UK UK - Andrew Gosden, 14, Doncaster, South Yorks, 14 Sept 2007

[Farley]

He could quite easily have been messaging someone from his PSP.

It seems here someone somewhere manipulated Andrew in travelling to London.

As anyone thought If Andrews possible perpetrator actually travelled on the same train as him FROM Doncaster. I guess it's a different perspective and not completely out of the question.

I had thought about his PSP too but no idea if the family had wifi. And not many places had wifi hotspot back then. But that said, many people who did have wifi didn't password protect it or have good passwords. The train certainly didn't have wifi so he couldn't have spoken to whomever it was when he was on his way. Which to me means he was 100% confident that whoever was going to be meeting him in London would be there. And you'd assume phone records were checked for the time when Andrew returned home to change after his parents went to work.

I assume the possibility of someone traveling with him has been ruled out because a witness came forward to say they sat opposite Andrew on the train and got off at the station before KX. So had he been with anyone this witness would have seen them also.

 

[MrAdamJames]

I've been following this case since Andrew was one of the missing people featured on a programme on BBC One called Missing Live, back in 2008. At this time, Andrew hadn't even been missing for a year (I believe it was around 6 months) and I honestly believed he had just ran away. Here we are nearly 10 years later and he still hasn't been found. If he was just a runaway I'm pretty sure some information would have come to light by now. Now that so much time has passed and nothing has been seen or heard from Andrew, I think the most likely scenario is that he did indeed meet up with someone, and that that person obviously had bad intentions. I also believe the person he met up with was someone he knew personally; an older man that the family would likely also know. It's the only scenario that makes sense, in my opinion.

I remember Andrew's dad saying on Facebook that he and Andrew did a jigsaw together on the computer and that ironically Andrew had chosen to do a jigsaw of Buckingham Palace or the Big Ben (I can't remember which one, but it was one of them). It may have been a coincidence but this tells me that his trip to London wasn't some spur of the moment thing he decided to do on the morning he disappeared and that he was obviously thinking about it on the evening before his disappearance.

What angers me the most is that there is obviously someone that knows what happened to Andrew and they've just let Andrew's poor family suffer for nearly 10 years. This is one of the few cases I have followed for so many years, and I seriously hope Andrew's family get answers and find out what happened to him soon. His family seem so lovely and you can see how much of a toll this has taken on Andrew's poor dad. I just don't know how anyone can live with themself knowing the pain they have caused this boy's family. What I find scary is that obviously Andrew's family have no idea who Andrew would have met up with and the person he met up with could still be a family friend to this day and Andrew's parents would have no idea they're responsible for Andrew's disappearance. Sorry for the long post, I'm just so intrigued by this case.

 

[ekardh]

Would it be possible that he was communicating via his games console or was that also ruled out ?

The PSP does have a chat function. Not sure if they would be able to rule it out without access to the console itself.

Maybe the person had Andrew's home phone number and knew what times Andrew was at home alone to take the call.

Maybe. Like I said, I'd be interested to find out if Andrew's parents checked their phone records around that time. I'm sure they probably did but you never know. If it wasn't online or via a mobile phone, the person only had one other way to maintain contact with Andrew (unless they worked at his school).

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Could Andrew have used computers at the library or an internet cafe? It would only take someone slipping him a note with an email address and a promise of adventure so Andrew could set up his own account and make arrangements.

It's just so sad when you think of all the families living this nightmare every day, I think in many ways it must be harder than bereavement.

 

[shadowdancer]

Maybe. Like I said, I'd be interested to find out if Andrew's parents checked their phone records around that time. I'm sure they probably did but you never know. If it wasn't online or via a mobile phone, the person only had one other way to maintain contact with Andrew (unless they worked at his school).

If it was an incoming call, it wouldn't show on their bills/records. That's what made me think that the person called Andrew, rather than the other way around.

 

[Farley]

Could Andrew have used computers at the library or an internet cafe? It would only take someone slipping him a note with an email address and a promise of adventure so Andrew could set up his own account and make arrangements.

It's just so sad when you think of all the families living this nightmare every day, I think in many ways it must be harder than bereavement.

I believe the PC's at the library were checked also.

 

[Farley]

I've been following this case since Andrew was one of the missing people featured on a programme on BBC One called Missing Live, back in 2008. At this time, Andrew hadn't even been missing for a year (I believe it was around 6 months) and I honestly believed he had just ran away. Here we are nearly 10 years later and he still hasn't been found. If he was just a runaway I'm pretty sure some information would have come to light by now. Now that so much time has passed and nothing has been seen or heard from Andrew, I think the most likely scenario is that he did indeed meet up with someone, and that that person obviously had bad intentions. I also believe the person he met up with was someone he knew personally; an older man that the family would likely also know. It's the only scenario that makes sense, in my opinion.

I remember Andrew's dad saying on Facebook that he and Andrew did a jigsaw together on the computer and that ironically Andrew had chosen to do a jigsaw of Buckingham Palace or the Big Ben (I can't remember which one, but it was one of them). It may have been a coincidence but this tells me that his trip to London wasn't some spur of the moment thing he decided to do on the morning he disappeared and that he was obviously thinking about it on the evening before his disappearance.

What angers me the most is that there is obviously someone that knows what happened to Andrew and they've just let Andrew's poor family suffer for nearly 10 years. This is one of the few cases I have followed for so many years, and I seriously hope Andrew's family get answers and find out what happened to him soon. His family seem so lovely and you can see how much of a toll this has taken on Andrew's poor dad. I just don't know how anyone can live with themself knowing the pain they have caused this boy's family. What I find scary is that obviously Andrew's family have no idea who Andrew would have met up with and the person he met up with could still be a family friend to this day and Andrew's parents would have no idea they're responsible for Andrew's disappearance. Sorry for the long post, I'm just so intrigued by this case.

I agree with you. I also think it is someone known to the family either then or still known to them now.

And I agree that's what makes me angry too. Somebody knows what happened to Andrew and yet they continue to put his family through this hell. And I know there's thousands of families in the same position but Andrewma dad especially seems so lovely and they seem to have wanted nothing more than to give their children a great home life. He's done so much to help others with missing loved ones it just breaks my heart to see him going through this.

 

[ekardh]

If it was an incoming call, it wouldn't show on their bills/records. That's what made me think that the person called Andrew, rather than the other way around.

Ah yes, but I'm sure they could request a record of the incoming calls for legal purposes.

 

[shadowdancer]

Ah yes, but I'm sure they could request a record of the incoming calls for legal purposes.

They could, but did they?! We just don't know.

 

[Dowls90]

Hi All,

Firstly I'd like to say I am from Doncaster and have lived here all my life.

When Andrew first went missing the general consensus of the area fed by media and the police was that he was a straightforward runaway. I think this is what led to the failings in police work over the critical hours, days and weeks that followed.

The fact there is no cctv footage recovered past the kings cross exit stops the case right there. I believe kings cross has a pick up area for private vehicles, can someone confirm this? If so with all the cameras in London this would have one? Was it checked?

With no confirmed sightings from kings cross and I know we are just basing this on eye whitenesses now ...suggests to me that he left there in a vehicle taxi or with someone he knew in a private car.

Something that sticks in my mind is that for someone interested in gaming he didn't have an interest in computers...that usually comes hand in hand right? Maybe I'm wrong and just generalising here.
Not only this, it is reported that he did not have an email account. I find this very odd that a 14 year old boy did not have an email account, I'm 4 years older than Andrew however I was actively online from 12/13 on MSN chat, bebo etc and I am not tech savvy really.

Please bare in mind that I haven't done that much research yet and I have only read up to page 17 of this thread so some of these questions may have been answered/ discussed.

Did he have access to any other computers other than personal, psp and school?

Was any other student or teacher or member of staff off that day?

In regards to him walking home two days prior, was it a regular bus driver that took them home? I seem to remember his school has their own double decker busses to take kids home. Was he avoiding someone that was a constant on the bus?

His school has an active 6th form - did he know someone older from there that he confided in and then met up with in London?

What is the return ticket refusal statement based on? Someone at a booth? Could this be confused and that he wasn't asked?

Apologies for the comment being all over the place, I have a lot of thoughts/ questions regarding this and it's quite difficult trying to get them written down in a legible way.

I look forward to your responses
Feel free to ask me anything about the area.

 

[ekardh]

What is the return ticket refusal statement based on? Someone at a booth? Could this be confused and that he wasn't asked?
.

Yes, it was from the clerk at the station. She remembered serving Andrew that day.

However, on reflection it was probably an off-peak return ticket. An open return ticket for that kind of journey would've been a lot more expensive than an extra 50p. So, it doesn't tell us much, because Andrew might have been banking on another ride home or coming home on a later train, if he was planning to come home at all.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Hi Dowls90, and :welcome: Always good to have locals on the thread!

I think many missing person cases lose critical evidence as it's assumed they left voluntarily and the opportunity to get CCTV from places near Kings X was lost because it wasn't requested straight away. My gut feeling is Andrew met someone there who promised him a left home, probably an older person, someone he trusted who groomed him into thinking a day out was ok. I reckon he planned to return or he wouldn't have left cash and his charger at home and I also believe it was pre-planned. But what went wrong??

 

[Dowls90]

Hi,

Thank you for the warm welcome!

Just a thought and I am not sure whether it has been suggested on here.
Is it possible he was catfished by fellow pupils? Thinking back to school when I was that age and a person that was a goth, quiet and very clever was unfortunately always bullied..for them to suggest he wasn't is strange to me.

Also after talking things through with my other half...isn't it possible this was a spur of the moment thing? Hence forgetting certain things money, charger, coat etc could he of snapped?

 

[Dowls90]

Apologies, I am new to this website and I attempted to quote Farleys comment regarding waiting for another bus.

I believe his school had their own double decker busses that took children to various bus stops in the area they are from.

( I live a couple of minutes from his school and used to get stuck behind the busses at the pick up point in my village)

 

[Farley]

Apologies, I am new to this website and I attempted to quote Farleys comment regarding waiting for another bus.

I believe his school had their own double decker busses that took children to various bus stops in the area they are from.

( I live a couple of minutes from his school and used to get stuck behind the busses at the pick up point in my village)

I was just speculating as to why I found it strange he walked home instead of waiting for another bus. I obviously didn't know the bus was one put on by the school.

I don't think gaming and computers go hand in hand. I've always loved computers. I taught myself how to build them at a very early age yet I've never had even a slight interest in gaming. My mum had 7 brothers and sisters so I have an endless supply of cousins. Most of them had gaming systems but had no interest in computers. All anecdotal evidence obviously but basically just saying I don't believe computers and gaming go hand in hand.

I believe by the time they requested the CCTV it had all been wiped so nobody has any idea of he met someone outside or went strolling through London. There's also a few reports that say he was sighted in Pizza Hut and buying a top but his dad said there's zero confirmed sightings after KX so I'll take that as fact as if anyone would know his dad would.

Just personally opinion but I think it makes sense that he got into a car or taxi etc given nobody at all reported seeing him in London and surely someone would have had he just been walking about in London.

People seem to assume that just because they had an email address and an online presence that all kids do/did. Not everyone is interested in being online. We've got no reason at all to doubt Andrew's family when they say he didn't even have an email address and wasn't interested in having a mobile phone either (his dad states this in the interview I linked to earlier in the thread). The police also found no evidence of it.

 

[Dowls90]

I was just speculating as to why I found it strange he walked home instead of waiting for another bus. I obviously didn't know the bus was one put on by the school.

I don't think gaming and computers go hand in hand. I've always loved computers. I taught myself how to build them at a very early age yet I've never had even a slight interest in gaming. My mum had 7 brothers and sisters so I have an endless supply of cousins. Most of them had gaming systems but had no interest in computers. All anecdotal evidence obviously but basically just saying I don't believe computers and gaming go hand in hand.

I believe by the time they requested the CCTV it had all been wiped so nobody has any idea of he met someone outside or went strolling through London. There's also a few reports that say he was sighted in Pizza Hut and buying a top but his dad said there's zero confirmed sightings after KX so I'll take that as fact as if anyone would know his dad would.

Just personally opinion but I think it makes sense that he got into a car or taxi etc given nobody at all reported seeing him in London and surely someone would have had he just been walking about in London.

People seem to assume that just because they had an email address and an online presence that all kids do/did. Not everyone is interested in being online. We've got no reason at all to doubt Andrew's family when they say he didn't even have an email address and wasn't interested in having a mobile phone either (his dad states this in the interview I linked to earlier in the thread). The police also found no evidence of it.

Hi Farley,

Apologies if my post came across as if I was shaming you because you was wrong, that wasn't my intention, I was merely trying to shed some more light on the bus situation.

Your right, I guess it depends on where you grow up and who you have around you to influence certain opinions. Around me most people that have an interest in gaming are very good with computers also.
In regards to the email account, I did not assume he had one what I mean is it is something that sticks out to me in the case that he did not have one when it is so common for a teenager to have one.

I don’t doubt Andrews family at all, I doubt the police work due to the failure to seek out the CCTV footage until it was too late. Like I said, the general consensus in the area at the time was that he ran away, if the police felt the same would they check as hard? I don’t know, that’s just my own opinion.

There are so many possibilities and theories knocking about I don’t know what the next step could be, especially with no other footage. It’s a long shot but I have some friends that went to that school that may be able to tell me something that could help.

ED

 

[Farley]

Hi Farley,

Apologies if my post came across as if I was shaming you because you was wrong, that wasn't my intention, I was merely trying to shed some more light on the bus situation.

Your right, I guess it depends on where you grow up and who you have around you to influence certain opinions. Around me most people that have an interest in gaming are very good with computers also.
In regards to the email account, I did not assume he had one what I mean is it is something that sticks out to me in the case that he did not have one when it is so common for a teenager to have one.

I don’t doubt Andrews family at all, I doubt the police work due to the failure to seek out the CCTV footage until it was too late. Like I said, the general consensus in the area at the time was that he ran away, if the police felt the same would they check as hard? I don’t know, that’s just my own opinion.

There are so many possibilities and theories knocking about I don’t know what the next step could be, especially with no other footage. It’s a long shot but I have some friends that went to that school that may be able to tell me something that could help.

ED

No I didn't think you were trying to shame me at all! It's great that you're able to shed some light on the bus situation as if it was a school bus he could very well have been avoiding bullies and would not have been possible for him to just wait for the next bus home.

I also think the police handled this case very badly. They knew very quickly were Andrew had gone. What train he took and what platform he arrived at. It would have taken three minutes to call/email/fax and ask for the CCTV not to be deleted. But they didn't and genuinely think had they done that his parents would have at least know if he walked off into London, and which way or if he met someone outside KX and if so who.

Have you listened to the interview with his Dad? He says he thinks the police handled the case badly too.

Given how there's literally been nothing that could be a lead since the CCTV footage with no sightings or anything it's hard to imagine the family getting answers unless somebody comes forward with information.

It's so sad. He looks so innocent on the CCTV footage and probably thought he was about to have a great adventure in London and whoever he was meeting (again just my opinion, I know there's no evidence of anything) has deliberately done him harm. Its heartbreaking.

 

[flutterby]

Just personally opinion but I think it makes sense that he got into a car or taxi etc given nobody at all reported seeing him in London and surely someone would have had he just been walking about in London.
.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure if it's as simple as no reports=nobody seeing him. I work in Covent Garden and I try to go out for lunch everyday. There's always hundreds of people about, including solo kids/teens and nobody really pays them any attention. At lunch yesterday, I sat next to two teens in cafe and just assumed they were on a day trip or something. They certainly weren't local as they were looking for the nearest tube on googlemaps. Thing is, if I saw a missing persons appeal for them, I wouldn't necessarily put two and two together. I can't really remember what either looked like.

I suppose my simple answer is, it's so easy to blend in around Central London, unless you are drawing significant attention to yourself, it's unlikely that anybody would really 'notice' you, sadly.

 

[Dowls90]

No I didn't think you were trying to shame me at all! It's great that you're able to shed some light on the bus situation as if it was a school bus he could very well have been avoiding bullies and would not have been possible for him to just wait for the next bus home.

I also think the police handled this case very badly. They knew very quickly were Andrew had gone. What train he took and what platform he arrived at. It would have taken three minutes to call/email/fax and ask for the CCTV not to be deleted. But they didn't and genuinely think had they done that his parents would have at least know if he walked off into London, and which way or if he met someone outside KX and if so who.

Have you listened to the interview with his Dad? He says he thinks the police handled the case badly too.

Given how there's literally been nothing that could be a lead since the CCTV footage with no sightings or anything it's hard to imagine the family getting answers unless somebody comes forward with information.

It's so sad. He looks so innocent on the CCTV footage and probably thought he was about to have a great adventure in London and whoever he was meeting (again just my opinion, I know there's no evidence of anything) has deliberately done him harm. Its heartbreaking.

Hi Farley,

Phew, I am so glad you didn't feel that way, after re-reading my comments I realised I could have worded them a lot better! Especially my first post, I was in a rush as the website/my phone was messing up and deleted my comment several times before I could post.

I haven't actually, I have been pretty busy recently and haven't had chance to go through everything but I certainly will.

Hopefully, with knowing people in the area that went to the same school I may be able to confirm that he was or was not being bullied and find out more about the bus situation (what times they left etc) as he could have stayed longer at school to talk to someone and missed the bus/s.

ED

 

[Farley]

Unfortunately, I'm not sure if it's as simple as no reports=nobody seeing him. I work in Covent Garden and I try to go out for lunch everyday. There's always hundreds of people about, including solo kids/teens and nobody really pays them any attention. At lunch yesterday, I sat next to two teens in cafe and just assumed they were on a day trip or something. They certainly weren't local as they were looking for the nearest tube on googlemaps. Thing is, if I saw a missing persons appeal for them, I wouldn't necessarily put two and two together. I can't really remember what either looked like.

I suppose my simple answer is, it's so easy to blend in around Central London, unless you are drawing significant attention to yourself, it's unlikely that anybody would really 'notice' you, sadly.

I don't know I'm probably being a little naive. I just would like to think that once his face hit the news etc that someone would have recalled seeing him had he just been wondering around London.

But I agree people don't notice. Especially in London. Everyone is in such a rush to get where they're going they pay title attantion to others. As I said, I realise it's naive. I just like to think someone would have noticed this kid.