Father of boy ‘sold into sex gang’ 15 years ago shares heartbreaking message on son’s birthday
Writing on the day his son turns 29, tortured Kevin Gosden, 51, said he hadn’t lost “hope of reunion” despite years of searching without answers
The father of a boy who vanished 15 years 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.
Writing on the day his son Andrew Gosden turns 29, tortured Kevin Gosden, 51, said he hadn’t lost “hope of reunion” despite years of searching without answers.
Andrew was just 14 when he vanished after leaving his house in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, withdrawing £200 and buying a one-way ticket to London.
The Straight A student was last seen on CCTV at King’s Cross in September 2007, but his reason for heading to the capital and his whereabouts since remains a mystery.
Yorkshire Police detectives arrested two men, aged 45 and 38, assisted by officers from the Metropolitan Police, on December 8 last year.
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.
But writing on Sunday, Kevin led a touching tribute to Andrew, who has now sadly been missing for longer 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 re-union, 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, with CCTV cameras capturing him 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 as missing peoples charities have publicised his case everywhere from on milk cartons to buses.
And following the arrest of two men late last year, Senior investigating officer, 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.”
Kevin added he wouldn’t 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.”
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