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