Missing Andrew Gosden Has Been Missing For 10 Years, Travelled To London And Simply Disappeared

[Abroad]

On 14 September 2007, 14-year-old Andrew Gosden walked out of the family home in Doncaster, boarded a train to London with a one-way ticket and then simply vanished.

A short sequence of CCTV stills captured that morning at King's Cross station represents the last certain sighting of the schoolboy.

A decade on, his disappearance remains a mystery.

Andrew has been described by his family as a quiet, gentle and extremely intelligent boy who took part in the government's Young, Gifted & Talented Programme for high-achieving students.

He liked reading - well-thumbed copies of The Lord of the Rings and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy still sit on a shelf in his room - he played computer games and he enjoyed his music: Slipknot, Muse and Funeral for a Friend were among his favourite bands.

Andrew was a "home bird", his family say, who rarely left the house, and never without saying where he was going.

His father said they didn't have the slightest idea why he would want to leave.

Andrew's sister said: "If there were problems and he was running away from something, or experienced any kind of depression or anything like that, I would have really hoped he could have spoken to me at least out of everyone.

"So I do struggle with that because I feel like, in a way, if there was something and he couldn't tell me then I feel like I've let him down as a sister, really."

Since Andrew's disappearance there have been dozens of unconfirmed sightings from across the UK.

The family believe the most plausible place him at Pizza Hut on Oxford Street on the day he went missing and later in Covent Garden.

His bedroom has been repainted and the band posters have been taken down, but Andrew's T-shirts are still in the drawers and part of his rock and gem collection sits on a shelf.

Sandy Murray, 24, a friend of Andrew's from the age of six, now works as an actor and splits his time between Yorkshire and London.

He still keeps an eye out for his friend when he is in the capital.

"There's always that kind of little shadow, cloud, hanging on your shoulder, that this is where he was last seen.

"You see a face and you're like 'whoa, hang on is that?...' and then you sort of catch yourself."

Initially, South Yorkshire Police refused to respond to requests by the BBC for details about the investigation.

However, in a statement issued to coincide with the anniversary of Andrew going missing, the force said "thorough and comprehensive" leads had been examined, including lines of inquiry at several London tourist attractions he was familiar with.

His DNA, fingerprints, dental and health records were circulated to various agencies, and a behavioural investigative analyst was employed "in an attempt to shed light on his reasons for leaving home".

Det Ch Insp Joanne Bates said: "I would ask anyone, maybe new friends, neighbours or workmates, who believe they know a 24-year-old man that could be Andrew, but aren't aware of his past beyond the last few years, to please come forward.

"And to Andrew, a personal appeal: please contact us, completely confidentially, and let us know you are safe and well and we can reassure your family you have come to no harm."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan...social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source=facebook

 

[Keepalowprofile]

What an odd case.
I hope his family can find out something.

 

[lithiumgirl]

"And to Andrew, a personal appeal: please contact us, completely confidentially, and let us know you are safe and well and we can reassure your family you have come to no harm."

Well I'm sure he will if he isn't dead.

 

[Turd Fergusen]

Andrew Gosden: New age-progression image of boy who went missing in 2007 aged 14

Andrew Gosden: New age-progression image of boy who went missing in 2007 aged 14

Andrew Gosden took out £200 before boarding a train from Doncaster and was last seen on CCTV at London's Kings Cross.

news.sky.com

 

[Sejanus]

Maybe gay and feared coming out.
Maybe met someone from online.
There was a clear intent to not return.

 

[elmgems]

From an article on Cracked.com today:

There's been one "credible" sighting of Andrew since his disappearance. In 2017, someone contacted his parents claiming they'd recently been talking to someone called "AndyRoo," who was e-begging on a forum for 200 pounds to make rent. When someone offered to wire him the money, "AndyRoo" responded that he didn't have a bank account because he'd run away from home when he was 14. Why? He'd "just felt like it."

The tip intrigued Andrew's parents, in part because his nickname had been "Roo." When they (and the police) asked the website for information on "AndyRoo," however, the site admitted they'd recently suffered a massive data loss while migrating systems and couldn't help.