‘Worst club in America’: John Walsh says he identifies with family of Gabby Petito

CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — The body of missing YouTuber Gabby Petito has been identified, the FBI confirmed in a tweet.

The Teton County coroner ruled the death a homicide, but the cause of death is pending final results, the tweet said.

Brian Laundrie, Petito’s boyfriend, was ruled a person of interest in the woman’s disappearance before he vanished last week.

John Walsh, the man who has helped catch more than 1,400 fugitives during his long career as host of “America’s ‘Most Wanted,” says he identifies with the family of Gabby Petito. Walsh’s 6-year-old son, Adam, was kidnapped and murdered in 1981.

“[Gabby Petito’s family] now belong to the horrible worst club in America that I belong to: parents of murdered children,” said Walsh. “And dads always take it bad because we got that macho testosterone. And we’re always thinking about getting even. And when Adam was kidnapped at 6-years-old in 1981 — worst two weeks of my life until they found his severed head. The not knowing … they at least know what happened to Gabby.”

In 1984, Walsh and his wife Revé started the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to turn their grief into action.

“My wife started the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which is now 450 employees in Washington, D.C. — five branches. So something really good came out of Adam’s death and we wanted to make sure he didn’t die in vain,” said Walsh.

He said, if possible, he would like the opportunity to help Gabby’s family on a personal level.

“If (Gabby Petito’s family) want to call me, reach out to me, I have been there,” he said. “I have been there and you’re going to come to some rough times. You’re going to have to go through the roughest trial you’ve ever heard of in your life because it’ll be your own daughter. But you’ve got to think of all the joy that beautiful girl brought you.”