MISSING: It was nine years ago today when Doncaster teen Andrew Gosden disappeared

It was nine years ago yesterday that Doncaster teen Andrew Gosden went missing.
Andrew GosdenAndrew Gosden
Andrew Gosden

And despite no positive sightings of him, and a recent TV appeal bringing forward no solid leads, his family continue their search, sure he is still alive somewhere.

Andrew was aged 14 when he left his home in Balby, took £200 from his bank account and was last seen boarding a train to London King’s Cross station.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Since his disappearance in September 2007, his parents Kevin and Glenis have used every resource to try to find their son.

Their most recent attempt involved an appeal on BBC One’s Panorama.

And while Kevin says his appearance on the programme two weeks ago has so far failed to produce any solid leads on the whereabouts of Andrew - who would now be aged 23 - the 50-year-old said he still believes that Andrew could be alive .

Kevin, of Littlemore Lane, Balby, said: “We do these things, like Panorama, in the hope that he will see or hear of it somehow.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“After so much time has passed, and so many things have changed, it’s hard to believe that he’ll ever make contact.

“I think it’s pretty unlikely, but we still have hope.

“And that’s the key thing, actually, is continuing to have that hope.”

Kevin wrote a poem last year about the family’s hope that Andrew would one day be found.

He read it at an event for the charity Missing People last year, and the piece has now been used as the basis for a charity single, created with other families of missing people, that reached number tenin the Amazon charts.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“If Andrew was here now, or if he was to hear about it, I don’t think he’d be surprised we were doing things like this,” Kevin continued.

“We just want him to get in touch.

“Whatever’s happened, wherever he is, we just want to know he’s OK.”

Kevin said he thought detectives should have approached the investigation differently in its early stages.

“If they had spent more time looking at the CCTV things could maybe have been different, ” he said.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “We will continue to follow up any leads that relate to the disappearance and if anyone has information that could help, I’d urge them to get in touch with police.”

There is a Just Giving fundraising page aimed at helping in the search for Andrew, and others who have gone missing.

Anyone wanting to donate (£1 minimum) for @missingpeople can do so by texting FMAG50 plus the amount, for example FMAG50£3 to 70070 or alternatively visit the fundraising page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/There-in-Spirit

If anyone has seen Andrew, or knows of his whereabouts, they are asked to contact South Yorkshire Police by phoning 101.