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

[aThousandYearsWide]

I didn't have time to find in the thread the 2018 tip of someone who chatted online with a guy that story paralleled Andrew's. The person was asking for help with rent after their boyfriend left them. The fact he didn't have a bank account was because he had left home at 14. That would make sense if the whole time Andrew was staying with someone who provided for him while he stayed under the radar. Being gay could have been a motive to leave as well. The only question I would have would be if he left home to be with a boyfriend how did he meet them if he didn't really use the computer (being the only one at his home was his sister's who only had it a couple of months)? He has some family in London. Could he have met a cousin's friend at a birthday party or gathering? Could he have even met them while in London briefly? There is just so many questions...

 

[JSolt1210]

I didn't have time to find in the thread the 2018 tip of someone who chatted online with a guy that story paralleled Andrew's. The person was asking for help with rent after their boyfriend left them. The fact he didn't have a bank account was because he had left home at 14. That would make sense if the whole time Andrew was staying with someone who provided for him while he stayed under the radar. Being gay could have been a motive to leave as well. The only question I would have would be if he left home to be with a boyfriend how did he meet them if he didn't really use the computer (being the only one at his home was his sister's who only had it a couple of months)? He has some family in London. Could he have met a cousin's friend at a birthday party or gathering? Could he have even met them while in London briefly? There is just so many questions...

I found this article:

"Last year, around the time of the tenth anniversary of Andrew’s disappearance, we received a tip from someone who said he’d been talking to someone named 'Andyroo' online," says Kevin. "The person our contact was talking to said, 'My partner has just walked out and I need help.' Our contact offered to help, asked 'Andyroo' what he needed. 'Andyroo' told him he needed £200 [$260] to make rent. Our contact noticed 'Andyroo' was listed as living in Lincoln, some distance from him, and so offered to transfer some money to help him out. 'Andyroo' said he didn't have a bank account because he'd left home when he was 14. He said he'd 'just felt like it.' What's really interesting about this, is that our nickname for Andrew as a kid was 'Roo'…

"The police made enquiries with the web admins," continues Kevin. "They asked us to keep it quiet while they did so. Unfortunately, the website had recently changed its systems and lost a lot of data, so they couldn’t give us any user data. Since then, we’ve been driving around Lincoln looking for someone who looks like Andrew, but nothing has come of it…"

Kevin sighs the saddest sigh. "It's another dead end."
_________________

I think the tip is intriguing, but personally I don't know what to make of it. Yes, people can act in surprising, unexpected ways, but I don't know... To me, Andrew as recorded in the existing CCTV footage doesn't look like someone who has just decided to run away from home because he "felt like it."

 

[Littlegreenlady]

I can totally see how the family would want to see this as a lead. But I would argue that Andyroo isn't that unusual. I had a friend a few years ago who we all called Andyroo. Andrew and Andyroo are similar enough for it to be an easy nickname , IMHO.

 

[aThousandYearsWide]

I found this article:

"Last year, around the time of the tenth anniversary of Andrew’s disappearance, we received a tip from someone who said he’d been talking to someone named 'Andyroo' online," says Kevin. "The person our contact was talking to said, 'My partner has just walked out and I need help.' Our contact offered to help, asked 'Andyroo' what he needed. 'Andyroo' told him he needed £200 [$260] to make rent. Our contact noticed 'Andyroo' was listed as living in Lincoln, some distance from him, and so offered to transfer some money to help him out. 'Andyroo' said he didn't have a bank account because he'd left home when he was 14. He said he'd 'just felt like it.' What's really interesting about this, is that our nickname for Andrew as a kid was 'Roo'…

"The police made enquiries with the web admins," continues Kevin. "They asked us to keep it quiet while they did so. Unfortunately, the website had recently changed its systems and lost a lot of data, so they couldn’t give us any user data. Since then, we’ve been driving around Lincoln looking for someone who looks like Andrew, but nothing has come of it…"

Kevin sighs the saddest sigh. "It's another dead end."
_________________

I think the tip is intriguing, but personally I don't know what to make of it. Yes, people can act in surprising, unexpected ways, but I don't know... To me, Andrew as recorded in the existing CCTV footage doesn't look like someone who has just decided to run away from home because he "felt like it."

Thank you! It definitely is interesting. If not, an extremely interesting coincidence. I agree it doesn't seem like he intended to gone long. The concert theories make the most sense to me. The money withdrawal and all, but why a one way ticket? Maybe he didn't exactly know how long he'd being staying and needed to get away for a bit? I have also wondered about a Shawn Hornbeck situation which would explain the lack of sightings if he was being kept indoors.

Recently two others who disappeared at 14 have turned up safe. They are Crystal Haag and Simon Lembi. Both went missing in the 90's and just simply walked out of their former lives. Could Andrew have done the same?

 

[JSolt1210]

Recently two others who disappeared at 14 have turned up safe. They are Crystal Haag and Simon Lembi. Both went missing in the 90's and just simply walked out of their former lives. Could Andrew have done the same?

Wow, thank you so much for sharing those stories! I just read this article about Crystal Haag, and it definitely adds new perspective, showing how a 14-year-old child can intentionally go missing and even make a life for herself. And it hits close to home because I suspect the "heavily Dominican neighborhood" in "Upper Manhattan" where she wound up is Washington Heights, which is my neighborhood!

To summarize: at 14, Crystal was being sexually abused by a neighbor since age 9, and she believed her mom knew but did nothing about it. (The mom says she didn't know.) One day she disobeyed her mom by staying out with friends till very late, and so decided on impulse that she "wasn't going back." She boarded a bus to New York where she eventually created a new identity, support system and even a family, and has been living here for 21 years. Just like that. From the article, it doesn't sound like Crystal had been planning to run away when she woke up that morning. One decision just led to another, and that was the result.

Could something similar have happened with Andrew? Maybe that morning he didn't intend to leave forever—hence not taking the money in his room and his game charger. Maybe he was just confused about the transit system and just shrugged off the "return ticket deal." And then he stayed out later than usual and figured he couldn't go back now, especially since he'd already cut school.

And who knows what else could've been happening at home or at school? We know what we know from his parents, and I don't doubt their sincerity. But we don't know Andrew's perspective. Like Crystal, he could've had a totally different take on his life and kept that to himself. He could've been struggling with his sexuality, and I'm sure his parents would've accepted and loved him no matter what. But all it takes is one absent-minded comment to make him doubt that. He could've also had developing, but unnoticed, mental issues that contributed to his decision. Someone from school or summer school could've also contributed.

In short there's so much we still don't know.

 

[dotr]

At this point, thinking that Andrew withdrew money to purchase tickets to a show, something gaming related, or to travel further perhaps by bus, train or boat.
He may have bought the one way ticket with the expectation that he would get a lift back home, or because he was planning on traveling elsewhere after he got to his first destination.
For all we know, he could have been introduced to drugs, living on the street and not recognized because of that. imo, speculation.

 

[aThousandYearsWide]

Wow, thank you so much for sharing those stories! I just read this article about Crystal Haag, and it definitely adds new perspective, showing how a 14-year-old child can intentionally go missing and even make a life for herself. And it hits close to home because I suspect the "heavily Dominican neighborhood" in "Upper Manhattan" where she wound up is Washington Heights, which is my neighborhood!

To summarize: at 14, Crystal was being sexually abused by a neighbor since age 9, and she believed her mom knew but did nothing about it. (The mom says she didn't know.) One day she disobeyed her mom by staying out with friends till very late, and so decided on impulse that she "wasn't going back." She boarded a bus to New York where she eventually created a new identity, support system and even a family, and has been living here for 21 years. Just like that. From the article, it doesn't sound like Crystal had been planning to run away when she woke up that morning. One decision just led to another, and that was the result.

Could something similar have happened with Andrew? Maybe that morning he didn't intend to leave forever—hence not taking the money in his room and his game charger. Maybe he was just confused about the transit system and just shrugged off the "return ticket deal." And then he stayed out later than usual and figured he couldn't go back now, especially since he'd already cut school.

And who knows what else could've been happening at home or at school? We know what we know from his parents, and I don't doubt their sincerity. But we don't know Andrew's perspective. Like Crystal, he could've had a totally different take on his life and kept that to himself. He could've been struggling with his sexuality, and I'm sure his parents would've accepted and loved him no matter what. But all it takes is one absent-minded comment to make him doubt that. He could've also had developing, but unnoticed, mental issues that contributed to his decision. Someone from school or summer school could've also contributed.

In short there's so much we still don't know.

You're welcome! Crystal's story is fascinating due to how young she was when assuming a new identity. Especially as recent as the late 90's! It really puts new perspective in missing teen cases. Her case surprises me most due to the the fact I always assumed a kidnapping in her case. I also remember her picture from scrolling different cases. The hat and the smile you could tell she was a nice girl and there was a innocence to her picture. Makes you wonder how many others have a similar story of starting over as a minor.

 

[Deathsgrandaughter]

Wow, AThousandYearsWide, those are fascinating stories of Crystal and Simon, thank you. I tend to assume with this case that Andrew is still alive, then when I consider the facts I revert to hopelessness. What really makes me think the worst is his eyesight and hearing. I don't wear glasses all the time, unlike Andrew, but even so things like shopping can be very difficult without them. I can't help but think how easy it would be to disable Andrew by breaking or taking his glasses, not to mention the fact that he is deaf in one ear.
The many points about the summer school are very interesting. I have tended to dismiss the summer school; my son was in the Gifted and Talented group around the same time, and it just seemed to be a label some children were given rather than anything remotely useful or academic. But now I wonder if part of Andrew's enthusiasm was down to admiration for someone he had met there. He was not enthused by school itself, so what was so different about summer school? The new ideas he was able to explore, or a new person?

 

[nacentaeons]

I think the summer school is an interesting potential lead. He certainly could have met someone there ‘IRL’ instead of online. I am sure this has been researched by police however and staff would usually be CRB checked. Did he make friends with a fellow pupil? Was Andrew in a class with mixed ages?

 

[dotr]

I think the summer school is an interesting potential lead. He certainly could have met someone there ‘IRL’ instead of online. I am sure this has been researched by police however and staff would usually be CRB checked. Did he make friends with a fellow pupil? Was Andrew in a class with mixed ages?

Thinking about the summer school and wondering if people from other parts of the UK would go there, and/or was Andrew's hometown a tourist destination?
imo, speculation.

 

[Deathsgrandaughter]

I've been googling the summer schools to see what I could come up with. As I said above my son was "Young gifted and Talented" but at his school it seemed to mean little except that it made the school look good having bright children thus labelled.
It does strike me that in a case where the family have been very open in sharing information in the hope of a breakthrough, very little has been said about the summer camp, apart from Andrew's enthusiasm for it.

I found a government page about the summer schools, which includes a list of the sites, all Universities I suppose Andrew is most likely to have attended the Yorkshire one as it would have presumably have been organised through his school.

Gifted and talented secondary children will benefit from a wide range of out of school hours learning through leading universities, announced Schools Minister Andrew Adonis today.

Run by higher education institutions, the nine 'excellence hubs' are a partnership of universities, schools and other education providers.

So, I would imagine that for a bright child mixing exclusively with his intellectual peers for probably the first time ever, in the atmosphere of a University campus, (and presumably away from parents) this would have been heady stuff. And definitely a lot of scope for meeting someone who interested him.

Even if he was not running away to join someone I could see how he might have been inspired to change his life by his experiences here. It might have provided a glimpse of what he thought his future could hold instead of marking time at school. IMHO


£3.6 million for gifted and talented learning | Department for Education

Edited to add, according to this article in the Daily Telegraph,(Ministers pull the plug on gifted and talented academy)
the YGT programme catered for 4 to 19 year olds. while I doubt there were 4 year olds on a residential summer school, there may well have been 19 year olds; certainly older teenagers with more life experience - and none of those would have been CRB checked unlike the staff.

 

[sundaaaay]

Very interesting the cases mentioned above of missing people who were found!

For me this case always comes back to the summer school and his enthusiasm for it / the people involved in it. Was his un-enthusiasm for going back to regular school in September the thing that triggered him to leave that morning and visit a friend he made during the summer.

And as mentioned in a comment above about 19 year olds in attendance in the summer programme, a 14 year old would potentially look up to a 19 year old, and they would also maybe have to keep it a secret from his parents incase they thought it was weird.

A lot of people on various threads about Andrew assume it to be an old man who groomed him but maybe it was someone much younger!

 

[Deathsgrandaughter]

a 14 year old would potentially look up to a 19 year old, and they would also maybe have to keep it a secret from his parents incase they thought it was weird.

Indeed. My youngest son met an older boy on a Boys Brigade camp, and did really look up to him. They kept in touch after camp.I was a bit concerned at first; in this case it was OK, but it does show how a younger boy can admire an older role model.

 

[Littlegreenlady]

I wonder if he had a pen friend and wrote letters. I'm guessing if he got home before his parents did then he would be first at the post to get any letters

 

[JSolt1210]

And as mentioned in a comment above about 19 year olds in attendance in the summer programme, a 14 year old would potentially look up to a 19 year old, and they would also maybe have to keep it a secret from his parents incase they thought it was weird.

A lot of people on various threads about Andrew assume it to be an old man who groomed him but maybe it was someone much younger!

Indeed. My youngest son met an older boy on a Boys Brigade camp, and did really look up to him. They kept in touch after camp.I was a bit concerned at first; in this case it was OK, but it does show how a younger boy can admire an older role model.

I think this is definitely a possibility. 19-year-olds are legally old enough to work and have their own place. If the summer program had students up to 19 years of age, it's possible Andrew could've met and connected with one of them. When the regular school year resumed, Andrew could've continued meeting up with this individual after school, using the excuse that he was walking home, in order to plan to run away together.

I feel like this can tie in nicely with the "Andyroo" tip that surfaced "around the time of the tenth anniversary of Andrew’s disappearance." By this point, Andrew would've been 24, and the other person 29. Ten years is a long time for a relationship, especially if you got into it in your teens. Maybe by this time they had drifted apart. Maybe Andrew no longer looked up or admired this person, but had become more mature and level-headed by this point.

I agree that "Andyroo" is a common nickname, and so I'm not tied to the theory that this is our Andrew. But I keep coming back to his comment that "he'd left home when he was 14" because he "just felt like it." I could be wrong, but "just felt like it" doesn't sound like he acted with parental knowledge, consent, or assistance. So unless he had uncaring parents, what other 14-year-old children have been reported missing in the area?

 

[jaycool]

For me this case always comes back to the summer school and his enthusiasm for it / the people involved in it.
And as mentioned in a comment above about 19 year olds in attendance in the summer programme, a 14 year old would potentially look up to a 19 year old, and they would also maybe have to keep it a secret from his parents incase they thought it was weird.

I am thinking along similar lines, i think he met someone he deemed "cool" or "attractive", probably then decided that he was tired of his home life and wanted to see this "person" again. I also think the perp is someone closer to his own age rather than some much older man.

If there was some kind of romantic relationship then they probably hid it due to the "age difference" and "sexual orientation" whilst also wanting to avoid the relationship ending itself. I think its more likely that a "lover" who has romantic feelings for you would hide your whereabouts when compared to a random friend.

Of course that is assuming Andrew did not meet with foul play. So i think Andrew and the perp could have made some kind of "pact" to hide the relationship at all costs even if it ended. The perp is already in deep water even if they think they were being a good person, they know coming forward risks reconcilation and jail time.

I doubt Andrew would have a relationship with a much older person unless it were someone well known to him and the family.
So even if foul play seems likely there may have been more to this then we realize.

With the more recent accounts of an "andyroo" being spotted online who apparently says he left home at 14 and his room mate went seperate ways (correct me if i'm wrong as i cannot remember well) could mean that this was indeed Andrew Gosden and that he possibly had a relationship that has now come to an end.

If we say the perp was 18/19 year old at the time that would mean the person would have had to have their own place to themselves, either someone with a 40 hour job to pay the rent or someone with student accomodation, possibly a music student, makes me wonder if the summer school had a lot of music types.

Perhaps once he got there he realized how great his new life would be with this other person, all the other person had to do was "idealize" Andrew, tell him he could skip school and play video games all day, have his basic needs cared for i.e shelter, food, water etc. Some teens would gladly take that.

Perhaps that was used to lure him (easier life) or something just to make Andrew feel like staying, thus Andrew never returns, then Andrew and the other person have a relationship that last many years until one person is tired of the relationship? I can only imagine that as an alternative to foul play.

Some people are so desperate for a romantic relationship that they would make compromises like this. I know this is unlikely but who knows. JMO

 

[dotr]

In keeping with what seems to be purposeful actions such as putting his uniform in the washing machine, thinking the t shirt Andrew chose to wear for his journey was significant. imo.

'He took the train to London and was never seen again'

 

[JSolt1210]

In keeping with what seems to be purposeful actions such as putting his uniform in the washing machine, thinking the t shirt Andrew chose to wear for his journey was significant. imo.

'He took the train to London and was never seen again'

Sorry, but can you elaborate? I don't know anything about the band Slipknot, and I've never really been into heavy metal, so I know this is totally going over my head lol.

 

[dotr]

Sorry, but can you elaborate? I don't know anything about the band Slipknot, and I've never really been into heavy metal, so I know this is totally going over my head lol.

Sorry, what i meant about the t shirt, is that he may have chosen it because he was going to hang out with another fan of that or another similar band.
Young people tend to wear what their friends are wearing or to impress whomever they are meeting.
If for example Andrew wore a " gaming" t shirt, i would suspect that he was going to something/ someone associated with that world, ect.
He may have pulled on any old t shirt, but his actions seemed purposeful and so i extended that to include what he chose to wear on the day he disappeared.
speculation, imo.

 

[JSolt1210]

Sorry, what i meant about the t shirt, is that he may have chosen it because he was going to hang out with another fan of that or another similar band.
Young people tend to wear what their friends are wearing or to impress whomever they are meeting.
If for example Andrew wore a " gaming" t shirt, i would suspect that he was going to something/ someone associated with that world, ect.
He may have pulled on any old t shirt, but his actions seemed purposeful and so i extended that to include what he chose to wear on the day he disappeared.
speculation, imo.

Ahh okay, yeah that makes perfect sense, and I agree!

Since I don't know anything about Slipknot, I thought you might be hinting at songs of theirs that could reference disappearing, walking away, etc.

It's been almost 12 years, but I wonder if anyone from that summer program may recall Andrew connecting with other Slipknot or heavy metal fans.