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

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Kitkat28 said:
if like most people you just give them a cursory glance and bung them back in the kids bag, you don’t find out until school try to phone home that they actually have transposed the digits on your phone number for example. In my children’s case it was regarding an allergy for one and a medical condition for the other so I was hyper-vigilant; had it been a phone number I doubt I’d have ever even noticed.
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Going on my experience with mine and other kids; sometimes the forms get lost before they get home, or handed over weeks later. I've found outdated phone numbers and emails listed on ours. Always something to correct even when nothing has changed.
 
If Andrew is indeed still alive: he has seen his families suffering, their torment, missed birthdays, missed family Christmas, missed sisters wedding and crucially he would have heard of his dads suicide attempt. Given how affectionately his family speak of him (we only get their side)...

... I find it really unbelievable that Andrew wouldn't at the very minimum send a message to TheMissing website just to confirm he was alive and ok. Just to end his own families torture.

I just struggle to believe that scenario personally. My gut is telling me that because of this he cannot be alive anymore.
 
I pray that one day someone just happens to discover a photo taken and uploaded somewhere on the web from September 2007. It doesn't have to be London, it may elsewhere, that shows Andrew in the background with another adult. Does this type of database exist? Where we can isolate photos and videos from all media platforms and separate them using date and as a 'handy extra' location it was taken.

Someone knows something, I have conviction that we will get answers eventually. Allegiances may change over the passage of time, key information withheld due to perceived insignificance may surface and the spotlight will be right on the individual who cannot believe their luck to have gotten away with their actions due to sheer incompetence all those years ago.
 
DanCJ said:
I pray that one day someone just happens to discover a photo taken and uploaded somewhere on the web from September 2007. It doesn't have to be London, it may elsewhere, that shows Andrew in the background with another adult. Does this type of database exist? Where we can isolate photos and videos from all media platforms and separate them using date and as a 'handy extra' location it was taken.

Someone knows something, I have conviction that we will get answers eventually. Allegiances may change over the passage of time, key information withheld due to perceived insignificance may surface and the spotlight will be right on the individual who cannot believe their luck to have gotten away with their actions due to sheer incompetence all those years ago.
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Or, no one knows anything, because Andrew committed suicide.
 
I've always wondered about the similarities this case has with Martin Allen's.
 
DanCJ said:
I pray that one day someone just happens to discover a photo taken and uploaded somewhere on the web from September 2007. It doesn't have to be London, it may elsewhere, that shows Andrew in the background with another adult. Does this type of database exist? Where we can isolate photos and videos from all media platforms and separate them using date and as a 'handy extra' location it was taken.

Someone knows something, I have conviction that we will get answers eventually. Allegiances may change over the passage of time, key information withheld due to perceived insignificance may surface and the spotlight will be right on the individual who cannot believe their luck to have gotten away with their actions due to sheer incompetence all those years ago.
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The only option at the moment is Flickr, which has quite a lot of photos from September 2007 in storage. The idea was suggested on Reddit and there have been some "possible" but blurry so far.
 
I have been thinking, again, about this case.
My thoughts are
1. The cash he took out, and the cash he left behind. I think he left the cash in his room as a delaying tactic. When checked it would not look as if he had gone very far. The cash from the bank: Some have speculated that he took cash because it was non-traceable. I always assumed it was his only option, as my children at that age did not have debit payment cards. Googling this I found out that in the UK
Banks have to ask for your parents' permission to give you a card if you are under 16. (Info from HERE) A debit card is not an option on all junior accounts, so it is quite likely, IMO, that Andrew had to take cash.
2. The pizza hut sighting. Andrew had obtained warmer clothing. What? A hoodie, a jacket? I have not seen any descriptions of the updated outfit. Where did he get it from? Were shops, or charity shops canvassed for a purchase? Did someone give it to him?
3. Walking home from school. I am convinced that this is relevant. This was a change in behaviour shortly before he vanished. Was he seen walking home? Did the times match up? ie, was he seen around half an hour's walking distance from the school half an hour after school finished? I have wondered if he was walking to check how long something took, or to get his family used to his later arrival home, thus buying him more time. Was he doing something on the way, or was he doing something at or near school, which caused him to miss the bus? Did his route take him near the railway station, for example, to check train times?

All MOO and speculation
 
Interesting points @Deathsgrandaughter.
1. I’m trying to remember when my kids got their debit cards rather than just cash point cards - I think it was when they were 13 but I couldn’t swear to it. I certainly don’t remember having to give permission; it was their money in their bank accounts so I’m not sure why I would have had to? I’m wondering if that might be a recent thing. I have a feeling there was quite a low daily or individual purchase limit on the cards though (£30 springs to mind) so if they had been planning a day out with shopping or a larger spend (like a train ticket for instance) it would seem to fit that they would have taken cash out too.

2. I haven’t seen reference to possible-Andrew wearing a coat at the Pizza Hut sighting - can you link this?

3. I agree with you on this. There was speculation that A might have chosen to walk home because he was ‘being bullied on the bus’ but I don’t think that was it. I think it’s more likely what you say, going somewhere after school or doing something on the way home. I’m guessing he had quite a bit of time before his parents got in from work, where it didn’t matter if he got home at different times each day.
 
@Kitkat28 , thanks for responding.
1. I had an idea that I remembered children's debit cards being introduced in the UK, and found this article from 2008, discussing the new availability of such cards to children.
In the past, children aged 11 to 15 who hold current accounts were restricted to debit cards that could be used only in cash machines or at bank branches.
So in 2007 it looks as if it was cash or nothing for Andrew. I think the parental permission must have come later, as according to this article there had been problems with children receiving unsolicited debit cards, which they concealed from their parents, and used on unsuitable purchases online.

2. Andrew's warmer clothing. This is not the source I remember. (I thought I recalled an interview with KG in which he talked about the pizza hut sighting and warmer clothing) but this archived article from the Doncaster Free Press on 19th September 2007 states:
Andrew had around 300 with him - some of which he appears to have spent on warmer clothes
I have not found clarification of what this warmer clothing was. (And I believe the amount of money given here is incorrect)

3. Walking home. Having established what time he got in from school walking, Andrew was now aware that he could arrive home late unnoticed, and would not be missed immediately, and with luck, not until mealtime. Did his family know at the time he was walking home? Or was that something that they only discovered after his disappearance?

While looking for the above I came across an interview with KG from June of this year, in which he was asked about the relatives in London. I know this has been asked about above so will quote it here:
Who did he know in London? Were these people “cleared”?
My parents, couple of aunts, couple of uncles, some old friends of mine. They were among the first people we called and remain as baffled as we are. And yes, they were “cleared” by the Police side of things.

The Disappearance of Andrew Gosden. Interview with Kevin Gosden.



 
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Regarding the warmer clothing, I think it is possible he might have taken a sweater with him from home. What was in the bag he was carrying? Only his PSP? His parents were distraught, how could they possibly remember with certainty every single item of clothing he possessed and if something was missing?
 
Oh, no! Why is this starting so late at night? I do hope people still participate in the chat. The time is forbidding for me as I am +2h ahead and it is a workday tomorrow.

Should we arrange some questions to be asked by someone who can make it?

I would like to ask if Andrew had spent any time in London before without his parents. Had he stayed with relatives without the parents being there? Did he have any other acquaintances in London?
 
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Its an American channel, so it will be on the time with the biggest audiences, its a great show with audience participation. We need a similar type show, UK based.
 
StillDiggin said:
This promises to be good tonight. A live interview with Kevin Andrews father. There is live chat so you can ask away and i hope a few can make it even if time is not UK friendly.
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I caught the end of it and look forward to watching it from the beginning soon when time permits.

In the end portion that I saw, what stood out to me was:
- Andrew's father confirming that as far as he knows, there wasn't additional CCTV footage obtained, aside from A's arrival at the King's Cross station
- No evidence that Andrew had a secret cell phone
- No signs even in retrospect that Andrew had depression or mental illness, but of course it's possible.
They seem open to all possibilities.
- He doesn't think Andrew walking home a few times rather than taking the bus was necessarily related to his disappearance. He said the weather was nice and he thinks it could just be Andrew felt like walking.
- Andrew and his sister were very close, "best friends," and he believes if something had been bothering Andrew, he would have confided in his sister, which he hadn't.
- They have not hired a private investigator, due to the lack of any clues or information
- The family has given DNA, including Andrew's DNA.
- The family has a website. (I still need to check it out.)

What else stood out to you guys?
 
ChatteringBirds said:
I caught the end of it and look forward to watching it from the beginning soon when time permits.

In the end portion that I saw, what stood out to me was:
- Andrew's father confirming that as far as he knows, there wasn't additional CCTV footage obtained, aside from A's arrival at the King's Cross station
- No evidence that Andrew had a secret cell phone
- No signs even in retrospect that Andrew had depression or mental illness, but of course it's possible.
They seem open to all possibilities.
- He doesn't think Andrew walking home a few times rather than taking the bus was necessarily related to his disappearance. He said the weather was nice and he thinks it could just be Andrew felt like walking.
- Andrew and his sister were very close, "best friends," and he believes if something had been bothering Andrew, he would have confided in his sister, which he hadn't.
- They have not hired a private investigator, due to the lack of any clues or information
- The family has given DNA, including Andrew's DNA.
- The family has a website. (I still need to check it out.)

What else stood out to you guys?
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-Only got internet in the house 8 weeks before he went missing.
Leaves me to speculate that he may not have really known the dangers that we know lurk online, I didn’t back then, and going missing that soon after getting access to that world is coincidental at least. I realise that the police have supposedly covered that angle completely, but throughout he doesn’t speak glowingly of their work in the case.
Also talks of Andrew having a “quiet time” and a “quiet year”, one in which he stopped going to the scouts and possibly the Church.
From my personal experience, when struggling with issues mentally or in my life, I find a real comfort in my alternative, online world and I wonder what that could have got me if I went through it in my teenage years.
 
Pimlipo said:
-Only got internet in the house 8 weeks before he went missing.
Leaves me to speculate that he may not have really known the dangers that we know lurk online, I didn’t back then, and going missing that soon after getting access to that world is coincidental at least. I realise that the police have supposedly covered that angle completely, but throughout he doesn’t speak glowingly of their work in the case.
Also talks of Andrew having a “quiet time” and a “quiet year”, one in which he stopped going to the scouts and possibly the Church.
From my personal experience, when struggling with issues mentally or in my life, I find a real comfort in my alternative, online world and I wonder what that could have got me if I went through it in my teenage years.
Click to expand...

I hope to God some sick pervert at church or scouts didn’t abuse him!
 
Pimlipo said:
-Only got internet in the house 8 weeks before he went missing.
Leaves me to speculate that he may not have really known the dangers that we know lurk online, I didn’t back then, and going missing that soon after getting access to that world is coincidental at least. I realise that the police have supposedly covered that angle completely, but throughout he doesn’t speak glowingly of their work in the case.
Also talks of Andrew having a “quiet time” and a “quiet year”, one in which he stopped going to the scouts and possibly the Church.
From my personal experience, when struggling with issues mentally or in my life, I find a real comfort in my alternative, online world and I wonder what that could have got me if I went through it in my teenage years.
Click to expand...

Andrew having a quiet year/time stands out to me. Someone who is typically quiet, or quiet by nature, wouldn’t be described as having a quiet year/time. Yes, he may have been on the quiet side, but to specifically point this out tells me it was extraordinary. I still worry the change or magnification in this trait could have meant abuse or depression.
 
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