Lyalls react to Walsh case being resolved
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. -- Since his son disappeared outside a Florida mall and was later found dead in a canal, John Walsh has been tormented by one emotionally charged question.
"For 27 years, we've been asking, Who could take a six-year-old boy and murder him and decapitate him? Who?" said Walsh.
On Tuesday, police confirmed what Walsh and his wife suspected for years -- their son Adam was murdered by serial killer Ottis Toole, who died in prison in 1996 while serving five life sentences for other murders.
"The not knowing has been a torture. But that journey's over," Walsh said.
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Mary and Doug Lyall are still amidst their journey for answers to what happened to their daughter Suzanne more than 10 years ago.
The then 19-year-old UAlbany student was last seen boarding a CDTA bus from Crossgates Mall on her way back to campus.
"We hope that Suzanne walks in the door tomorrow. I mean, that's our hope. We don't know that that will ever happen," said Mary Lyall.
But she said, seeing the Walsh case solved after all these years keeps alive the belief that someday, someone will come forward with information about her daughter.
The Lyalls are also happy for Walsh, a man they call a hero for his work on behalf of the missing. Now they hope his family can begin to move on.
"One chapter of a number of things that maybe have to fall into place before you can, before any family can approach closure," said Doug Lyall.
Like Walsh, who hosts America's Most Wanted and champions other causes to protect children and find missing persons, the Lyalls have dedicated themselves to helping people cope with the disappearance of a loved one.
They run the Center for Hope which provides support, but they're also taking proactive steps to prevent abductions, including making decks of cards with missing people on them and lobbying for a DNA matching system.
But one of their latest projects is to bring a program already used in 40 other states here to New York.
It's called RAD Kids.
"Resist Aggression Defensively. It teaches children from the preschool to the age of 12 how to protect themselves against a predator," Mary Lyall said.
They've already spoken to leaders in Saratoga Springs about starting the program there.
The Lyalls said there are close to 4,000 missing persons cases in New York State alone, and anything they can do to keep that number from rising is worth a shot.