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

[Kitkat28]

The gifted and talented program being in 2006 not 2007 throws me.

I’ve always felt he met someone there be it student or teacher who lured him to London. But it being a year earlier now means that theory is blown out the water.

Exactly! This is why it drives me so insane that people are so convinced that the G&T program was in 2007 and is the key to everything. It wasn’t and it isn’t. It’s a mistaken date that has somehow become the basis of every theory, and however many times some people try and correct it, it’s so ingrained into people’s heads now that there’s no hope of ever erasing it and re-setting their thoughts on a different path.

“It was someone he met at the G&T program that summer” has been repeated SO often, it has somehow become true. One digit in a date that has sent so many people in completely the wrong direction, from which they will not deviate.

 

[Farley]

Exactly! This is why it drives me so insane that people are so convinced that the G&T program was in 2007 and is the key to everything. It wasn’t and it isn’t. It’s a mistaken date that has somehow become the basis of every theory, and however many times some people try and correct it, it’s so ingrained into people’s heads now that there’s no hope of ever erasing it and re-setting their thoughts on a different path.

“It was someone he met at the G&T program that summer” has been repeated SO often, it has somehow become true. One digit in a date that has sent so many people in completely the wrong direction, from which they will not deviate.

In all honesty I’ve read every article and interview I could find about Andrew and this is the first time I’ve seen it mentioned that the G&T program was 2006 not 2007. Is it mentioned earlier in the thread?

I feel the same way about people’s insistence that he met someone online. No matter how many times you say he didn’t, there’s not a single shred of evidence to suggest he had any online presence. People still insist he must have.

Thankfully I’m not one of the people who won’t deviate. I’d always felt the G&T program was involved in some way as I believed it to be 2007 and given Andrew went missing a few days after the September term started it just made sense. Obviously now that theory is null and void.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I don't recall anyone insisting on any one theory. But I haven't read other forums, only WS.
@Farley @Kitkat28 do you have an opinion on the most likely scenarios?

 

[Officer Dibble]

Sounds like wishful thinking to me.

No its not wishful thinking on my part at all. Its what I believe. JMO.

 

[dotr]

Sept 14 2020
Messages of support for family of missing Doncaster teen Andrew Gosden on anniverary of his disappearance

What Andrew Gosden might look like today at the age of 25

''Andrew was aged 14 when he was last seen over a decade ago on Friday, September 14, 2007.

He left his home in Balby, withdrew £200 from his bank account and bought a one-way ticket from Doncaster to London when he should have been on his way to his school, McAuley School in Cantley.

The youngster was last seen on CCTV footage leaving King's Cross station and has not been seen since.''

''Today well wishers issued statements in support of his family on social media, and issued references to a website which has been set up to trace him, Help Us To Find Andrew.

Andrew’s dad. Kevin said he and Andrew’s mum would eat at an Italian restaurant tonight, Andrew’s favourite food, and share stories about him.''

 

[Fantastic]

He had no access to the internet though. The school, local Internet cafe and library PC’s were examined. Nothing found. Andrew’s sister had a laptop which she got 6 weeks before he vanished. It was also searched. They family claim he had no interest in the laptop.

I see many people say he must have hidden his tracks. The only computer he would have had regular access to should he have wanted it would have been his sisters. So in six weeks he got SO good with computers that he learned to hide his tracks to avoid sophisticated forensic detection all the while acting like he wasn’t interested at all in the computer. Took me years to learn those skills. add to that he would have had to meet someone, be groomed by them and agree to meet them in London whilst learning to forensically wipe his tracks from the PC (but not his sisters because she’d notice and it would then have also been obvious it had been wiped), and all the while acting like he wasn’t interested and not being on it when any family are around. It’s just not feasible in any way.

He did have a PSP but Sony confirmed it had never been online (and yes I’m aware of custom firmware. I had a psp with custom firmware).

There is simply not a single scrap of evidence to suggest or even hint at meeting someone online.

This case would be a lot more sense if he had of met someone online!

Yes, I was considering the custom firmware angle too. I looked it up, a custom PSP OS was available at the time I believe called "Homebrew". If Andrew had installed that on his PSP, how would Sony know if he'd been online, outside of their PSP gaming system?

I was thinking of the lady who saw Andrew on the train, playing on his PSP. If his PSP had custom software and internet access, maybe he was messaging the person he was meeting, using the train's WiFi, not playing a game. I'm assuming the custom firmware has some kind of instant messaging application.

 

[ekardh]

The fact Andrew never took his charger would suggest the PSP was just to kill time on the train, and it wasn't a one-way trip.

Of course, he could've simply forgotten to take it but doubtful.

 

[BethAnn777]

The fact Andrew never took his charger would suggest the PSP was just to kill time on the train, and it wasn't a one-way trip.

Of course, he could've simply forgotten to take it but doubtful.

Or to play devil’s advocate, it was a one-way trip therefore there would be no need for the PSP charger. If he never intended to use the PSP beyond a distraction to his destination, there would be no need for a charger after the train ride. I lean towards suicide which is why it makes sense to me that he didn’t take his charger.

 

[Fantastic]

Just reading all the comments on the G&T Program that took place in 2006, not 2007. The way I see it, it doesn't matter, in fact, it fits the perpetrator's profile. I believe we're dealing here with a perp who is methodical, strategic, a planner and someone who's prepared to wait to get what he wants. That's the kind of person who may well have initiated contact with Andrew in 2006, and continued covert contact with him until his disappearance in 2007.

This person is also surveillance aware, that's why he chose to meet Andrew outside Kings Cross station, rather than inside. He wanted to avoid the array of CCTV cameras inside the station.

All these personal attributes, suggests to me someone with a military, law enforcement or security background, or someone who formerly worked in one of those areas.

 

[ekardh]

Or to play devil’s advocate, it was a one-way trip therefore there would be no need for the PSP charger. If he never intended to use the PSP beyond a distraction to his destination, there would be no need for a charger after the train ride. I lean towards suicide which is why it makes sense to me that he didn’t take his charger.

Possible but then why hasn't his body been recovered? Central London is an unlikely location to kill yourself and never be found.

I think he took the PSP to amuse himself on the train, and the kidnapper/groomer had promised to give him a ride back.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I lean towards suicide

Quote RSBM.

Why do you think he changed his routine coming home from school prior to going to London?

Why do you think he took the trip to London?

What do you think tips the scale away from ran away / met someone?

 

[BethAnn777]

Quote RSBM.

Why do you think he changed his routine coming home from school prior to going to London?

Why do you think he took the trip to London?

What do you think tips the scale away from ran away / met someone?

Am I remembering correctly that he stopped riding the bus and started walking? If yes, I’d say he was being bullied on the bus or elsewhere by one or more kids that rode the bus.

Why London? It was a place he was familiar enough with that he could get to without a car that was far enough away from home to buy him some time. From Kings Cross Station he could have found water or wilderness or any secluded place to commit suicide. I know there are large parks in London and of course rivers and bodies of water. If I were to commit suicide I would do it away from home in a place where I would hope to never be found. He also may have thought that if he was ever found the police wouldn’t be able to connect the dots as to his identity since he didn’t live in London.

I know he could have met someone but something just tells me this introverted, unique kid was suffering from depression.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I know he could have met someone but something just tells me this introverted, unique kid was suffering from depression.

Thanks for your thoughts. I agree depression is a real possibility and your scenario could be true, but I just hope not.

 

[ekardh]

I don't see how depression and grooming are mutually exclusive. There could in fact be a causal link.

 

[BethAnn777]

I don't see how depression and grooming are mutually exclusive. There could in fact be a causal link.

I never said they couldn’t be linked. I was just giving my opinion.

 

[nacentaeons]

All these personal attributes, suggests to me someone with a military, law enforcement or security background, or someone who formerly worked in one of those areas.

I don’t necessarily agree he was groomed let alone by someone he met at the G&T but would someone with the attributes you describe possibly wear an outfit like the man on the right in this photo:?

imgur.com

[image taken the evening of 14/09/07 in Trafalgar Square - 45 minutes walk from King’s Cross]

 

[Toodles5000]

I don’t necessarily agree he was groomed let alone by someone he met at the G&T but would someone with the attributes you describe possibly wear an outfit like the man on the right in this photo:?

imgur.com

[image taken the evening of 14/09/07 in Trafalgar Square - 45 minutes walk from King’s Cross]

I don't remember seeing this photo before (though a lot of time has passed since I first read about the case) - where is it from and what is it supposed to show?

 

[nacentaeons]

I recently created that image by cropping out a large photo taken of Trafalgar Square on the evening of the 14th. The original image was found on Flickr. There is a very very slight chance it may contain Andrew. I have looked at many candidate images for Andrew any none turned out to be him so this is likely another one but worth discounting at least. I sent it to Missing People just in case.

 

[Kitkat28]

I recently created that image by cropping out a large photo taken of Trafalgar Square on the evening of the 14th. The original image was found on Flickr. There is a very very slight chance it may contain Andrew. I have looked at many candidate images for Andrew any none turned out to be him so this is likely another one but worth discounting at least. I sent it to Missing People just in case.

Oh my god! How did you come to find the original photo?

I’m not one for bandwagon jumping or seeing things that aren’t there, but that is the most uncanny thing I’ve ever seen.

 

[nacentaeons]

Someone on the Andrew Gosden reddit forum found a few Flickr photos taken in London on that day. They identified a few potential candidates for Andrew (not the one I posted) but I found this candidate in the background of one of the images they found. The other identified candidates had black hair. (It seems that some people may assume Andrew had black hair because of the ‘goth’ look but he actually had brown hair with a hint of ginger.) There have been other candidates brought to the attention of the group, I hope I am not being biased here but in my opinion this is probably the strongest. I have been searching photos for images of Andrew for a few years by now so I may have developed an eye for it.

That said, the person probably isn’t Andrew but I believe there is a reasonable chance he may have been captured accidentally in the background of one of the thousands of photos that must have been taken that day in London.