Father of missing Andrew Gosden reveals 'huge hole' in his life

2022-07-11

Father reveals ‘huge hole’ left in his life after son disappeared 15 years ago aged 14, and his fears the boy was sold into a sex gang

Tortured Kevin Gosden, 51, was writing on the day that his son Andrew turns 29
Andrew was just 14 when he vanished after he left his house in Doncaster
Was last seen on CCTV after arriving by train at King’s Cross station in London

The father of a boy who vanished 15 years ago, sparking fears he was sold into a sex gang, has spoken out on his birthday to say the loss has left a ‘huge hole’ in his life.

Tortured Kevin Gosden, 51, writing on the day that his son Andrew turns 29, said he hadn’t lost ‘hope of reunion’ despite years of searching without answers.

Andrew was just 14 when he vanished after he left his house in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, withdrew £200 and bought a one-way ticket to London.

The Straight A* student was last seen on CCTV at King’s Cross station in September 2007, but his reason for heading to the capital and his whereabouts since remain a mystery.

Yorkshire Police detectives arrested two men, aged 45 and 38, assisted by officers from the Metropolitan Police, on December 8 last year.

And they later confirmed it would take ‘six to 12 months’ to review electronic devices seized from the pair – who were held on suspicion of kidnapping and human trafficking.

The father of a boy who vanished 15 years ago, sparking fears he was sold into a sex gang, has spoken out on his birthday to say the loss has left a ‘huge hole’ in his life. Tortured Kevin Gosden, 51, writing on the day that his son Andrew turns 29, said he hadn’t lost ‘hope of reunion’ despite years of searching without answers. Above: Andrew Gosden seen on CCTV at Kings Cross station

Tortured Kevin Gosden, 51, writing on the day that his son Andrew turns 29, said he hadn’t lost ‘hope of reunion’ despite years of searching without answers. Above: Mr Gosden with his son, then aged 14, and daughter Charlotte

But writing yesterday, Mr Gosden led a touching tribute to Andrew, who has now sadly been missing for more years than he has been alive.

He said: ‘Andrew is still missing. As we reach his 29th birthday, we realise that he has been gone for longer than he was here.

‘The intensity of his not being here with us continues every day, a huge hole in our lives and our family

‘For me, I think the one thing we cannot lose is hope. Hope of reunion, hope of news, hope of an answer of any kind.’

Andrew disappeared on September 14, 2007, after he boarded a train from Doncaster to London.

He was filmed on CCTV when he arrived at Kings Cross station.

That was the last known sighting of Andrew, and since then no information about his movements has been corroborated by police, despite a massive manhunt.

Over the years since his disappearance, Andrew’s family has campaigned hard to try to find what had happened to him.

A search was made of the River Thames at one stage, and experts even drew up artists’ impressions of what he would look like as an adult to try to update the search.

His face has featured in campaigns all across the country, with missing persons’ charities publicising his case everywhere from on milk cartons to buses.

And following the arrest of two men late last year, South Yorkshire Police’s senior investigating officer on the case, Detective Inspector Andy Knowles , said his team was in ‘close contact’ with Andrew’s family.

He said: ‘Our priority at this time is supporting Andrew’s family while we work through this new line of enquiry in the investigation.

‘We are in close contact with them and they ask that their privacy is respected as our investigation continues.

‘We have made numerous appeals over the years to find out where Andrew is and what happened to him when he disappeared.

‘I would encourage anyone with any information they have not yet reported to come forward.’

Mr Gosden added he would not wish to comment on the investigation until it had been brought to a conclusion following the arrests.

He said: ‘We understand that police investigations will take several months to complete.

‘So until that is the case, we do not know what to think and do not wish to speculate on any possible outcome.’

Timeline from the day Andrew Gosden disappeared

Andrew left his home in the Balby area of Doncaster on 14 September 2007
Once his parents had left for work he returned home and changed out of his school uniform
He was seen at 8:30am as he headed down Littlemoor Lane, Balby, towards Westfield Park
An hour later, he withdrew £200 and boarded a London-bound train at Doncaster station
Andrew was last seen on CCTV at Kings Cross station at around 11.20am the same day – there have been no other confirmed sightings
His family started campaigning to find what had happened to him
Andrew’s family have kept his room as he left it and not changed the locks on the house as it is believed he took his key
In September 2009, the family released computer-generated images of what Andrew might look like aged sixteen, to mark the second year of his disappearance
In 2016, his parents appealed for information on BBC’s Panorama
To mark the tenth anniversary of Andrew’s disappearance in 2017, the charity Missing People made Andrew the face of their ‘Find Every Child’ campaign – featuring on billboards and advertisements throughout the UK
On 12 September 2017, it was announced that police were launching a fresh appeal
In July 2018, to mark Andrew’s 25th birthday, two updated age progression photographs were released by the family
In October 2019, another updated image of Gosden was released
During an episode on BBC’s Crimewatch Live – aired in March 2020 – Andrew’s father Kevin made fresh appeal for information
Andrew’s family launch pre-Christmas appeal in November 2021 and said they ‘will never give up hope that they will one day find him’

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