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On this day in history, Adam Walsh disappeared from department store, marking start of 27-year case

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On this day in history, Adam Walsh disappeared from department store, marking start of 27-year case

July 27, 1981, quickly went from a normal day for the Walsh family to one that seeped into tragedy.

Reve Walsh and her 6-year-old son, Adam, went to Sears in Hollywood, Florida, on that day. While at the store, the boy went into the video game aisle while his mother browsed just a few aisles over, History.com reported.

When his mother went to the aisle to retrieve her son, he was gone. Investigators discovered that Adam left the store with a group of older boys who were asked to leave for causing trouble, according to the source.

Adam Walsh, 6, was kidnapped on July 27, 1981. (AP)

THE KIDNAPPING OF KAMIYAH MOBLEY: THE 8-HOUR-OLD BABY ABDUCTED FROM FLORIDA HOSPITAL ON THIS DAY IN 1998

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Adam’s parents launched a massive hunt to find him, and they even put up a $100,000 reward to draw attention to the case.

“When Adam was kidnapped … the FBI did not help us,” Walsh previously told Fox News Digital. “… The FBI refused to enter Adam in the NCIC, or the National Crime Information Computer, which, at the time in 1981, stored millions of records of convicted felons, stolen boats, stolen cars, stolen planes. … There was no unidentified dead file, no missing children’s file, nothing.”

Less than two weeks after Adam went missing from the department store, his severed head was found by two fishermen in a drainage canal in Vero Beach, about 100 miles from where he was abducted, according to History.com. His body was never found.

SERIAL KILLER SURVIVOR WONDERS WHY HE WAS SPARED AFTER CHILLING CAR RIDE: ‘HE WAS A MONSTER’

“I was dying of a broken heart,” Walsh told Fox News Digital when the tragic discovery was made.

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It would take 27 years for Adam’s case to finally close.

Ottis Elwood Toole would eventually confess to Adam’s murder, but his story was given and recanted many times over the years after the discovery of Adam’s murder. 

John Walsh speaking on behalf of National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

John Walsh, Adam’s father, is a co-founder of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (Alex Wong/Getty Images/File)

In October 1983, Toole, who was an inmate at a Florida prison, originally confessed to Adam’s abduction and murder, according to History.com. He alleged that serial killer Henry Lee Lucas was also involved in the crime, though it was later discovered that Lucas was in jail at the time of the kidnapping.

TRUE-CRIME PODCASTER ATTEMPTS TO SOLVE FATHER’S ‘STRANGE’ MURDER: ‘HE DID NOT DESERVE TO DIE IN THIS WAY’

Investigators were unable to locate Adam’s body in the location Toole claimed to have buried it, providing no physical evidence to the case. 

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Several months after his confession, Toole recanted.

In the following years, Toole continued a cycle of confessing and taking back his story. Another possible suspect of Adam’s murder was serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, who was living in Florida at the time, according to History.com.

Toole, who was convicted of six murders, died behind bars in 1996. It wasn’t until Dec. 16, 2008, when the police department announced that the case was closed with enough evidence to declare Toole responsible for Adam’s death, according to History.com.

 

Since then, Adam’s family, including younger brother Callahan, who was not yet born at the time of Adam’s disappearance, have dedicated themselves to a life of advocacy.

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John Walsh looking to the side and Callahan Walsh looking ahead as they stand next to each other

John Walsh and son Callahan Walsh are hosts of “America’s Most Wanted,” a program launched after Adam’s death that helps track down dangerous criminals. (Michael Becker/FOX ©2024 FOX Media LLC)

John is the creator and host of the show “America’s Most Wanted,” which has been hunting down criminals for more than 40 years. He launched the series in 1988 after his son’s murder. 

“I grew up in a nice, gated community [and] didn’t think crime would touch us,” Walsh previously told Fox News Digital. “… I’ve learned in all of these years that the bad guys will come right into your area. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are. They can do something to you and get you.”

The show has helped capture more than 1,190 criminals.

“What drove me was that no one helped us look for Adam,” Walsh previously told Fox News Digital. “We put a man on the moon, and we couldn’t put missing children into the big FBI computer. But we persevered. We loved that little boy so much, and we didn’t have a clue who murdered him. It took 27 years to find out. It was a wonderful retired detective and DA who looked at those files, discovered Adam’s murder and solved Adam’s case. But it’s that driving force, our love for him, that has pushed me.”

 

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Walsh is also a co-founder of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, a nonprofit organization for which Callahan serves as the executive director of its Florida branch.

President George W. Bush looking at John Walsh as he gives him a thumbs up

On the 25th anniversary of Adam’s kidnapping, President George W. Bush signed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act into law in 2006. (TIM SLOAN/AFP via Getty Images)

On July 27, 2006, 25 years after Adam’s disappearance, President George W. Bush signed the Adam Walsh Child Protection Safety Act into law, “which created a national database of convicted child sex offenders, strengthened federal penalties for crimes against children and provided funding and training for law enforcement to fight crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children via the internet,” per History.com.

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Fani Willis' disqualification from Trump case has 'overwhelming' impact, legal expert says

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Fani Willis' disqualification from Trump case has 'overwhelming' impact, legal expert says

George Washington University law professor Jonthan Turley said Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was “wrong” to bring the Georgia election interference case against President-elect Trump after a Georgia court disqualified Willis and her team from prosecuting the case on Thursday.

GEORGIA APPEAL COURT DISQUALIFIES DA FANI WILLIS AND HER TEAM FROM TRUMP ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE

JONATHAN TURLEY: The immediate impact of this decision is overwhelming in terms of Willis herself. I mean, this court is basically saying that these cases are not supposed to be sort of vanity projects. You know, you were told by the lower court that you created this appearance of impropriety and the question for the court is why you didn’t remove yourself. Many of us at the time said that most prosecutors would have seen that their continuation of the case was harming the case and harming the public interest. Willis simply refused to give up the ghost and insisted that she wanted to be the lead in this. 

She was wrong to bring the case against Trump. You know, there are some viable claims here. You know, she charged some people with unlawful entry or access to restricted areas. Those are not particularly serious crimes, but they are crimes. She was wrong to go after Trump on this basis. She clearly wanted to engage in lawfare, and that’s one of the reasons why she wouldn’t give up the case. You know, when this issue was first raised, many of us wrote at the time that the correct move was to remove yourself. You selected a former lover as the lead counsel. That violated, in my view, core ethical requirements. He was ultimately disqualified by the court. But Judge McAfee gave her a chance to do the right thing. He said, look, this is your conduct is wrong here and you can remove yourself. Well, he was talking to the wrong person. She had no interest in removing herself. I mean, lawfare is only valuable if you’re the lead warrior, and she was not going to give up that position. 

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Fani Willis — the district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia — previously said the allegations brought against her of having an “improper” romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade were made because she is Black. (Getty Images)

The court did not toss Trump’s indictment entirely, but Willis and the assistant DAs working in her office now have “no authority to proceed.”

“After carefully considering the trial court’s findings in its order, we conclude that it erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis and her office,” the filing states. “The remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring.” 

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Trump said the “whole case has been a disgrace to justice.” 

“It was started by the Biden DOJ as an attack on his political opponent, Donald Trump,” he said, “They used anyone and anybody, and she has been disqualified, and her boyfriend has been disqualified, and they stole funds and went on trips.” 

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Trump said the case “should not be allowed to go any further.” 

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Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

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Fani Willis' reputation 'damaged' after disqualification from Trump case: Georgia reporter

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Fani Willis' reputation 'damaged' after disqualification from Trump case: Georgia reporter

Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Greg Bluestein told MSNBC on Thursday that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s reputation was “damaged” after a court disqualified her and her office from prosecuting President-elect Donald Trump in the election interference case against him.

“Her reputation is damaged, right? This was an unforced error as we said earlier, and, you know, this was all of her own doing, and now it unravels or might unravel one of the signature cases, not just of her career, but in Georgia. It leaves her damaged and it will be interesting to see what case she tries to make when she is expected to appeal this to the Georgia Supreme Court,” Bluestein told MSNBC’s Ana Caberra when asked about what was next for Willis.

The Georgia Court of Appeals on Thursday disqualified Willis and her team from prosecuting Trump and co-defendants in her election interference case. The court did not toss the indictment but declared that Willis and her team now have “no authority to proceed.” 

Bluestein noted that Willis had just won re-election in Georgia and that it wasn’t a surprise because Fulton County is a Democratic stronghold.

Reporter tells MSNBC Fani Willis’ reputation is damaged after she was disqualified from prosecuting the case against Trump. (Screenshot/MSNBC)

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 FANI WILLIS FACES NOTHING BUT SETBACKS IN CASE AGAINST TRUMP, THE LATEST PENDING WITH SUPREME COURT

“After carefully considering the trial court’s findings in its order, we conclude that it erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis and her office,” the filing states. “The remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring.” 

Bluestein said, “It is expected to be appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court, but this is a really decisive order against Fani Willis being able to continue this case.”

Willis, who was spearheading the sweeping prosection case against Trump, came under fire after she was accused in February of having an “improper” affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she had hired to help prosecute the case.

Wade was ultimately forced to step down from the prosecution team.

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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is seen in Atlanta.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is seen in Atlanta. (Alyssa Pointer/Getty) (Alyssa Pointer)

JUDGE RULES FANI WILLIS MUST STEP ASIDE FROM TRUMP CASE OR FIRE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR NATHAN WADE

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Trump said the “whole case has been a disgrace to justice.” 

Trump additionally said that the case “should not be allowed to go any further.” 

Catherine Christian, a former assistant Manhattan district attorney, also weighed in on the disqualification on MSNBC.

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“But usually appellate courts defer to the lower court, the trial judge, who fashioned a remedy. He said Nathan Wade, the man she was having an affair with, had to leave so the office could stay, and this court has said, nope. This court said that Judge MacAfee did not really appreciate that her decision-making wasn’t just the indictment. It was who to charge, how to charge it, and that’s at the time when this alleged romantic relationship was going on, and they said that also was one of the reasons why they think it’s more than an appearance of impropriety. It’s a conflict of interest, and not just her, the entire office is disqualified,” Christian said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Fani Willis’ office for comment.

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Navy wife goes viral for surprising husband with hunting trip after his 3-year deployment

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Navy wife goes viral for surprising husband with hunting trip after his 3-year deployment

A Navy aviator was in for a surprise after returning home ahead of Christmas from his third deployment in three years.

Patrick Brennan of western Kentucky has been stationed in Japan since the spring of 2022, serving as a weapon systems officer in an F/A-18 fighter aircraft.

His wife, Cecilia Brennan, told Fox News Digital that her husband often shares with her how he misses his friends and hobbies, specifically hunting.

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Brennan said her husband even mentioned planning a hunting trip sometime next year or in 2026 but that he never expected to take one this year.

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Patrick Brennan was surprised with a hunting trip with his friends after returning home from being stationed in Japan. (Cecilia Brennan)

“I was catching up with his best friends and keeping them in the loop. They told me they were going on their yearly duck hunting trip to Fowl Plains Outfitter. They were thinking about driving from their home in Virginia to Kansas, and I asked if they would want to stop by in Kentucky,” Brennan said.

Fowl Plains Outfitters is located in Great Bend, Kansas, offering duck and goose hunts.

“Turns out, the same time they would be driving through Kentucky happened to be the same time my husband would be back from deployment. I asked if they could make room for one more. It was God’s perfect timing,” Brennan said.

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She packed all of his clothes and hunting gear and “gifted” his belongings to him for Christmas.

Kentucky couple Patrick Brennan Navy soldier goes viral

Cecilia Brennan told her husband his friends were just stopping by before surprising him with a hunting trip. (Cecilia Brennan)

In a video posted to her Instagram, which reached 1.5 million views, Brennan captured the moment she tricked Patrick and told him his friends were stopping at their home to “drop something off.”

The serviceman’s friends are seen entering the house decked out in their hunting gear.

After catching up with the men, Cecilia Brennan takes out her husband’s suitcase to reveal that he is also going on the trip.

“Having his best friends knock on the door was a surprise enough, but to actually be going with him, he was in shock. I still can’t believe we pulled it off,” she said.

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Patrick embarked on a five-day trip with his best friends for duck hunting.

Kentucky couple Patrick Brennan Navy soldier goes viral

‘After all he has sacrificed, he more than deserves a chance to relax and recharge before he dives head-first into family life,’ said Cecilia. (Cecilia Brennan)

Cecilia and Patrick Brennan have a 6-month-old daughter, and Cecila said that for the majority of the year, she and her husband had been apart due to his service to America.

“After all he has sacrificed, he more than deserves a chance to relax and recharge before he dives head-first into family life,” she said.

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She added that she is her husband’s biggest fan, and that includes supporting his hobbies.

“Nothing brings me more joy than knowing he’s happy. And now, we will be having duck for Christmas.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Fowl Plains Outfitters for comment.

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