The 14 year old who mysteriously boarded a train and never returned

Case 264: Andrew Gosden

*** 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.

As the questions began to stack up and the days passed by with no word from Andrew, his worried family were forced to face the unthinkable: had Andrew been lured away and fallen victim to foul play?

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host
Research & writing – Elsha McGill
Creative direction – Milly Raso
Production and music – Mike Migas
Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

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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 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 hold 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 Goen was fascinated by science A Gifted straight A student he effortlessly

Soared 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 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 BBY 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 Goen and his wife glennis 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 quiet 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 Goen family to come together and connect Kevin and glennis began unpacking groceries and preparing for the meal they were being joined to the that

Evening by the family’s Vicor and close friend Alan Murray who lived nearby the goans were Anglican but Kevin and glennis 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 and took no issue when

Charlotte and Andrew both made the decision to stop attending church by 6:00 p.m. dinner was ready the parents called 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 teens 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 tire 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 in 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 alog

Together 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 goens called the homes 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 had still managed to get ready in time to catch the bus to school Andrew attended McAuley kathle K

Which was roughly 4 miles or a 15-minute bus ride from the goin’s home at around 8:05 a.m. he said goodbye to his parents and left the house dressed in his school uniform shortly after this Vicor Alan Murray recalled driving by Westfield Park which was across the street from

The goon’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 home but no sign of Andrew himself the gotin didn’t know what to think they contacted molley High an

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 ATT testing to his Flawless turnout one staff member had tried calling the Goin 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 Andrew’s uniform was at home the gozens 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 description had been

Admitted when there was still no sign of Andrew by 900 p.m. his family contacted the police the goens 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 goens their home

Life was happy and harmonious both Kevin and glennis 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 goens 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 Behavior 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 Miss if he didn’t feel comfortable speaking to his parents for whatever reason they were sure he would confide in his sister Charlotte the Goen 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 favoring heavy metal Rock and post hardcore bands including including slipnot Funeral For A Friend Muse Evan Essence 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 light-hearted television with his mother he’d been his normal self upon going to bed although though he had seemed

Slightly irritable upon waking the next morning while this was out of character it wasn’t ca for alarm he was a teenage boy after all as Kevin Goen 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 he had in savings a neighbor of the Goen family had a CCTV camera pointed towards the street its footage from that day revealed something highly unusual at around 8:30 a.m. just after

Kevin and glennis left for work Andrew returned home min later he appeared back on the street no longer wearing his school uniform but jeans and a black slip knot band t-shirt he carried a black canvas Satchel adorned with band patches that his sister had helped him sew

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 drop 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 highrisk of vulnerable missing person they focused their attention inwards despite his family’s insistence

That Andrew was a happy well adjusted teen experience had taught police that most young runaways were typically trying to escape from some kind of situation at home they sat each member of the gozen family down for an interview to see if they could uncover any signs that Andrew was being abused or

Neglected the goens were adamant that Andrew had an open and honest relationship with his parents who were neither strict nor controlling Kevin and glennis trusted their children implicitly and supported their need for individuality and Independence although police took Andrew’s 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 2 days statistics indicated that it would likely be a matter of time before Andrew Goen returned home located 85 mil north of Doncaster the seaside town of Whitby was a much loved vacation spot for the Goen

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 goens traveled to Whitby to scour the area for any sign of Andrew they checked

His favorite horns 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 pass with no sightings of Andrew in either Doncaster or Whitby nor did he make contact with his family the goans wondered whether Andrew could have gone to London although the capital city was 170

Mi away it could be reached by train in just under 2 hours while the bustling City could be seen as an intimidating place for aone shy te 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 gozin had traveled 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 in seeing the Tuton Carman Exhibition at the British museum perhaps ditching school was an act of teenage rebellion and he’ 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 9:35 a.m. 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

More multiple passengers saw Andrew on the train to London that morning there had been nothing unusual about his behavior 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 Doncaster had arrived at 11:20 a.m. but finding Andrew gon 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 throng the fact that Andrew had traveled 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 Goen 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 Andrew’s travels Kevin had recently taken his children to London to watch Muse play live it was the first major Rock concert that Andrew had been to and he thoroughly enjoyed the

Experience the Goin 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 goons were aware Andrew wasn’t familiar with their music a Prague metal band called 6 were playing at the ot2 Academy Islington which was about a 15minute walk from King’s cross although the goens didn’t know if

Andrew knew of siik the band did have links to slipnot it was a significant show too being the last time singer Mikey Goodman would feature on the lineup furthermore Finnish Rock bear and him were doing an instore 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 he 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 only bought a

One-way ticket didn’t seem too strange to the goens 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 bus and travel was free for children under 16 in London meaning Andrew would have had the means to get around town but the 200b that he 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

Did Andrew gden 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 Goen household only had one computer a laptop that Charlotte had recently received for her

Birthday Andrew had barely touched it in the 8 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 traveled to London or what his intentions were once he got there computers used by Andrew were also

Seized from his school into the local Doncaster Library nothing was found on any of them that helped with the investigation there was no inexplicable activity on the Goen 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 Bo saw 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 Gosden the godden’s worst fear was that Andrew was groomed by a pedophile or sex trafficker and lured to London 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

Bus to school in the new Academic Year he’ twice chosen to walk instead a 4 mile trip that took around an hour and 20 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 Grimmer 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 Glenn gzen 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 medor 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 goens 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 South Bank District another believed they’d seen Andrew at a South Bank Park near the London Assembly

Building the goons followed up every lead visiting these locations for themselves to question locals and 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 recording boings before something finally caught their attention at 11:24 a.m. 4 minutes after the train From Doncaster arrived at King’s cross station the unmistakable sight of Andrew Gosden in his black slip knot 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 inre had been missing for 27 days it was a Bittersweet Discovery for the Goen 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 it gave no indication as to his movements from there Andrew

Hadn’t taken his passport with him making it unlikely that he traveled onwards to another country but it was entirely possible that he could have gotten off one train and have strayed on to another London is considered to be one of the most heavily surveilled cities in the world according to some sources the

The average person living in London can be caught on CCTV up to 300 times per day but to the dismay of the Goen 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 Goen philipper approached the boy and tried to engage him in conversation marking that he looked like the missing teenager the boy denied being Andrew Goen but Philip’s curiosity was peaked she followed the boy until losing sight

Of him near a cafe called The Poetry Place philipper reported this potential sighting to police according to the goens it wasn’t followed up until 6 weeks later the location where philipper 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 shown a picture of Andrew Gosden an 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 legit it or not couldn’t be ascertained reported sightings of Andrew continued to come in some from as far as South Wales according to Kevin gden the police were either slacked 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 Goen 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 nwed away at Kevin what if he removed himself from the picture forcing the police to to focus on the search for his son

Instead one day in the leadup to Christmas Vicor Alan Murray went to the goin’s house with some food eager to help in any way he could as Alan approached the door he heard a crashing noise coming from inside he let himself in using a spare key there Alan found Kevin Goen hanging

From the upstairs ballustrade 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 unresolvable strained but under deterred the goens 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 a blog posts about the impact of him being missing police ultimately found no evidence to indicate that the gozens 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 Goen 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 goon’s dis appearance all the more baffling according to his teachers Andrew had been a shoe in for Cambridge University but despite his intelligence he’ had 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 favorite television shows was the rise and fall of Reginald perin 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 Fredick nicher he encouraged people to be free thinkers find their own values and Stand Out Among the masses as his mother told the teleg gra 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 3-year-old meline mccan 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 or 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 in birthday money untouched in his bedroom the family also kept a box full of emergency cash for bus fairs 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 or had gotten caught up with the wrong crowd it seemed mindboggling that someone somewhere wouldn’t have recognized him before Andrew went missing he’d expressed his desire to grow his hair long and diet 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 rib bridge on his upper right ear that led to the next possibility the reason that Andrew hadn’t made contact or being 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 perpet Traders which ultimately ended in Andrew being held captive or killed but if Andrew had fallen victim

To fair play it wasn’t necessarily a premeditated attack it was just as possible that Andrew had traveled 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 Fallen victim 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 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 alone owner he always had a little posy of friends with him likewise the school principal said Andrew is a very likable self-facing 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 her

Ed by British Music Magazine Kang according to a user who identified themselves only as Becks she attended the same school as Andrew and the two were in all of the same classes beex 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 sought a new beginning or took his own life but as the weeks turned into months none of the belongings Andrew left home

With on 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 inoc ly traveled to London to play hookie for the day and

Been involved in a fatal accident most accidents would attract attention yet no one had witnessed a thing the river temps 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

By the time Andrew Goen 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 glennis Goen Penning 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 support you if we can we remain as proud of you as we have always been and love you deeply in conjunction with the anniversary

Andrew’s face was printed on milk cartons in Iceland as part of a widespread missing person’s campaign a month later Kevin and glenner shared their story on BBC’s popular current affairs program the one show within hours the intercom buzzed at the lamster police station a market Town 150 Mi southeast 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 gden 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 lster station he said that Andrew had been spotted in the town of shury 150 Mi Northwest of

London Police were unable to verify this claim or even confirm that the two informants were one and the same adding to what Kevin Goen described as a new form of subtle torture he told the Doncaster 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 an ongoing concern for the Goin was how much Andrew’s appearance could have changed in 2 years with the photos of him as a babyfaced 14-year-old still circulating

They worried that if Andrew was still alive he might be unrecognizable on the 2-year anniversary of Andrew’s 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’d know you anywhere by May 2011 3 and A2 years had passed with no developments the goens 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 goens approached a private firm that specialized in advanced sonar technology

Typically used to locate drowning victims at Sea they arranged for a roughly 7mile portion of the river temps to be searched from wage barrier to Tower Bridge in central London the Sona revealed a dunen boat an upturned car and finally a body it wasn’t Andrew the results sparked mixed

Feelings for the goens 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 NeverEnding limbo of just thinking why did you go September 2017 marked 10 years since Andrew gon’s

Disappearance police launched a fresh appeal for information circulating Andrew’s DNA fingerprints sent 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 a 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 Gosden but be unaware of his true identity appealing to Andrew directly the police spokesperson and 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 no

Harm Andrew Gosden became the face of missing people’s find every child campaign his age progression images appeared everywhere from doctor’s offices and hospitals to bus stations garbage trucks and shopping centers the goens 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 gzen 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 Goen raised money for missing people by holding a 10-hour vow of silence 1 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 Ru Andy Ru said he needed help his partner had just walked out and he needed £200 to pay his rent Michael noticed that Andy Rue was listed as living in Lincoln a city in the English

Midlands Michael didn’t live nearby but he offered to transfer Andy Ru some money Andy Ru 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 Ru responded no I just felt like it he then cut the conversation short Michael Dixon had seen the ongoing publicity about Andrew gon’s disappearance and began wondering if Andy Ru and Andrew could be one and the same he reached out to the Goen family whose interest was immediately

Sparked when Andrew was a kid his small bouncy demeanor earned him the family nickname Ru as in kangaroo although it could have been a coincidence the goans were taking no chances they notified police about this online interaction and an investigation was launched Andrew’s family met with Michael Dixon and traveled 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 Goen 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 goens continu 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 Ridge 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 F 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 appealed 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 recognizers could scan them for anyone who looked like Andrew in early 2020 the Goin received a word that Andrew’s favorite band slipnot 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 goon’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 Goen case

Two unnamed men aged 38 and 45 had been taken into custody on suspicion of kidnapping and human trafficking the older 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 inquiries 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 2 years passed before any sort of update in late September 2023 South Yorkshire police announced that the two unnamed suspects in the Andrew Goen 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 Goen told that thin air 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 Kevin told woman’s own magazine I hate 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 Andrew’s bank account hasn’t been touched since his final

Withdrawal on September 14 2007 his family 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 his prized the gem collection displayed on a shelf the goens 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 for longer than he was Around throughout these years Kevin Gosden 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 ft 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 Goen uncharacteristic Bally 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 Goen 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 tea

Towels in hand Kevin gave Andrew a quick hug and told him I love you as Kevin wrote on his blog I am glad that is one of the last things I ever said to him Andrew is never far from his parents’ Minds racked with ambiguous loss Kevin ashamedly admitted to the son

That he sometimes felt envious of parents whose children had been murdered because at least they had closure he described the experence 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 2 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 glennis once described it as someone coming up to you and sticking a knife in your guts normally 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