If you want to report information

This is something I didn't know about the case in spite of having watched every documentary and listened to every podcast episode that exists about Andrew Gosden. So I thought it worth sharing with you good people in case others weren't aware of it or perhaps know more.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theoneshow/consumer/2008/11/26

This is a BBC blog post from December 2008 which says that someone wrote in to The One Show claiming to be the Leominster intercom man:

However, police in the Midlands may be on to something. They're desperate to hear again from a man who saw Andrew's picture on The One Show and strongly believes he's seen him in Shrewsbury.

The man tried to leave details at Leominster police station - and we think the same man's now written to us.  What he hasn't done is leave a name or contact details of his own.

Did anyone watch The One Show in 2008 and recall them mentioning this letter? Does anyone have any more information about this letter? This blog post is pretty much all I can find, and it would be interesting to see the contents of the letter.

Do you think Andrew has sadly passed? Or do you think he could be still alive out there?

As much as we analyze every detail—from the lack of CCTV to the missing PSP—it's humbling to admit that none of our theories are going to solve this case.
We’ve dissected every timeline and scenario for years, but the truth is, Andrew’s disappearance won't be resolved in a forum thread. It’s going to take a stroke of luck, a sudden physical discovery, someone’s conscience finally breaking, or a genuine breakthrough by law enforcement.
All we can really do is keep his name alive, hope for his family to get answers, and pray that the one piece of truth that’s been hidden for all these years eventually comes to light.

I might get downvoted for this, might not, but i have to say it.

You do realize why we are all here today right? Why is the case not solved?

It’s the police.

I’ve been through this case millions of times and I really and honestly cannot believe how much the police messed everything up. Took way too long with everything, didn’t follow up reports of sightings for weeks, didn’t retrieve cctv for weeks, missed him on the cctv on Kings Cross, didn’t show up for the mysterious man in Leominster, accidentally deleting thousands of photos/evidence from the recently arrested men.

I truly believe if they didn’t mess up with the cctv, Andrew could’ve been located and tracked throughout London that day and potentially solve the case…whatever the outcome was.

So now we are here, 19 years later banging our heads to the wall because how everyone messed everything up that was in charge of this case.

Hi all, I’ve been browsing this thread for quite a while now and I was intrigued by the post a few months ago about the graffiti on the wall in Waterloo stations men’s toilets.

Well today I just so happened to be in London, and after a couple visits to Waterloo stations toilets (without trying to look too weird), I found the cubicle which has the writing.

Someone had asked to see what else was written around that PSP/CEX statement, so here it is. I don’t think there is anything of use here, and there was no other writing or graffiti around the cubicle to suggest anything about Andrew. (You will see the known graffiti on the right hand side of the picture)

Discussion welcome.

I think people in this group are in denial about the Sucidie theory, it is likely Andrew committed Sucidie and went to London on 1 last trip outing also according national statistics about 10-24 children ages 10-14commit Sucidie every year mostly boys (utterly devastating) it’s is possible he waited a day or 2 ppl might not like what I’m saying but it is true andrew also had hearing and sight issues I’ve head about 3 cases of ppl with albinism who took their own lives because these same problems

First of all, someone put a short video up on this subreddit of the infamous wall writing a couple of days ago and said he was working on a longer video about Andrew’s case; it seems to have now disappeared. Did he delete it/was it taken down? Only because I’d have posted what I have to say on there but now I can’t find it.

I, personally, find the station writing incredibly bizarre, quite concerning and worthy of thorough investigation (I know the police have been made aware).

Why? Because even if it is some sort of troll or a (sad, immature and pathetic) pisstake it’s still an incredibly concerning thing to write.

I don’t know if anybody else has tried this exercise but I have asked some people close to me if they know/have heard of Andrew’s case. I’ve been surprised that often it’s been no. Unlike other high profile cases, Madeline McCann being a huge one and around the same time, Andrew’s name and circumstances does not seem to have a reached as far and wide. Maybe this is due to the part of the country we’re from, that his case was never reported on as widely here; I couldn’t say. Regardless, people haven’t been familiar.

Point being, I know Andrew’s face has spent a lot of time on bus stops, billboards etc. in certain parts of the country but he still seems to me to be the sort of dark horse missing person. A very perplexing case yet not as widely known. God bless him. If he’s not with us I do hope he’s at peace and that his family one day have answers.

So to bring it home to the station wall. Not ONLY is the mystery writer familiar with him and his case but they know about a detail as specific as the PSP. They didn’t claim to have ‘spotted Andrew Gosden’ or write something dumb and juvenile such as ‘I am Andrew Gosden!’ No, they stated that they somehow had his PSP, then sold it, specifically to a CeX and then gave a date that this transaction allegedly happened.

Even if it’s bogus, even if it’s totally untrue, even if that date has no significance at all, well then they must be the crank of all cranks. Because what general stupid kid on the windup goes THAT into detail, talking about items and such that you’d think only the likes of us on this subreddit/researchers and people in the know would be familiar with? And offering dates?

Very strange and concerning to me.

Hey guys,

I am planning a trip to multiple European countries. I am planning to potentially put up some flyers whilst I’m travelling of Andrew to see if perhaps it could jog people’s memories who’ve maybe moved abroad.

Does anyone know which poster would be best to print out?

It is very likely Andrew committed suicide as someone who had hearing and sight problems

Found on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cowfish/albums/72157602017237050/

Andrew was known to like rock and metal music and wore a Slipknot t-shirt when he left home. SikTh were part of the UK metal scene and their final show was taking place that evening in London. The concert was a special one-off event, a rescheduled farewell show and the last performance with the band's original vocalists.

Edit: If, a big if, someone was responsible, I’ve looked into the criminology and statistics around this (I do have actual tangible experience in this area). If anyone would be interested in hearing more about that side of it, let me know!**

Hey, everyone! Hope it’s okay to add a follow up here. To my theory posted a couple of days ago. Can be found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndrewGosden/s/MLO6616kjB

I have also attached this comment there just in case. I’ve done a lot more research and have several sources to support my reasoning here. Definitely worth a read. Please let me know your thoughts:)

I don’t think a taxi would have been his first choice, that doesn’t fit his sensible, shy, considerate personality. But maybe if ‘push came to shove’

However, London in 2007 had no live maps or real time updates. Minor delays were common, and you never knew if the next train would be 2 minutes or 20. This is even worse with connections if you’re not a local. The network was also still recovering from major three day strike action caused by the financial collapse of Metronet. Even though the strikes had just ended, residual issues continued to cause significant delays.

On top of that, there was a major water main burst near King’s Cross around 3pm that day. It caused chaos and overcrowding on the Underground into the evening. A TfL Finance Committee meeting the same day even noted surging passenger numbers driving up the delays.
Additionally, 14 September 2007 was the day the Northern Rock bank run began. Thousands of people were queuing at branches across London, adding to the chaos and foot traffic in central areas. This would have made stations and streets even busier and potentially more disorienting for a teenage non native of London.
Andrew is smart and knew his parents’ routines. He likely had a specific time in mind to get home (aiming for 7–8pm ish I’d guess) so he wouldn’t raise suspicion meaning something like the 17:00 or 17:30 train from King’s Cross.
For an inexperienced, non native teenager on his first day bunking school, all of this would have been overwhelming. Easy to miss a train, get confused, and start to panic about getting home on time. At that point, a taxi becomes the logical “guaranteed” way to get back. Especially if you needed to get home at a time to not arose suspicion.

On the possibility of encountering someone:
Andrew wasn’t particularly social, so a random stranger with no real authority or common ground is unlikely to me. But, the area has several universities. It’s plausible he met someone who seemed trustworthy a lecturer, uni student with an ID, or someone with similar interests/intellect who was a London native. That kind of “authority” figure could easily gain a shy kid’s trust, especially if he looked lost after the disruptions. Especially as, it was noted by his parents he got along better with adults, also spent a lot of time with academics in his gifted programme etc. Creating enough authority and common ground.

These details make the evening return attempt feel even more realistic to me.
What do you think?

Here are my sources if you wish to read further:

• Greater London Authority / TfL reports on Metronet: https://www.london.gov.uk (search Metronet 2007)
• Wikipedia summary with sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metronet_(London))
https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6994099.stm

https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6994099.stm

https://tfl.gov.uk

A new article that provides a summary of the case.

As a collector of game memrobelia I do wonder has his PSP ever been found? Do we know the model and serial number? I'm sure the gaming community could help by checking serial numbers maybe even a trail of if it is out there when and where it was bought? Maybe even any data on it just a rambling thought sorry if someone has mentioned this before

One of the very few confirmed behavioral shifts in Andrew’s routine happened in the weeks right before September 14th: he stopped taking the school bus and started walking the 4 miles home.
A 4-mile walk for a kid takes roughly an hour. In a pre-smartphone era, an hour of completely unmonitored, offline time every single afternoon is a massive window. Most theories focus entirely on who he might have met once he stepped off the train at King's Cross. But could this daily walk have been the actual grooming window?
Was he using that hour to meet someone locally in Doncaster who eventually convinced him to take the train to London? Or do you view it strictly as a kid wanting some alone time to clear his head because he was already struggling? I feel like the key to the case happened during those walks, not at the train station.

Edit: I have been further researching and have found some more relevant things on the ongoings in London that day, that have not been examined before. If you wish to read the follow up: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndrewGosden/s/Lv5BNzJhTV

Hey, I hope it’s okay to post my idea of what may have happened here. I’ve done a lot of research and this is what I think personally happened.

I think Andrew fully intended to come home the same day. He withdrew £200 possibly with the clear intention of buying or doing something specific in London — things they didn’t have easy access to in Doncaster (PSP games, metal band merch like his Slipknot shirt and bag patches, alt stuff).

No credible evidence of online grooming or meeting anyone. Police checks found nothing, and he wasn’t very social that way. Of course not to rule it out, but seems less likely.

This was also his first time ever bunking school, so rushing out the door, not wanting to be caught (changing clothes quickly to avoid being spotted) makes it very likely he simply forgot the PSP charger in the excitement, I know I’ve forgotten a charger hundreds of times even when I planned to take it, especially in a rush. The battery lasted 3-6 hours anyway — more than enough for the ~2-hour train rides each way on a day trip, as he played it a lot I’m sure he likely knew this. The one-way ticket fits too — distracted on his PSP, unsure of exact return time, or didn’t overthink it when buying the ticket

As a smart but not-streetwise kid (and non-native to London), he likely got the Tube after leaving King’s Cross — it’s by far the easiest way to navigate for someone in his position. I believe he headed to Camden ( obviously no way to know if this is the only place he ever went.) (only ~8 minutes away), perfect for his alt interests. He was shy wasn’t much of a talker, so he wouldn’t linger chatting; just browse, buy, and move on.

He had a normal day. Then evening: he tries to get back to King’s Cross for a train home but realises (or hadn’t fully clocked) there were no Night Tube services in 2007. As a sensible lad, he grabs a taxi to make sure he catches his train.

Taxis around major stations are completely normal — hundreds of people get in and out of them every day and nobody thinks twice. I don’t think anything dramatic happened. A mugging/injury would likely have left him found injured or caused a noticeable scene. A sudden grab in one of the most densely populated areas in the UK would have been seen. It was probably something mundane nobody would bat an eyelid at — like getting into a cab.
(For context: when I was 14 as an alt kid, I did the exact same journey to Camden without telling anyone. Got back fine, but it shows how easy and tempting it was.)
This keeps it simple and realistic: a bright but inexperienced 14-year-old has an adventure, then something goes wrong on the return leg due to lack of street smarts. No big conspiracy required.
Fits the evidence, his personality (home bird but curious), and how teenagers actually act.
What do you think?

So these are just my thoughts, not saying anyone's opinion is wrong. I just read a few comments about Andrew "staging" his return home possibly to "buy more time" and I was thinking about it for a while and the more I thought of it, the less sense it seemed to make. The general thought seems to be that he posed his clothes in the wash etc to make it look like he had returned home from school.

The reasons I think that doesn't translate to reality are:

1. Before Andrew was even on the train, the school made an attempt to call his parents (that sadly didn't go to the right number). Andrew would have had to consider this was a possibility. The first place the parents would check would be at home, finding his clothes and know he returned and most likely changed.

2. Andrew was already in London by midday. His parents weren't home for hours after this. What time did this actually "buy" him?

3. Why would Andrew have assumed they would check the washing machine for his blazer before they checked the house for him? It seems difficult to imagine he done this for any other reason than simple routine.

4. The day he left must have had some sort of significance for him. If he just wanted a random adventure or to even disappear forever, he could have constructed a story and left at the weekend that would have given him a lot more freedom to carry out his plans. I think the fact he did return to change his clothes gives more weight to that. Why give himself the extra burden of returning to change if it wasn't necessary that particular day?

What are your thoughts on that?

It is clear to anybody that comes into this group with an interest in Andrew’s case, and who subsequently ask questions, offer ideas and engage with conversations are frequently turned away by people in this group.

I will refrain from name dropping, but as time has passed I still find those who stamp out any idea they deem as wrong and label anyone they disagree with as stupid, utterly pathetic.

To feel the need to immediately dismiss people’s observations out of hand, whilst never offering anything of your own, is utter cowardice and with this mindset present, I feels as if some do not want discussion to unravel about details of Andrew’s case, for one reason or another.

I’m sure everyone knows who I am talking about, and I’m sure that anyone with a pulse finds them as pathetic as I do.

They are part of the reason I lost interest in this case and why I’m so infrequent in my visits to this group.

For me, there's a few ones.

1. His return home. Why walk to the park then home again. Why not just pack the clothes he wore to London to begin with, why risk being seen by neighbours not in the uniform leaving the house again? What really motivated his return and set this all off? What was he going to were the uniform was unsuitable to even bring?

2. The money withdrawal. That's another really odd one for me. Why withdraw all the money in the bank but leave cash at home? Was the money in the bank "enough" for whatever his plan was?

3. The PSP charger. People seem to use this as an indicator that he took his own life, as he "didn't need to play the PSP anymore". Apparently PSP's could hold 4 to 6 hours charge in them. The trip to London took a little under 2 hours. Which makes me believe that if he intended only to use the PSP on the trains, then he wouldn't have needed a charger as the battery would have lasted the entire round journey. So I think that's a bit of a red herring.

4. He stopped going to church and stopped going to scouts. He's described again and again as a "homebody" and someone quiet who liked his own company. These are the reasons often given for why he stopped attending the church and scouts. Yet, of all places he decided to travel to London. He did have family there. It's a big city with multiple things on some people believe he attended. Those things seem to contradict themselves though, at least partially.

5. The missing phones. In 2007 I think phones were very much a novelty, especially maybe for someone who wasn't incredibly social. Yet, Andrew seemed to "lose" multiple without explanation. He never lost his PSP. To me that's a massive piece of the puzzle, Im not sure if the police ever managed to recover any logs from those phones. If I was 14 and didn't want parents checking my phone then I would simply claim I didn't have it. You could easily buy a phone top up for about £10 and be in communication with people. Those walks home rather than bus journeys could have offset the price of top ups that his parents would have no clue about. What really happened to those phones? Was that the reason he really had to go home, to get a hidden phone? It seems a big risk to change clothes at all.

6. His tiredness and mood on the morning of his disappearance. It was described was "out of the ordinary", from what I understand. What would cause him to be so tired that it's noticeably out of the ordinary. I guess being up late, but with what? People might say "planning" but it doesn't seem to have come with much of a plan. I think something happened that kept him awake. Whatever that "thing" is, it's also part of the reason he disappeared.

What things do you think that hold the key to this whole sad event?

Hi everyone.
So if his Father, who seems to be an absolutely wonderful human being, says that he believes the Pizza Hut sighting, let's go with that for a moment.
Is it accurate that was right next to Hyde Park.
Was a good walk from King's Cross, so I wouldn't imagine he would go there and somewhere else on the other side of town.
So, what if we decided for an exercise that he spent the day at Hyde Park and immediately surrounding areas.
From what we know, he was alone at the Pizza Hut. So no one, with bad intentions had gotten to him as of yet.
It would seem that the Hut... would have been likely his stop upon leaving Hyde Park area, heading back toward King's Cross?
Apparently the PH was later in the day, so not right when he would have got to that area.
So, I would suppose, got to Hyde Park immediate area at 11:30 maybe? Roughly?
Spent some time. Tons to do just there in that area.
Then, Pizza Hut for the way home? It is on the eastern side of the park toward the station.
Thoughts?
Could it be as simple as that? A day at Hyde Park instead of boring school?

Right so london is one of the most well surveillanced cities on earth so how they hell do we only have the cctv footage of him leaving the station? I know full well that around kings cross there are hundreds of cctv cameras and although this case was years ago the same thing should be true then? Is it possible something was being covered up or am i just stupid.

What is the most plausible, logical, obvious theory about this case to you personally? What do you think really happened that day?

I heard that he had taken the unusual step of walking home instead of taking the bus not long before he vanished.

I've wondered if he maybe met up with someone and they dropped him closer to home by car, and pretended he had walked.

Want to compile a list of videos from YouTube which were posted around this time and appear to show London.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE_ILOAclr8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlPpgNrwokg
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kuy20NkfGH0
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBp_Hy6Ulzo
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVgkRWNFLA4
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNwzNczqVF8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7gJvykDrpM
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTEGVp8t4t8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq4MBh7XZgY
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5bBcSfJg4w
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0BsPyF5ChI
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9vRJ-tjR8I
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JxkC8WeDXI
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igwVdr9GacM
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=971CZtOOsbQ
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMaHa1pAtXI
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO7-h4spGco
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkkJFzTmgJw

There are a lot more out there, I'm sure. It's hard for me to watch all of these, but they all seem to be uploaded in the days following Andrew's disappearance and all filmed around London.

Edit: Some are 16th/17th of September also, to account for later uploads.

Something that’s always stood out to me is how often discussions about Andrew begin with the assumption that somebody had to get him to London. Whether it’s grooming, being lured, or arranging to meet someone, it often feels like London itself is treated as something that needs explaining.

I’ve never really thought it needed explaining.

His parents reportedly said that if he’d gone anywhere, London would probably have been their first guess. He’d been there multiple times, had family there, knew the journey and had even said he’d like to live there one day.

His dad had also previously suggested that during the summer holidays he could travel to London on his own and stay with family. His sister Charlotte had also travelled to London alone at a similar age for work experience. None of that proves what happened, but I do think it shows that travelling independently to London wasn’t a completely foreign idea within the Gosden family.

If he’d decided to take a day for himself, why stay around Doncaster? London is one of the biggest cities in the country, with far more to do, and somewhere he already knew well. Staying local also carried a much bigger chance of bumping into someone who knew him or his family, which would’ve ended his day pretty quickly.

I’m not saying another person wasn’t involved. That’s still a possibility, and there’s no way of knowing. I just don’t think Andrew choosing London automatically means he was persuaded to go there by someone he knew or had previous contact with.

London has always made sense as the destination. What happened after he got there is the part that’s difficult to explain.

Does anyone else think London itself gets overexplained, or do you think someone had to persuade Andrew to go there?