Casefile True Crime - 309: Case 264: Andrew Gosden

Episode Date: October 21, 2023

*** Content warning: Child victim, child abuse, suicide, grooming *** When 14-year-old Andrew Gosden mysteriously disappeared from his home in the UK suburb of Doncaster, evidence emerged to indicate that he’d left of his own free will. But Andrew was a gifted, intellectual teenager who came from a loving and supportive family – not your typical teenage runaway. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-264-andrew-gosden

Our episodes deal with serious and often-distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis center. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support and for a more detailed list of content warnings Please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website In many ancient civilizations the oak tree was considered to be sacred. Some believed that the mighty oak held great healing powers, or could facilitate communication with the gods. Oak trees can live for hundreds of years.

It takes many years for them to bear acorns, and thus acorns are often used as a symbol of patience and maturity. With their tall sturdy trunks, deep roots and sprawling branches, today the oak tree continues to be viewed as a symbol of strength, power, stability, and protection. From a young age, Andrew Gossden was fascinated by science. A gifted straight-A student, he effortlessly sawd through school, winning mathematics competitions at a European level. His above-average intellect eventually earned him a place in the United Kingdom's National

Association for Gifted and Talented Youth, a government scheme aimed at the country's top 5% of students. When Andrew read that an acorn planted in a tub could grow into a miniature oak tree, he had to try it for himself. He enlisted the help of his father, Kevin, who was always willing to support Andrew's curiosity and encourage his love of learning. Kevin gathered up a few discarded acorns, and together the father and son planted them into tubs

at their Victorian terrace home in Borby, a suburb in England's south Yorkshire region. Now all they had to do was wait. On the evening of Friday, September 14, 2007, Kevin Gossden and his wife, Glanis, both returned home from work to find a typical scene. School had only just returned after summer holidays and the couple's children, 14-year-old Andrew and his 17-year-old sister, Charlotte, had settled back into their familiar routines. For Andrew, this meant using his spare time to do the things he enjoyed most, playing video games in his family's converted cellar, or playing Snooker on the half-sized table in his bedroom.

Although he had a small group of friends he spent time with at school, Andrew was a shy acquire teen who was content with his own company. He preferred spending time at home alone over going out and socializing and could often be found with his face buried in one of his well-read books. When Andrew didn't surface to say hello, his parents thought nothing of it. They assumed Andrew was busy with one of his hobbies and would come out when dinner was ready. Dinner was always a special time for the Ghost and Family to come together and connect. Kevin and Glenus began unpacking groceries and preparing for the meal. They were being joined that evening by the family's Vicar and close friend, Alan Murray, who lived nearby.

The Gossden's were Anglican, but Kevin and Glanis wanted their children to make up their own mind about religion, rather than having it forced upon them. Because of this, they never baptized their children, until Gnouw issue when Charlotte and Andrew both made the decision to stop attending church. By 6 p.m., dinner was ready. The parents called out to their children to come and join them. Charlotte quickly emerged from her room, but there wasn't a peep from Andrew. Kevin went to check Andrew's room.

As part of the teen's post-school routine, he always hung his school blazer and a tie on the back of his bedroom chair, before putting his trousers and shirt in the washing machine. This evening was no different. The blazer and a tie were on the chair, and the rest of Andrew's uniform was in the wash. But there was no sign of him anywhere throughout the house. Andrew was the type of person who left a note, even if he was just ducking to the corner store. But there was no note to be found.

Although this was strange, Andrew's parents weren't overly concerned. Andrew had friends who lived nearby. They assumed he'd gone to visit one of them and had lost track of time. Andrew didn't have a mobile phone so they couldn't call or text him. He'd had a couple of phones in the past, but had barely used them before managing to misplace them altogether. He could be quite absent-minded at times and simply wasn't interested in the devices. He'd even rejected his parents' offer of a new one for his recent birthday,

requesting an Xbox gaming console instead. The Gossden's called the Holmes of Andrew's friends, only to discover that he wasn't with any of them. They were also told that Andrew hadn't been at school that day at all. That Friday morning had started out like any other. Andrew had woken a little later than usual, but it still managed to get ready in time to catch the bus to school. Andrew attended McCauley Catholic High, which was roughly four miles, or a 15-minute bus ride from the Gosden's home.

At around 8.05am, he said goodbye to his parents and left the house, dressed in his school uniform. Shortly after this, Vicar Allen Murray recalled driving by a Westfield park which was across the street from the Gossden's home. He'd seen Andrew in his uniform as he passed by but hadn't thought anything of it given that the park provided a shortcut to the school bus stop. With Andrew's uniform at home but no sign of Andrew himself, the Gossden's didn't know what to think.

They contacted McCauley High, and had administrator confirmed that Andrew had been absent that day. This was entirely out of character. Andrew had a 100% attendance record. The school had even issued him certificates attesting to his flawless turnout. One staff member had tried calling the gozzans that morning to notify them of Andrew's unusual absence, but there hadn't been an answer. On reflection, the staff member realized they must have accidentally dialed the number listed either above or below Andrews on the register, leaving his family out of the

loop. Although it didn't explain why Andrews uniform was at home, the Gossden's considered the possibility that he could have been involved in some kind of incident on his way to school. They searched the area surrounding their home before driving the route Andrew typically took to school. There was no sign of him anywhere. They called the local hospitals, but no one fitting the teenager's description had been admitted. When there was still no sign of Andrew by 9pm, his family contacted the police.

The Gossetons were absolutely certain that Andrew hadn't run away. They described him as a reliable, gentle, and caring young man who would never do anything to intentionally cause them to worry. According to the Gossens, their home life was happy and harmonious. Both Kevin and Golanus worked as speech therapists. Their incomes afforded them a modest yet comfortable lifestyle, which included family holidays abroad to such places as Egypt and Tunisia. As far as the Gossden's knew, Andrew had no mental health issues,

didn't experience bullying, and had no other problems he might want to escape from. Nothing in his recent behaviour had been out of the ordinary. If anything, he had been slightly quieter and even less social than usual, but this wasn't exactly cause for concern. Andrew was the type of person who didn't speak unless he felt he had something worthwhile to say. Kevin had recently asked his son how the new school

year was going. Andrew gave no indication that anything was a mess. If he didn't feel comfortable speaking to his parents for whatever reason, they were sure he would confide in his sister, Charlotte. The Gossetant siblings had a close bond. Both were highly intelligent and were on track to be accepted into England's most prestigious universities. The pair also shared a similar taste in music, favouring heavy metal, rock and post hardcore bands, including Slippnot, Funeral for a friend, Muse, A vinescence and a dragon force. The evening before Andrew went missing had been unremarkable. Andrew and Kevin had done a puzzle together before the whole family ate dinner together. The father and son

then washed the dishes. Afterwards, Andrew watched some lighthearted television with his mother. He'd been his normal self upon going to bed, although he had seemed slightly irritable upon waking the next morning. While this was out of character, it wasn't cause for alarm. He was a teenage boy after all. As Kevin Gossden told the Daily Mail, if Andrew was unhappy or suffering a mental illness, he did an amazing job of hiding it. Andrew's bank account revealed that after leaving home that morning he walked to a nearby

petrol station and used the ATM to withdraw 200 of the 214 pounds he had in savings. A neighbour of the Gosset and family had a CCTV camera pointed towards the street. Its footage from that day revealed something highly unusual. At around 8.30am, just after Kevin and Glanas left for work, Andrew returned home. Minutes later, he appeared back on the street no longer wearing his school uniform, but jeans and a black slip-not-band t-shirt. He carried a black canvas satchel adorned with band patches that his sister had helped him so on. Nothing in Andrew's room was missing besides his wallet, keys, and PlayStation Portable

handheld gaming console. He didn't take the console's charger, nor did he take a jumper, despite the temperature dropping in the September evenings. To Andrew's family, this indicated that he didn't intend to be gone for long, but the fact that he ditched school and cleared his bank account without explanation left them completely baffled. Even if Andrew had run away, due to his age, police immediately categorized him as a high-risk vulnerable missing person.

They focused their attention inwards. Despite his family's insistence that Andrew was a happy, well-adjusted teen, experienced a tort police that most young runaways were typically trying to escape from some kind of situation at home. They sat each member of the Gosden family down for an interview to see if they could uncover any signs that Andrew was being abused or neglected. The Gossetans were adamant that Andrew had an open and honest relationship with his parents, who were neither strict nor controlling. Kevin and Golanus trusted their children implicitly and supported their need for individuality and independence.

Although police took Andrews disappearance seriously, of the roughly 70,000 youths under 16 who ran away in the UK each year, 80% returned within 24 hours. 91% returned within two days. 9% returned within two days. Statistics indicated that it would likely be a matter of time before Andrew Gossden returned home. Located 85 miles north of Donkaster, the seaside town of Wittby was a much-loved vacation spot for the Gossden family. Andrew adored Whitby and knew the area well. If he was going to take off for whatever reason, there was a good chance this would be the place. Over the weekend, friends of the Gossden's traveled to Whitby to scour the area for any sign of Andrew. They checked his favourite haunts, asking if anyone had seen the team. They checked his favorite haunts, asking if anyone had seen the teen. Andrew was roughly 5'3'' and of slim build with medium length light brown hair that swept

across his brown eyes. Most notably, he wore strong prescription glasses, was deaf in his left ear, and had a double ridge on his upper right ear, unique traits that made him easily identifiable. The weekend passed with no sightings of Andrew in either Donkaster or Whitby, nor did he make contact with his family. The Gossden's wondered whether Andrew could have gone to London. Although the capital city was 170 miles away, it could be reached by train in just under two hours.

While the bustling city could be seen as an intimidating place for a lone shiitine from the suburbs, Andrew wasn't completely new to the area. His family had friends and relatives who lived in London, including Andrew's grandparents. Over the years, the Gossians had travelled to London numerous times. Andrew knew the city well, and his family thought he would feel comfortable navigating his way around alone. Although it would be entirely out of character, they wondered whether Andrew could have made the spontaneous decision to spend the Friday in the city. He'd recently mentioned having an interest in seeing the Tutankhaman exhibition at the British Museum.

Perhaps Ditching School was an act of teenage rebellion and he'd then found himself in some kind of trouble. Inquiries were made with the local train station. When the employee who had been working the sales counter on Friday morning was questioned, she distinctly remembered serving Andrew. He had bought a one-way ticket to London's King's Cross station, departing at 9.35am. She recalled the interaction because Andrew looked young to be traveling alone. But more notably, he had refused her offer of a return trip, even though it only cost around 50 pounds more. Multiple passengers saw Andrew on the train to London that morning.

There had been nothing unusual about his behaviour. He had kept his head down for the entire journey, absorbed in his PlayStation portable. One passenger recalled seeing Andrew disembark at King's Cross Station, but no one could attest to where he went from there. The task of scanning through CCTV taken from King's Cross station on September 14 was given to the British Transport Police. The train from Donkaster had arrived at 11.20 a.m., but finding Andrew Gosten in the crowd would be no easy feat. King's Cross is one

of the busiest railway stations in the United Kingdom, with approximately 300,000 passengers passing through each day. Those assigned to the job were unable to locate Andrew among the Throne. The fact that Andrew had travelled to King's Cross was a major revelation, but it raised even more questions. Over the summer holidays, Andrew's parents had given him the option of going to London to stay with his grandmother, but he'd refused. So, why go there now without asking for permission?

The Gossden family got their hands on a copy of the latest edition of Time Out, a free weekly guide detailing all the latest events happening in the city. They scoured each page on the lookout for anything that might have motivated Andrews travels. Kevin had recently taken his children to London to watch him use Play Live. It was the first major rock concert that Andrew had been to, and he thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The Gossetans looked into what other bands were playing in London on Friday, September 14, 2007.

They considered whether Andrew could have taken off to the city for a weekend of music and sightseeing. Perhaps he was following the mentality of asking for forgiveness rather than permission. American rock band 30 seconds to Mars were playing that night at Brixton Academy. As far as the Gossens were aware, Andrew wasn't familiar with their music. A Prague metal band called SICKTH were playing at the O2 Academy Islington, which was about a 15-minute walk from King's Cross. Although the Gossden's didn't know if Andrew knew of Sixth, the band did have a link to

Slipknot. It was a significant show, too, being the last time singer Mikey Goodman would feature on the line-up. Furthermore, Finnish rock band Him were doing an in-store signing at a HMV record store on the 17th of September, and Andrew was a fan of their music. If music wasn't the motivation, Andrew's parents wondered whether it could have gone to London seeking work experience. His sister Charlotte had done so at Andrew's age.

It was possible he wanted to follow in her footsteps. The fact that he'd only bought a one-way ticket didn't seem too strange to the Gossden's. Perhaps he'd made a momentary error, wasn't entirely sure of his plans, or intended to spend the night with one of the family's friends or relatives. The problem with this theory was that none of these people had seen

or heard from Andrew. Police made inquiries with each one and found nothing to indicate that they'd crossed paths with the 14-year-old. At the time, Basin's tram travel was free for children under 16 in London, meaning Andrew would have had the means to get around town. But the 200 pounds that he'd taken with him wouldn't get him very far in terms of food and shelter. This led to the possibility that Andrew was sleeping rough, making him vulnerable to the dangers that lurked in the busy city streets. If Andrew had left home without intending to return, it didn't make sense

that he hadn't brought a change of clothes or at the very least a warm jumper. Andrew was a creature of habit who enjoyed home comforts. For all his intelligence, he lacked street smarts. He also looked much younger than 14. His family didn't think he would willingly put himself in an uncomfortable, dangerous position. That led to another possibility. Casefile will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors. Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. to continue to deliver quality content. Did Andrew Gosden meet someone in London?

Given that he spent most of his spare time at home, this left him with very little opportunities to cross paths with someone outside of school. Ever since Andrew was a young boy, he'd attended Boy Scouts and Church. In the months leading up to his disappearance, he'd stopped going to both. For his family, there was nothing suspicious about this. Andrew had cited boredom as the reason for leaving Scouts

and his parents thought he was likely just following in Charlotte's footsteps by stopping church. Inquiries were made with members of both organizations. No evidence emerged to indicate that Andrew stopped going for any other reasons. The previous summer of 2006, Andrew had attended summer school as part of the gifted and talented youth program. It was a residential program that required him to spend two weeks away from home. He'd embraced the experience and returned home in a great mood.

Some speculated whether he could have connected with someone during this time, but there was no evidence to support this. Andrew's classmates and teachers were also unable to shed any light on why he traveled to London. The Gossden household only had one computer, a laptop that Charlotte had recently received for her birthday. Andrew had barely touched it in the eight weeks since. He'd never shown much interest in computers. As far as his family was aware, Andrew didn't even have an email address. At the time, social media was still in its infancy, and Andrew had shown no desire to participate. Facebook and MySpace were the major networking sites, but Andrew

didn't have an account with either platform. Examination of Charlotte's laptop failed to uncover anything to indicate that Andrew had been talking to anyone online. He hadn't conducted any online searches that hinted as to why he'd travelled to London, or what his intentions were once he got there. Computers used by Andrew were also seized from his school and to the local Donkaster library. Nothing was found on any of them that helped with the investigation. There was no inexplicable activity on the GOSD and family's home phone line. Given that Andrew didn't have a mobile, this meant the only other way he could have accessed

the internet was via one of his gaming consoles. Andrew's Xbox didn't have online capabilities, but his PlayStation portable did. He would have been able to communicate with others using its text, voice or video chat features. Doing so would require him to have an online account, which would in turn require him to have an email address. Checks with PlayStation's producer Sony revealed no such account existed for Andrew Gossden. no such account existed for Andrew Gosden. The Gosden's worst fear was that Andrew was groomed by a pedophile or sex trafficker and Lewittalundan under false pretense. Due to Andrew's high intelligence, he was mature for his age and had always related

particularly well to adults. Although Andrew had never expressed it, his family considered the possibility that he could have been struggling with his sexual orientation and had run away because he felt ashamed or too awkward to come out. If this was the case, it could also explain why he might be more susceptible to grooming by an older male. But with no phone or online activity supporting this theory, it remained to be seen how Andrew could have come into contact with the predator.

In the week leading up to his disappearance, there had been a slight change in Andrew's routine. While he typically caught the buster school, in the new academic year he'd twice chosen to walk instead, a four mile trip that took around an hour and twenty minutes on foot. The teenager could have been approached by someone during this time. He could have secretly been given a mobile phone which he used exclusively to speak with this person. The two could have made plans to meet in London for one reason or another, with the grim a promising Andrew a ride home, hence why he had only bought a one-way ticket. But Andrew's family told the Times that these long walks could have just as easily

been practiced for a future plan of wandering the streets. Kevin and Glenis Gosden traveled to and from London numerous times scouring the streets for their son. They visited all the sites that he'd ever shown interest in, distributing missing person posters at every museum, train station, restaurant, and homeless shelter they could think of. They drummed up as much media as possible, doing whatever they could to keep Andrew's case in the public consciousness.

Several witnesses believed that they'd seen Andrew on the day he went missing. One alleged sighting took place at a pizza hut restaurant on Oxford Street, just a short walk from King's Cross Station. The way this witness described the boy's mannerisms led the Gossens to believe that this sighting was credible, but the police were unable to confirm it. Another witness reported seeing someone matching Andrew's description sleeping rough near London's South Bank District. Another believed they'd seen Andrew at a South Bank Park near the London

Assembly Building. The Gossens followed up every lead, visiting these locations for themselves to question locals and to look for their son, but not a single clue as to Andrew's whereabouts emerged. As days passed with no breakthroughs, officers from South Yorkshire Police were sent to London to review the CCTV footage taken from King's Cross Station. They scanned through hundreds of hours of recordings before something finally caught their attention. At 11.24am, four minutes after the train from Donkaster arrived at King's Cross Station, the unmistakable side of Andrew Gostern in his black slipknot t-shirt emerged from the crowd. The teenager unremarkably exited through the station's main entrance alone before disappearing

from view. By the time police uncovered this sighting, Andrew had been missing for 27 days. It was a bittersweet discovery for the Gossden family. They were frustrated by what they perceived to be a quote, slow, chaotic and disorganized police response. King's cross essentially acts as an interchange station. A plethora of other tube stations and bus stops are located there, including an international station with links to other parts of Europe. The existing CCTV footage only confirmed that Andrew disembarked the train in London. He gave no indication as to his movements from there. Andrew hadn't taken his passport

with him, making it unlikely that he travelled onwards to another country. But it was entirely possible that he could have gotten off one train and astrayed on to another. London is considered to be one of the most heavily-surveiled cities in the world. According to some sources, the average person living in London can be caught on CCTV up to 300 times per day. But to the dismay of the Gossden family, police hadn't requested to check the footage from any other cameras. By the time requests were made to view CCTV footage owned by local authorities, no such footage existed. As was protocol, recordings were only kept for a certain number of days before the tapes

were wiped clean. By Wednesday, October 17, over a month had passed with no word from Andrew. As reported on the BBC television program Missing Live, a woman named Philippa was standing on a busy street in London's Covent Garden District, when she noticed a passer by who bore similarities to Andrew Gossden. Philippa approached the boy and tried to engage him in conversation, remarking that he looked like the missing teenager. The boy denied being Andrew Gosden, but Philippa's curiosity was peaked.

She followed the boy until losing sight of him near a cafe called the poetry place. Philippa reported this potential sighting to police. According to the Gossden, it wasn't followed up until six weeks later. The location where Philippa spoke to the boy was outside of an office building. CCTV cameras were fitted to the entrance of the building, but weren't working at the time the alleged interaction took place. When she was a picture of Andrew Gosden and employee at the poetry place thought she might have seen him in the cafe in the company of two girls.

Although she acknowledged it could have just been someone who looked similar, as many teenage boys in the area had a similar trendy haircut. Whether Philip's sighting was legitimate or not, couldn't be ascertained. Reported sightings of Andrew continued to come in, some from as far as South Wales. According to Kevin Gossden, the police were either slack to respond to these leads, or didn't follow them up at all. Kevin believed that their focus remained on uncovering why Andrew had left home, rather than what happened from there. As Christmas approached, the police asked to question Kevin Gossden under caution.

For Kevin, this was the last straw. He was convinced that the reason police weren't making a greater effort to find his son was because they were wasting their time and resources on investigating him as the prime suspect in Andrew's disappearance. A thought nought away at Kevin. What if he removed himself from the picture, forcing the police to focus on the search for his son instead? One day in the lead up to Christmas, Vigor Allen Murray went to the Goslands house with some food, eager to help in any way he could. As Allen approached the door, he heard a crushing noise coming from inside.

He let himself in using a spare key. There, Alan found Kevin Gossden hanging from the upstairs baller-straight. He managed to cut Kevin down and rush him to hospital, where it took 7 hours before he regained consciousness. Kevin spent the next few months receiving treatment in a mental health facility, telling the Yorkshire Post, I cannot begin to describe the depths of misery that this involved. No amount of therapy helped because the situation was unreservable.

Strained but untotored, the Gossians continued doing all they could to keep Andrew's case in the spotlight, appearing on numerous television and radio shows, and speaking to any reporter willing to listen. Kevin became the family's spokesperson, establishing a website dedicated to the case titled Help Us Find Andrew, where he shared news along with photos of Andrew's happy childhood and to blog posts about the impact of him being missing. Police ultimately found no evidence to indicate that the gostens were anything other than the close-knit, loving and supportive family that they described themselves to be. A friend of Andrews who had known the Gossden family for 10 years told the Daily Mail,

people wonder if something was happening at home, but I know for a fact that's not true. They're one of the nicest families I know. This made Andrew Gossden's disappearance all the more baffling. According to his teachers, Andrew had been a shoe-in for Cambridge University. But despite his intelligence, he'd never been particularly enthusiastic about his studies. The way Kevin saw it, Andrew viewed school as a necessity to ensure he had choices in the future. Maybe he'd gotten bored or frustrated with the conventional path set out for him and had run away to start a new life. One of Andrew's favourite television shows was The Rise and Fall

of Reginald Paran. The British sitcom was about a man who faked his own death to escape the daily grind. Prior to his disappearance, Andrew had also been reading the work of famous philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. He encouraged people to be free thinkers, find their own values, and stand out among the masses. As his mother told the telegraph, maybe Andrew wanted to step off the treadmill. But the theory that Andrew had run away to start a new life didn't quite fit. Those close to Andrew knew him to be nothing but sweet and thoughtful. They didn't think he was capable of putting his family through such immense suffering.

Four months before Andrew vanished, three-year-old Madeline McCann went missing from her family's holiday villa in Portugal. The story had dominated the news in the UK. Kevin and Andrew had spoken about how awful it was. If Andrew wanted to disappear for good, those close to him felt sure that he'd have left a note who made some kind of contact by now. On top of the fact that he didn't bring more personal belongings with him, was the fact

that he hadn't brought more money. Although Andrew had essentially cleared out his bank account, he'd left almost 100 pounds in birthday money untouched in his bedroom. The family also kept a box full of emergency cash for bus fares and the like, but Andrew hadn't taken any of it. Given Andrew's age and the fact that he looked even younger than his 14 years, it was unlikely that he could have secured legitimate work, or started a new life without adult help. His disappearance was also highly publicized. If Andrew was squatting somewhere, sleeping rough, where it got in court up with the wrong

crowd, it seemed to mind-boggling that someone somewhere wouldn't have recognized him. Before Andrew went missing, he'd expressed his desire to grow his hair long and die at black. If he was trying to evade detection, he could have just as easily shaved his head or bleached his hair blonde. Even if he did alter his looks, there was no getting away from the unique double ridge on his upper right ear. That led to the next possibility. The reason that Andrew hadn't made contacts or been found was because he was no longer alive. If Andrew was indeed being groomed, he might have been kidnapped upon his arrival to London. It could have been part of a carefully orchestrated plan involving one or multiple perpetrators,

which ultimately ended in Andrew being held captive or killed. But if Andrew had full and victim to foul play, it wasn't necessarily a premeditated attack. It was just as possible that Andrew had trouble to London of his own accord, simply to have an adventure. He could have had every intention of returning home without his family finding out, before crossing paths with the wrong person. Andrew's age and the fact that he was traveling alone would have made him particularly vulnerable to opportunistic criminals. He could have been the victim

of a robbery gone wrong, or placed his trust in a stranger who ultimately caused him harm. Alternatively, his death could have been the result of an accident. If Andrew hadn't voluntarily run away, fall and vig them to fair play, or been involved in an accident, it left just one other possibility. Andrew had never shown any signs of depression or self-harm. Regardless, the possibility that he could have taken his own life was considered. Andrew had always been a deep thinker. While it seemed unthinkable to his family, it was possible that Andrew had an inner world that he'd never revealed to anyone else.

Perhaps he'd gone to London to spend one final day enjoying some of his favorite sites before ending things for good, saving his family the trauma of discovering his body. This could explain why he only bought a one-way ticket and hadn't bothered to bring a jacket or the charger for his PlayStation portable. Yet, it didn't explain why he'd taken his keys, or why he hadn't left a note for his family, whom he knew would be worried sick.

Most significantly, it didn't explain the absence of a body. The Gossden family remained insistent that Andrew hadn't been bullied. His sister Charlotte attended the same school and was an active member of an anti-bullying program. It was an issue often discussed at the family dinner table and Andrew had never mentioned any problems. This was supported by one of Andrew's teachers who told the Times.

Andrew is deep and mature beyond his years. He's quite happy and self-contained in his own company, but he's not a loner. He always had a little posse of friends with him. Likewise, the school principal said, Andrew is a very likable, self-effacing boy. No one's got a bad word to say about him. This is not the sort of school where you can get lost in the system. If there had been any bullying going on, we'd have known about it. In the wake of Andrew's disappearance, a post appeared on an online forum hosted by

British Music magazine Corang. According to a user who identified themselves only as Bax, she attended the same school as Andrew and the two were in all of the same classes. Bax wrote, Andrew did get singled out a lot and only had a couple of friends. People bullied him. They wonder why he ran away. If true, it offered a reason why Andrew had recently avoided taking the school bus.

It also explained why he ditched school completely, sort a new beginning, or took his own life. But as the weeks turned into months, none of the belongings Andrew left home where Thun September 14 surfaced. If Andrew had gone to London or beyond to end his own life, chances were that at least something would show up to prove this theory. The same went for the possibility that Andrew had innocently traveled to London to play hooky for the day and been involved in a fatal accident. Most accidents would attract attention, yet no one had witnessed a thing. The river Tams runs through Central London.

Even if Andrew had intentionally jumped or accidentally fallen in, someone would have noticed or a body would have surfaced. Every potential outcome just raised even more questions. Case file will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors. Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. By supporting our sponsors, you support CaseFile to continue to deliver quality content. By the time Andrew Gosden had been missing for a year, a total of 122 unconfirmed sightings

had come in from all over the UK. A church service was held in London to mark the anniversary, with Kevin and Glenis Gossden panning an open letter to their son that read, We have all missed you so much since the day you left, not a day goes by that you are not in our minds constantly. If you should ever read this, forget about any water under the bridge, and please have no fear about making contact with us. We do not care where you have been or what lifestyle you choose for yourself. We only want to know that you are safe and well and to help and to support you if we can.

We remain as proud of you as we have always been and to love you deeply. In conjunction with the anniversary, Andrew's face was printed on milk cartons in Iceland as part of a widespread missing persons campaign. A month later, Kevin and Glynner shared their story on BBC's popular current affairs program, The One Show. Within hours, the Intercom buzzed at the LEMSTAR police station, a market town 150 miles south east of London. The station was located in a business park and the desk wasn't manned around the clock. Instead, visitors could announce their arrival via an intercom outside.

A male voice said he wanted to report a sighting of Andrew Gossden. An officer was sent down to take the details. By the time they arrived, the man was gone. Shortly after, an anonymous letter arrived at the BBC offices. The author claimed to have been the man who fled from Alemster Station. He said that Andrew had been spotted in the town of Shroesbury, 150 miles northwest of London. Police were unable to verify this claim or even confirmed that the two informants were one and the same, adding to what Kevin

Gosten described as a new form of subtle torture. He told the Donkhaast a press. Andrew knows that part of the world we've been on holiday there, but we don't really know enough. Perhaps there's somebody that knows something that we don't. But the longer it goes, the more we get thinking he's probably either dead, or not free. If he's still alive, I suspect that he'll wait until his 16th birthday next July to show his hand. Andrew's birthday came and went with no breakthroughs. Since Kevin's suicide attempt in 2007, he'd been unable to work, plagued by depression,

anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. He did everything he could think of to find his son. He relayed messages to Andrew through the media, begging him to let them know he was safe. He emailed schools across the country and appealed to the gay community, telling Andrew that his family loved him unconditionally no matter what. He attended concerts and music festivals of bands he thought Andrew might like, handing out flyers and scanning the crowds for anyone who bore a resemblance to his son.

Kevin said, I've really just run out of ideas now. I suppose this is the last hope of finding out what has happened. A non-going concern for the Gossden's was how much Andrews appearance could have changed in two years. With the photos of him as a baby-faced 14-year-old still circulating, they worried that if Andrew was still alive, he might be unrecognizable. On the two-year anniversary of Andrews disappearance, his family worked with the charity organization

Missing People to produce several computer-generated images of what Andrew might look like with the passing of time. The images brought some comfort to his family, with Kevin remarking, It's reassuring to look at that and think, yes, I don't know you anywhere. By May 2011, three and a half years had passed with no developments. The gostens were growing increasingly certain that Andrew hadn't run away. Kevin told the BBC. We just find it impossible to conceive that he would allow us to go through all this for

so long, without even some kind of message to let us know he's okay. Instead, the absence of confirmed sightings led the family to believe that Andrew must be dead. With the help of a friend, the Gossden's approach to private firm that specialized in advanced sonar technology typically used to locate drowning victims at sea. They arranged for a roughly seven mile portion of the River Thames to be searched from Woolwich Barrier to Tower Bridge in Central London. The sonar revealed a sunken boat, an upturned car, and finally, a body.

It wasn't Andrew. The results sparked mixed feelings for the Gossens. Kevin remarked that it was slightly positive because it raised a statistical possibility that Andrew was alive and well somewhere. But quote, it still leaves us in this horrible ongoing never-ending limbo of just thinking, why did you go? September 2017 marked 10 years since Andrew Gossden's disappearance.

Police launched a fresh appeal for information circulating Andrew's DNA, fingerprints sent to dental and medical records to authorities and health care professionals. Given that Andrew relied on strong prescription glasses, if he was still alive, many believed he would have at the very least sought optical care at some point, perhaps making the switch to contact lenses to further alter his appearance. A police spokesperson urged to doctors, dentists or hospital staff who might have treated a 24-year-old man with no records from the previous 10 years to come forward. The call out was extended to any members of the general public who might currently know Andrew Gossden, but be unaware of his true identity.

Appealing to Andrew directly, the police spokesperson added, Please contact us, completely confidentially, and let us know you are safe and well, and we can reassure your family you have come to know harm. can reassure your family you have come to know harm. Andrew Gosden became the face of missing peoples find every child campaign. His age progression images appeared everywhere from doctors' offices and hospitals to bus stations, garbage trucks and shopping centers. The Gosden's even consulted with the behavioral analyst to try and figure out why Andrew might

have gone to London on the day he went missing and whether there were any places they might not have thought to check. At the time, statistics released by the National Crime Agency revealed that 98% of children who go missing in England are found within one week. This put Andrew Gostern in the rare 2%. He was one of 3,000 people in the United Kingdom who had been missing for more than 10 years. To mark the decade long mystery, Kevin Gostern raised money for missing people by holding a 10-hour vow of silence. One hour for every year his son had been missing.

Around this time, Michael Dixon, not his real name, was chatting online with a young man who went by the username Andy Roo. Andy Roo said he needed help. His partner had just walked out and he needed 200 pounds to pay his rent. Michael noticed that Andy Roo was listed as living in Lincoln, a city in the English Netherlands. Michael didn't live nearby, but he offered to transfer Andy Roo some money. Andy Roo declined the offer. He claimed he didn't have a bank account because he'd left home at the age of 14. Michael asked him why, wondering if it was because there had been problems at home.

Andy Roo responded, no, I just felt like it. He then cut the conversation short. Michael Dixon had seen the ongoing publicity about Andrew Gossden's disappearance and began wondering if Andy Rue and Andrew could be one and the same. He reached out to the Gossden family, whose interest was immediately sparked. When Andrew was a kid, his small bouncy demeanor earned him the family nickname Roo, as in Kangaroo. Although it could have been a coincidence, the ghostens were taking no chances. They notified police about this online interaction and an investigation was launched. Andrew's family met with Michael Dixon and travelled to Lincoln. They made inquiries

with locals and thousands of missing persons leaflets were distributed around town. Four possible sightings were reported, but none of them turned out to be Andrew Goston. Meanwhile, police made inquiries with the chat provider, the name of which has not been made public. The website administrators had recently made changes to their system during which a lot of the user data was lost. No information about who owned the Andy Ru profile was able to be ascertained. The Gossden's continued to work with specialists to release age progression images of what Andrew might look like as the years went by.

If he was still alive, investigators believed that the best chance of finding him was the distinctive double-redge on his right ear. If photos of Andrew were posted on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, facial recognition software could pick up this unique detail. The possibility that Andrew could have left home that Friday to attend a concert in London before meeting foul play hadn't been excluded. Since 2015, metropolitan police had begun working with a team of so-called super-recognizers. These are individuals with innate above average skill for spotting faces in a crowd. Police appeared for anyone who

had attended any concerts around London on the weekend of September 14, 2007, to come forward with any photos or videos they might have taken, so that the super recognises could scan them for anyone who looked like Andrew. In early 2020, the Gossetans received a word that Andrew's favourite band, Slippnotte, was touring the UK. If Andrew was still alive and living of his own free will, his family felt certain he'd attend one of the gigs. Andrew's missing-person posters were displayed at the events, including at a meet and greet with the band's guitarist, Mick Thompson.

No new leads were generated, but the ongoing search efforts continued to catch the attention of the public who remained gripped by the case 13 years later. Andrew Gossden's disappearance remained a hot topic for online sleuths, each with their own theory as to what had happened. Every possibility had been considered, from Andrew falling victim to a serial killer, to him traveling to London to buy the latest PlayStation portable before an incident occurred. Then, in January 2022, a story appeared in the news that no one saw coming. South Yorkshire Police confirmed that on Wednesday, December 8, 2021, an arrest had been made in relation to the Andrew Gosden case. Two unnamed men aged 38 and 45 had been taken into custody on suspicion of kidnapping and human trafficking.

The order of the two was also arrested for possessing indecent images of children. Police seized a number of electronic devices from the pair, but they said that a comprehensive review of the devices could take up to a year. Both men were therefore released while the enquiries continued. Police refused to disclose any further details, telling the media. Our priority at this time is supporting Andrew's family while we work through this new line of inquiry. We are in close contact with them, and they ask that their privacy is respected as our investigation continues. Almost two years passed before any sort of update.

In late September 2023, South Yorkshire police announced that the two unnamed suspects in the Andrew Gosden case had been eliminated from their investigation. A spokesperson said they were confident the two men played no part, adding, the investigation remains open and active, and we would urge anyone with information to come forward. Kevin Gossden told the ThinAir podcast that if his son's disappearance has taught him anything, it's that a child can have the most secure and comfortable life, and still think the grass might be greener on the other side. He is now an ambassador for the charity Missing People, educating young people about how

to stay safe if they are thinking about running away from home, or what to do if they already have and want to return. safe if they are thinking about running away from home or what to do if they already have and want to return. Kevin told Woman's own magazine, I hate the idea that Andrew might have had a problem he felt he couldn't tell me. That's why I implore all parents, talk to your children. Let them know they can tell you anything, and tell them if they ever consider running away or make a foolish decision, there are people who can give them the proper

support they need. Although Andrews Bank account hasn't been touched since he's final with the draw or on September 14, 2007, his family continues to top it up just in case. His room has since been repainted and decorated, but his presence is still strong. His favorite t-shirts are still sitting in a drawer, and he's prized a gem collection displayed on a shelf. The gostins have never changed their locks, just in case. July 10, 2023 marked what would have been Andrew's 30th birthday. He had now been missing for longer than he was around.

Throughout these years, Kevin Gostin continued to nurture the acorns that he helped Andrew plant when his son was just 10 years old. Just as Andrew predicted, several of the acorns sprouted and grew into miniature oak trees. Kevin gradually replanted them over the years, keeping one in his own back garden. By Andrew's 30th birthday, the oak tree stood at 6 feet tall and had sprouted acorns of its own. On his blog, Kevin wrote, As Andrew's oak tree bears the fruit of the acorn, we hope that awareness of his case bears the fruit that others are helped to find positive solutions in their lives, and

that other families are spared the pain that too many of us live with, every day. In the 16 years since Andrew Gossden uncharacteristically caught the train to London and mysteriously went missing, no evidence has ever emerged to indicate whether he is alive or dead, and none of the belongings he left home with have ever been found. Kevin Gossden finds comfort in the fact that one of his last memories with Andrew was a happy one. The night before Andrew went missing, the father and son did the dishes together after dinner. As they stood in the kitchen with details in hand, Kevin gave Andrew a quick hug and told him,

I love you. As Kevin wrote on his blog, I am glad that he's one of the last things I have said to him. Andrew is never far from his parents' minds. Racked with ambiguous loss, Kevin ashamedly admitted to the Sun that he sometimes felt envious of parents whose children had been murdered, because at least they had closure. He described the experience of not knowing as an endless cycle of horror, explaining, The pain is like when you have a little kid and you turn your back for two seconds and they vanish, but then you find them again.

That horrible panic-stricken gut-wrenching feeling you have in that moment goes on and on and on forever for us. Glenus once described it as someone coming up to you and sticking a knife in your guts. Normally it would hurt, but the knife would be removed and the wound would be stitched up and heal after a period of time. With this, someone has stuck the knife in, but you have to walk around with it and it's always there, always hurting, and getting twisted frequently and regularly. Головей. you