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

[Officer Dibble]

This is interesting

 

[dotr]

This is interesting

Very interesting, there have been more cases such as the ones described in the video, coming to light recently, so there is always hope for Andrew!

 

[JSolt1210]

This is interesting

I find that first case especially haunting because of Petra's apparent lack of regard or concern for her family. Of course, maybe she had a reason that we don't know. But the way it was presented in the video, it's like she had no emotion or connection with them. She coldly calculated her disappearance, successfully took every possible precaution to avoid detection, and then turned down a reunion after she was discovered. Some people really are wired this way—and maybe Andrew could've been, too.

 

[Nadal]

I find that first case especially haunting because of Petra's apparent lack of regard or concern for her family. Of course, maybe she had a reason that we don't know. But the way it was presented in the video, it's like she had no emotion or connection with them. She coldly calculated her disappearance, successfully took every possible precaution to avoid detection, and then turned down a reunion after she was discovered. Some people really are wired this way—and maybe Andrew could've been, too.

Very weird case. I read an article that mentions that she saved up money to disappear so it wasn't a spur of the moment thing and she adamantly claims there was no type of abuse she just wants to be left alone. She also avoided any contact with neighbours. I think she possibly has some sort of mental issue where she doesn't like interacting with people unless necessary, just a person who wants isolation. Glad the guy wasn't convicted of her murder, he likely would have been in America. I wonder if that guy even killed the 14 year old though, he might just be mentally ill that's happened quite a few times.

 

[dotr]

Reminded of this case in Quebec..
https://www.cbc.ca/fifth/m_episodes/2010-2011/missing
BROADCAST DATE : Mar 11, 2011
Finding Julie Bureau
"Everyone knew who she was. She'd been missing for nearly three years and photo seemed to be everywhere. With her welcoming big smile and red hair tied back, Julie Bureau could have been anyone's best friend or daughter. At the age of 14 she'd vanished without a trace. One day she was at school and the next day she was gone, without any explanation. Her story captivated Quebecers for years — part mystery — part detective story. Julie's disappearance left her family and community to cope with the numbing unknown. Then suddenly, one day, she was spotted just an hour away from where she'd disappeared. Her parents soon learned their little girl had created a new life for herself and had a new name. She'd been living with a man old enough to be her father, who was hailed as a good Samaritan for taking the little girl in. But Julie's saga didn't end there. It's a story with twists and turns with an ending that is stranger than fiction. The recent arrest of the man Julie had been living with has raised troubling new questions what really happened to a little girl lost then found."

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/new...3-years-was-not-held-hostage/article20434110/
Published July 20, 2004 Updated April 21, 2018 by Tu Thanh Ha
"She was in good health, hadn't been held against her will, hadn't become a junkie or been forced into selling her body.After vanishing three years ago when she was 14, Julie Bureau, the small-town schoolgirl whose return this weekend made headlines, was not the victim of any lurid fate.

She ran away and lived an hour's drive from her family's home in the Eastern Townships.

No longer going to school, she was working and keeping a low profile until she was spotted Saturday and taken into custody.
The TQS television network aired an interview with an unidentified Beauceville man who said he had sheltered Ms. Bureau in his home during most of her absence.

A single father of a young boy, the 38-year-old man said she had been hitchhiking and hadn't eaten for two days when he took her in. He said he didn't know she was a minor and added that they were just friends."

 

[ChatteringBirds]

These are indeed interesting cases but even all those years ago, how did they work using a false identity without the taxation authorities ever catching on?

How could you open a bank account, utility accounts, even get a phone?

The case in Canada is more believable, if she had her basics taken care of by this man, but that was really a few years of serendipity, not fully creating a new identity and life for decades.

The lady in Germany, I have no idea how she did it for so long, worked formal jobs but no one caught on. And I wonder why she didn't want anything to do with any of her relatives ever again.

 

[Elainera]

These are indeed interesting cases but even all those years ago, how did they work using a false identity without the taxation authorities ever catching on?

How could you open a bank account, utility accounts, even get a phone?

The case in Canada is more believable, if she had her basics taken care of by this man, but that was really a few years of serendipity, not fully creating a new identity and life for decades.

The lady in Germany, I have no idea how she did it for so long, worked formal jobs but no one caught on. And I wonder why she didn't want anything to do with any of her relatives ever again.

Someone else (a friend usually) does the official things that require valid paperwork for them, like renting an apartment, getting a phone, utility bills etc. If they work it's often cash in hand jobs. MOO.

ETA: I knew someone who lived illegally in the country for about 20 years. I first met him just when authorities finally caught on to him, and he told me the whole story. Everything was always in his friend's name, and they moved around a lot. He was lucky he only got deported.

I know we are talking about a missing person, not an illegal alien, but I guess they find themselves in similar situations. MOO.

 

[dotr]

Have noticed over the years that it seems like a fair number of (usually male) exceptionally bright students have mysteriously gone missing.
Are these bright students lured by a shadowy organization of some type, or do super clever kids get into particularly complicated problems, or could it be that they simply no longer want to be the high achieving student anymore?
Did Andrew play a musical instrument, did he take lessons, did he want to buy an instrument or electronic equipment of some kind?
Did somebody he admired ask to borrow cash from him and Andrew delivered it?
speculation, imo.
Father of young Yorkshire man missing for 12 years describes 'endless torture' over disappearance
27 December 2019 rbbm.

Andrew Gosden was just 14 when he left his home in Balby, South Yorkshireon the morning of September 14, 2007

He was last seen on CCTV leaving King's Cross station and has not been seen since, resulting in 12 years and three months of torture and unanswered questions for his family, including his father Kevin Gosden.


Speaking exclusively to the Yorkshire Post from the family home in Balby, Mr Gosden said: "We have spent 12 years going through 'is he dead, is he alive?' and every single possible thought goes through your mind.
"He could have got off the train at London Kings Cross and someone has knifed him and chucked his body in the canal and he has never been found. We just have no clue.

"People speculate that he could have been murdered, radicalised, groomed etc and of course we have thought about all those possibilities.''

"Andrew was a gifted student with a 100 per cent attendance record at The McAuley Catholic High School. He was on the Young Gifted and Talented Programme, which was designed to enhance the educational development of the top five percent of school pupils and he had been expected to score straight A's in his GCSE examinations.

"He was lovely, a really easy kid to have around," Mr Gosden said.

"He was ridiculously clever which was obvious from a young age. He could read anything you put in front of him by the time he was three and mathematically he was exceptional.

"We called him 'Roo' because he was lively and bouncy. We just never saw him down or fed up. He just always seemed happy up to and including the night before he just disappeared."

"When you reflect back you begin to think more. There are some psychological disorders that can be particularly well hidden and then create a breakdown but none of us picked up on anything and he didn't give us any hints that he was depressed or becoming schizophrenic. That's what's really strange about it all. He was just his usual, normal self.''

 

[muggles63]

These are indeed interesting cases but even all those years ago, how did they work using a false identity without the taxation authorities ever catching on?

How could you open a bank account, utility accounts, even get a phone?

The case in Canada is more believable, if she had her basics taken care of by this man, but that was really a few years of serendipity, not fully creating a new identity and life for decades.

The lady in Germany, I have no idea how she did it for so long, worked formal jobs but no one caught on. And I wonder why she didn't want anything to do with any of her relatives ever again.

I can not speak for anyone else, but it can be as easy as living in plain sight. Just keep a low profile and be self employed.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

It would be like endless torture for parents to have no idea what happened. Man

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I can not speak for anyone else, but it can be as easy as living in plain sight. Just keep a low profile and be self employed.

Self employed doing what that would earn you enough to live decently for decades yet would never mean clients / customers needed to report your work to tax authorities? How would you find a place to live without proper ID and proof of income... For decades? It just doesn't strike me as easy (shrug.) I really hope it's what he did, though, and that he'll contact his family and at least let them know he's okay.

 

[BethAnn777]

It wouldn’t be easy and I don’t think Andrew would do this to his family.

 

[MrsHansGruber]

Has anyone looked into or discussed any link to anyone he may have met at Excellence Hub which he attended just before his disappearance. Could he have made plans with someone he met there?

 

[dotr]

Has anyone looked into or discussed any link to anyone he may have met at Excellence Hub which he attended just before his disappearance. Could he have made plans with someone he met there?

Welcome to Ws MrsHansGruber!
Thanks for the reminder, Andrew seemed to really enjoy that experience, imo. rbbm.
Disappearance of Andrew Gosden - Wikipedia
"Events leading up to the disappearance
During the 2007 school summer holidays (typically July to September[21]) Gosden's parents had suggested that he travel alone to London to stay with his grandmother but he did not wish to go.[4] Also during the 2007 school summer holidays Gosden attended a summer school for gifted and talented children[11][22] called the Excellence Hub which was a collaboration between the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York.[23] Gosden's parents recall that he returned from the Excellence Hub being uncharacteristically enthused about what he had been doing there.[11]

At the time of his disappearance, Gosden was eight days into the new school year after returning from the summer holidays.[21][9] In the days leading up to his disappearance Gosden twice chose to break his normal routine; he walked home from school rather than taking the bus.[4] Walking the 4-mile (6.4 km) route from school to his home would have taken around 1 hour 20 minutes.[4]"

 

[ChatteringBirds]

It wouldn’t be easy and I don’t think Andrew would do this to his family.

How to explain buying a one-way ticket, though? What do you think was the intention? (I'm not going anywhere with this, don't have a theory, though do think it's possible he met someone online. My generation, somewhat older, already did that as teenagers...)

 

[dotr]

How to explain buying a one-way ticket, though? What do you think was the intention? (I'm not going anywhere with this, don't have a theory, though do think it's possible he met someone online. My generation, somewhat older, already did that as teenagers...)

Wondering if Andrew bought the one way ticket because he was planning or expecting to find another way back home, or the ticket was just the first part of a journey, ie he continued on via ferry, train, bus, car, or even a plane (private)? ect.
speculation.

 

[BethAnn777]

How to explain buying a one-way ticket, though? What do you think was the intention? (I'm not going anywhere with this, don't have a theory, though do think it's possible he met someone online. My generation, somewhat older, already did that as teenagers...)

I don’t think he had any intention of returning home. I suspect self-harm.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I don’t think he had any intention of returning home. I suspect self-harm.

Oh, I misinterpreted your "I don't think he would do this to his family" comment. I took that as suspecting a 3rd party. But you think it was a more impulsive act, not a plan to start a new life. Sad to think about, but depression can be well-hidden.

 

[dotr]

Oh, I misinterpreted your "I don't think he would do this to his family" comment. I took that as suspecting a 3rd party. But you think it was a more impulsive act, not a plan to start a new life. Sad to think about, but depression can be well-hidden.

Teenage suicide is always a possibility, although in Andrew's case i wonder why he would withdraw so much money first? imo.

 

[Mrs Marple]

Who else was at this Excellemce Hub, that is what l would be looking at. It's possible he was groomed there. He may have met someone on the way home, which may be why he chose to walk. However intelligent he was, l suspect he was naive and vulnerable.