Posted by
Billy email MADBillyD@aol.com on Thursday, December 18, 2008 9:55:49 PM
The abduction happened 27 years ago, at a time when parents routinely left their children playing in the toy store, unattended, and continued shopping.
But when Reve Walsh returned to pick up her 6-year-old son, he wasn't there. Over the mall loudspeaker, the plea came: "Adam Walsh, please come to customer service."
Two weeks later, fishermen discovered the boy's severed head in a canal 120 miles away from the Hollywood mall. His body was never found.
The case led to advances in police searches for missing youngsters and a notable shift in the view parents and children have of the world.
On Tuesday, police closed their investigation. They said a serial killer who died more than a decade ago in prison was responsible for Adam's death. They admitted making crucial errors in the case and apologized to the Walshes.
But Adam's death, and his father's transformation from a hotel developer to an activist, helped put missing children's faces on milk cartons and in mailboxes, started fingerprinting programs and increased security at schools and stores.
(What happened to little Adam was sick and evil. What his dad has done since to help others who have been hurt by crime is a story of good winning over evil. Read more on this issue Adam Walsh case transformed missing kid searches.)
