UK UK - Andrew Gosden, 14, Doncaster, South Yorks, 14 Sep 2007 #2

[VelvetDiamante]

There's a chance that the police still suspect that Andrew was kidnapped and trafficked.

The two arrested men being found innocent could just mean that they got the wrong guys.

The police must have had a good reason to arrest them though, and not just based on anonymous's word for it.

Maybe I'm just being too optimistic that they have a lead.

But maybe those two men kidnapped and trafficked another kid (who got away from them).
But it doesn't explain why Andrew's family would apologise to them....
Just thinking out loud.!

 

[Daisychain3]

A couple of things to note…

It’s interesting to me that people are quick to discount Brighton, even in 2007 it was well known for its inclusive and alternative vibe, large and friendly LGBT scene as well as home to lots of up and coming bands. BIMM Brighton had also grown notoriety so was attracting a lot of musician and creative types.

An enticing and inviting place for the drifters and searchers and those that felt like they didn't belong.

I am also very torn when I listen to Andrew’s family talk about him and the kind of person he was, especially when those trying help work out where Andrew is use as context.

Of course they must miss him terribly and are good decent people but I believe the boy and his life that they talk about is quite far removed from the complex chap he had become when he left for London that day. It’s also likely that Andrew felt the pressure of this perception of him, rule abiding, top school performer, definitely “not” interested in technology, the advancements of social platforms and messaging programs like every other teenager, even is route from school was micro managed and needed an explanation if different from normal.

Something else I have always wondered if Andrew was undiagnosed Neurodivergent, extremely academic/gifted children often are it would explain some of his routines, washing in the washing machine before he left, using the same cash line he always did, opting for the more expensive single ticket rather than being able to be adaptable to the cheaper open return, maybe why his peers sometimes thought he was off. If he did choose to leave due to a feeling of being different and misunderstood this may well have played a part.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

even is route from school was micro managed and needed an explanation if different from normal.

Something else I have always wondered if Andrew was undiagnosed Neurodivergent, extremely academic/gifted children often are it would explain some of his routines, washing in the washing machine before he left, using the same cash line he always did, opting for the more expensive single ticket rather than being able to be adaptable to the cheaper open return, maybe why his peers sometimes thought he was off. If he did choose to leave due to a feeling of being different and misunderstood this may well have played a part.

I don't think his route from school was micromanaged. His family seems the opposite of strict. I imagine it was a casual conversation regarding why he walked home that day.

Neurodivergent - I tend to agree. It's actually so common and often undiagnosed. I also imagine school wasn't that great socially for him. But that's true for many people I know; none of us left home over it. (Ditched school on occasion -- maybe.) That just seems so extreme to me. JMO.

If you think it's a possibility, where could he have gone, if he meant to be gone overnight or longer?

 

[KathPlumber]

They don’t. If you run this (and many other posts by this user) through an AI detector it’ll come back as being mostly AI generated. Maybe I’m just getting old but it’s very peculiar imo, and I’ve found the past few pages of this thread incredibly hard to read as a result.

I agree. Something odd about it and it seems to have pushed a lot of interesting discussion right off the recent pages of this thread…