Disappearance of Andrew Gosden

On 14 September 2007, Andrew Paul Gosden, a 14-year-old schoolboy from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, disappeared after travelling alone to Central London. That morning, he left home as if heading to school, withdrew £200 from his bank account, and returned briefly to change his clothes before leaving again without informing his family. He was last seen on CCTV at King's Cross station. Despite extensive national appeals, no confirmed sightings have been reported since, and his whereabouts remain unknown.

In December 2021, two men were arrested on suspicion of kidnap and human trafficking in connection with the case. Both were later eliminated from the inquiry. Gosden's disappearance remains unsolved.

Background

Home life

The Gosden family lived in Balby, a suburb of Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Gosden's parents were both committed Anglican Christians but had not baptised their children, as they did not want to impose their views on them. Prior to his disappearance, Gosden had not attended church for eighteen months. Andrew had been a Cub Scout, but some months before his disappearance told his father he had become bored with it. Gosden's family described him as a "home bird" who rarely left the house and never without saying where he was going. Gosden was known to his family as "Roo".

School life

Gosden was a gifted student with a 100% attendance record at the McAuley Catholic High School. He was on the Young Gifted and Talented Programme, which was designed to enhance the educational development of high performing school pupils. Gosden was expected to achieve As in his GCSE examinations. He was described as a prize-winning mathematician who seemed destined for Cambridge. However, Gosden was described as having a neutral attitude about school, hoping the upcoming school term would provide more of a challenge after having "cruised" through his education thus far. He was reported as sharing little about his school life to his parents, and never expressed particular thoughts about any future career.

During the 2006 summer holidays, Gosden attended a two-week residential school at Lancaster University as part of the Young Gifted and Talented Programme. Gosden's parents recalled that he returned enthused from his time at the summer school.

Gosden was described as being happy with his own company but still had his own small group of like-minded friends. However, his family say that Gosden did not socialise with his friends outside of school. Gosden was reported to exhibit no signs of depression, with no indications that he had been subjected to bullying.

Description

Gosden was said by his father to be absent-minded, not streetwise, and potentially vulnerable. He was a "deep character" who did not get worked up or moody. His teachers characterised him as a shy, quiet young man who was mature for his age.

Other sources have stated that although Gosden was aged 14 when he disappeared, he looked younger, perhaps about 12, as he was small for his age. Gosden wore strong prescription glasses, was deaf in his left ear, and had a distinctive double ridge on his right ear. He had light brown hair but was planning to dye it black before he disappeared.

Gosden owned mobile phones between the ages of ten and twelve but rarely used them, and often lost them. He was given a new phone for his twelfth birthday, but was reported to not want to replace it when he lost it some months before his disappearance. When his parents offered to replace the lost phones he stated that he would prefer a new Xbox.

Gosden was interested in video games and metal bands. He was last seen wearing a black Slipknot T-shirt, black jeans, trainers, a watch on his left wrist, and carrying a black canvas satchel with patches of rock and metal bands on it.

Events leading up to the disappearance

During the 2007 school summer holidays, Gosden's parents had suggested that he should travel alone to London to stay with his grandmother, but he chose not to go.

At the time of his disappearance, Gosden was eight days into the new school year after returning from the summer holidays. In the days leading up to the disappearance, his parents reported that Gosden twice chose to break his normal routine; he told them he walked home from school rather than taking the school bus. Walking the 4-mile (6.4 km) route from school to his home would have taken around one hour and twenty minutes.

The evening before the day of the disappearance was described by Gosden's father as uneventful. The family ate together as usual, and they all washed the dishes afterwards. Gosden spent an hour assembling a jigsaw puzzle on the computer with his father. He then watched some comedy programmes on television, including Mock the Week and That Mitchell and Webb Look, with his mother.

Day of the disappearance

On 14 September 2007, the morning of his disappearance, Gosden had difficulty waking up and seemed particularly irritable, which was unusual for him.

At 8:05 am, Gosden left the house and was witnessed walking across local Westfield Park to his usual bus stop by a family friend. Instead of taking the school bus, Gosden diverted from his usual route and walked to a cash machine where he withdrew £200 from his bank account. Although Gosden had £214 in his account, the cash machine would only allow withdrawals in £20 increments, limiting him to £200. Gosden was then recorded on a neighbour's CCTV system returning home.

At home, Gosden placed his uniform in the washing machine and his blazer on the back of his chair. He changed into casual clothes, consisting of a black Slipknot T-shirt and black jeans, and took a bag embellished with various patches of rock and metal bands. He also took his wallet, keys, and a PlayStation Portable (PSP) console. No other possessions were identified as missing, and he had not taken his passport with him. Gosden's father stated that his son did not appear to have taken a sweatshirt or coat with him, and had also not taken the charger for his PSP. Despite withdrawing £200 in cash from his account, Gosden also left behind around £100 in cash that he had saved from birthdays.

At 8:30 am, Gosden departed the house for the final time and was seen heading down Littlemoor Lane, towards Westfield Park on the neighbour's CCTV camera. He then walked to Doncaster railway station and purchased a one-way ticket to London, which cost £31.40. The ticket seller told Gosden that a return ticket cost just 50p more, but he insisted on a single ticket.

At 9:35 am, Gosden was seen boarding the train to King's Cross station alone. A woman reported sitting next to Gosden, whom she described as being quiet and engrossed in playing his video game. When Gosden failed to attend morning lessons at his school, his teachers tried to contact his parents. The school inadvertently called the parents of a different child, leaving them a voicemail about Gosden's disappearance.

Gosden arrived at King's Cross station at 11:20 am. He was captured on CCTV leaving the main entrance of the station at 11:25 am. This was the last confirmed sighting of him.

Disappearance and initial investigation

That evening, the Gosden family and the same family friend who had seen Andrew in the park that morning, sat down for dinner thinking that Gosden was either in the converted cellar playing video games or in his room doing homework. When the family discovered that he was not in the house, they initially thought he could be with a friend or a neighbour and had lost track of time. Gosden's parents telephoned his friends, who informed them that Gosden was not there and had not been at school that day. At around 7:00 pm, the police were called. Gosden's sister, Charlotte, stated: "It was just a complete panic. We initially thought something must have happened on the way to school. When we found that he hadn't even been to school‍— even tried to go to school‍— that was even more worrying."

Charlotte and Gosden's father, Kevin, scouted Gosden's route to school and areas nearby in case he had been involved in an incident, but found nothing. Within three hours of discovering Gosden's disappearance, a missing person leaflet was produced for circulation. Gosden's family and friends searched the area until nightfall. That weekend, the police searched the bushes near the Gosdens' home in Doncaster, but found nothing.

Three days later, after speaking to the woman who had sold Gosden his train ticket, the police confirmed that he had travelled to London. The ticket seller at Doncaster station remembered Gosden because he had refused a return ticket, despite it only costing 50 pence more than a single. Gosden's father later stated that the purchase of a single ticket rather than a return did not seem strange to him, as Gosden knew numerous people in London with whom he could have stayed. Initial searches in London focused on the Chislehurst and Sidcup areas, where the Gosden family had relatives.

Days after the disappearance, the family travelled to London and handed out flyers and posters in the vicinity of anywhere they felt Gosden would have had an interest in visiting, especially museums and exhibitions.