kidnapped child or, saddest of all, a murdered child. I shake my head slowly, scan the awful details, and move on to the next story. Then I go about my life.

For John Walsh, though, that is his life. Day in and day out, he hears story after story about some vile excuse for a human who preys on innocent kids. He speaks about these terrible people. He asks if anyone can find them. And then, frequently, though not frequently enough, he reports on their capture. Then he gets up and does it all over again.

On Saturday, Walsh started his 20th season as the only host "America's Most Wanted" on Fox ever has  known. How in the world, I asked him, can he do this for so long?

"During the week I often say I see the worst of society. I see the worst crimes," he said. "I see a lot of really desperate letters from crime victims. People say, 'You've got to help me. My case is cold.' And a lot of that is really depressing."

But then he does his show and average people call in with tips and it changes the lives of others. The show gives him a platform to lobby for laws that protect children. "As depressing or down as it is, I see the best of society," he said. "Sometimes it's the worst job on television but sometimes I say it's the best job on television."

If Adam Walsh was alive today, he would be 31. He'd probably be a college graduate, maybe married and possibly a father himself. Instead, Adam, just six and a half, was snatched at a Florida shopping center and murdered. Walsh said it changed his world. "It makes you skeptical. It makes you street smart. It makes you aware of everything out there," he told me.

He still enjoys his three other children and riding his horses and motorcycles. He has learned to stop himself when he begins to feel morose. "And then I get to do this show and catch the worst of the worst coward bastards."

Thanks in part to Walsh, there are "800" numbers to report missing children, Amber alerts, an FBI innocent images unit and a national center. His show is credited with capturing nearly a thousand fugitives.

Pictures of Adam still hang throughout the Walsh house.

"I always feel that Adam is a huge inspiration to me and that his presence is with me," he said. "I don't say that with any serious, deep religious overtones. It's just that I love that boy so much and he was so beautiful. We were lucky to have him for six and a half years."

Posted by Barry Garron