Adam Walsh

The year 1981 saw the tragic story of Adam Walsh, 7, who disappeared when he got separated from his mother inside a department store in Florida. It was July 27 of that year when Adam went to a Sears store at a mall in Hollywood, Florida, with his mother. She left the boy alone playing video games just a few yards away from where she was browsing some items. Unfortunately, the boy was nowhere to be found when she returned. The store clerk paged the boy over the store’s public-address system, but they got no response from Adam. Police were then called and a massive helicopter and ground search was underway. After four days, however, the search halted. Adam’s parents went on Good Morning America to ask for help.

Then on August 10, 1981, 16 days after he was reported missing, Adam’s severed head was found by two fishermen floating in a canal near the Florida tollway. The discovery of Adam’s body sent a shockwave of fear across the country and would change the way the United States treated crimes against children. It would also leave parents constantly fearing for their child’s safety.