Bringing Adam Home

Do you remember the Adam Walsh abduction? Careful, you’re dating yourself.

I turned twelve on the day in 1981 that Ottis Toole stole Adam from a Sears parking lot in Hollywood, Florida, while the boy’s mother shopped for lamps. Little of this registered at the time, just America’s horror during those next few weeks as the abductor—the killer, it was confirmed—eluded police. Who understood then that kids would never be quite so free again?

Once upon a time, before my ninth birthday, I walked nearly three miles with neighborhood friends to a local mall. A grade-schooler’s Odyssey, a summer day nonpareil. No parents, no older siblings; we didn’t get home until close to dinnertime and our parents didn’t worry one bit. But those unleashed days were numbered.

Cutting this video brought back all sorts of memories. I probably knew less about Adam’s father, John Walsh (who would later host America’s Most Wanted), than many of my contemporaries, but none of us knew much. Not until 2008 did Florida formally identify Adam’s killer, and now for the first time the full backstory has been told. Detective Sergeant Joe Matthews worked on the case for twenty-seven years before he closed it.

Thanks to Adam Selzer, Rachel Blumberg, and Cory Gray for crafting a powerful soundtrack, and to Bringing Adam Home’s co-author Les Standiford for the creative input that helped this video find its form.

Been setting up interviews this week for the new and improved ReadRollShow studio with authors Aryn Kyle and David Goodwillie (together!) and Camilla Lackberg. Stay tuned for details.

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More Bringing Adam Home
Official Bringing Adam Home website
Read an excerpt of Bringing Adam Home.
USA Today interview (2011)
Miami New Times interview (2011)
Arizona Daily Star review
Chicago Sun-Times review
Kirkus review
ABC News review
Cleveland Plain Dealer review