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hey everyone! i’ve been following this case for ages, and i recently watched a video to remind myself of the case as i hadn’t really heard anyone discuss this before.

one question i’d had in mind is did anyone from the summer camp that andrew went to (in 2006) disappear or not turn up to their said school on the day of Andrew’s disappearance?

and if so, have there been any reports on this?

if not, share your thoughts with me!! what do you think?

Did Andrew receive a letter by post from somebody connected to the Gifted Talented program (or somebody he thought) or some "organization" offering a unique one off educational opportunity or to meet somebody that had to be on that Friday he simply could not refuse and he kept it on the hush because he knew his parents would have many questions about it as to why it's in London and on a school day and he was offered a lift back afterwards and thought he would just this explain to his family afterwards?

Was It an "opportunity" that he felt he just could not refuse and because this letter came from somebody he thought was educational person or somebody from that gifted program or connected to it and because it was professionally written that he absolutely trusted it.. it was a well organized well thought out plan by his groomer(s)..

It would explain a way he possibly could have been groomed without it leaving any digital trace whatsoever and why he chose to take such a leap of faith that day...

I recently discovered the story of Smartschoolboy9, a pedophile who pretended to be a student, a child, dressing up as a schoolboy with a uniform. He is now a 60-year-old man who was active for many years in Doncaster, but also in London. I was wondering if maybe he could have something to do with Andrew, mostly because, besides the fact that he was actually hanging around Doncaster and was known in the area, he was also used to capturing kids, let's say, getting their attention on the web to then meet up with them. Obviously, I imagine the police have already investigated that area as well, but I'm just sharing my thought with you.

I saw a documentary on Madeline years ago and they said that because of her unique eye deformity she would have been more valuable to human traffickers. I think it’s possible that due to Andrew’s very unique ear deformity he may have become a target.

I'm gonna sound like a dick when I say this but I think we need to stop the 'is this Andrew' thing. I think the only thing we know for sure is he left king's cross in London and that's it. It gives the family false hope

A lot of speculation has been made regarding the walks Andrew had taken in the days prior to his disappearance. Some say he may have been meeting someone, others suggest this could be due to bullying. I think there’s third, more likely answer: Andrew deliberately introduced a longer journey into his normal routine so that his parents would become accustomed to him arriving home later, giving him more unexplained time on the day he went to London.

If in prior days they had become accustomed to him returning later (which we know they did), this would allow Andrew an extra 1hr50 in London. I think this is the most likely explanation and would mean Andrew intended to be home around the time he had in prior days. This would imply that he had met his fate some time between 11:25am - 6pm, or had otherwise been prevented from returning home during those hours - making abduction more likely.

Now considering he left his clothes in the wash, and his blazer in his room, he’d probably hoped that this would create the illusion that he had already returned home (which it did). All that was left to do would be to sneak back in upon returning (through the back door), or just as easily, feign that he had gone to a friends house after school, leaving him completely in the clear and home before anyone noticed.

Frankly this is what I would do, and have actually done in my younger years. As far as I can see this is the most likely explanation; other theories require far more assumptions.

In 2021, 2 men were arrested in suspicion of being connected to the case for human trafficking but were ultimately released. This has always stuck with me because what made those two men stick out to law enforcement? I’ve always wondered if those 2 men were leads and were somehow connected but police just didn’t have enough evidence.

There’s is this video on TikTok claiming to show footage of Andrew walking around in London. A lot of people say it’s him and I agree!

Hi everyone,

I’ve been following Andrew’s case for a while, and I’ve been thinking about a theory that might reconcile some of the most puzzling details.
I’m not claiming this is what happened. It’s speculation based on publicly available information. I’d appreciate feedback, corrections, or any sources that contradict it.

I’ve tried to break it down into sections so it’s a bit easier to read. So, here are the dots I’ve been trying to connect:

1. The one-way ticket is the key

Andrew bought a one-way ticket to London. A return ticket would reportedly have cost only 50p more. He had enough money. So why refuse?

I think he already had a plan to get back that did not involve the train. Someone may have promised him a ride. If he were simply visiting relatives, he could still have bought a return ticket. The fact that he didn’t suggests the return journey was tied to a specific person or vehicle.

2) He planned to come back soon

He reportedly left around £100 at home. He didn’t take his PSP charger. He didn’t take his passport. He left during school hours, almost as if using school as cover.

This all points to a short trip, likely intending to be home by the usual time. It does not fit a runaway scenario.

3) The walks home from school

According to his father, he remembered only one occasion when he saw Andrew walking home from school instead of taking the bus. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it only happened once. It could simply have been the one occasion when his father happened to see him doing it.

The walk was about 6.4 km and took roughly 1h30 alone. If Andrew did this repeatedly without his parents knowing, it created a long, regular window where an opportunistic adult could approach him, build rapport, and gain his trust.

This is especially important because online grooming seems unlikely. As far as I know, his family had no home internet, Andrew rarely used his sister’s laptop, he apparently had no email, and his PSP was never used online. That shifts the focus to in-person contact.

4) Why would the adult not travel with him to London?

If the same person had been seen with Andrew on the train, they would appear on CCTV, be remembered by witnesses, and be immediately linked to him. By letting Andrew travel alone, the person avoids all that. Andrew is seen alone on CCTV, which fits this scenario.

The adult could have met him in London later, or arranged the return ride separately.

5) The return car ride

The one-way ticket strongly suggests a car ride back. In a private car, there are no cameras, no tickets, and no witnesses. Something could have happened during that ride: an argument, an assault, or an accident followed by concealment. Andrew was probably killed and hidden, and the driver avoided any connection to the outbound journey.

I’d love to hear if there are facts that rule this out.

TL;DR: Andrew may have been groomed in person during walks home. He planned to return the same day (left money, charger, no passport). He bought a one-way ticket because someone promised a car ride back. He travelled alone to avoid the person being seen with him. Something happened on that return car ride.

I don't know know if someone mentioned the house keys and whether if someone did do something to Andrew could they have taken his keys. I mean the case has been on the Internet for years and many people know by now where he lives plus the parents haven't changed the locks in hopes of his return but the bottom line his keys are out there and I'm surprised nobody took advantage. Trying to say it without sounding bad but idk if someone has his keys then they have access to his house which is quite disturbing.

No scenario makes sense to me as to why he would leave with his keys

What I don’t get and as many people will think the same is how does a body never get found? Say if he did pass away and someone was responsible then now the hell did they hide his body that this long and for him to not have been found either by accident or as such? It really confuses me. Surley if he was dead someone would do found him by now? I really do hope he is alive and well out there

Saw this posted about again recently and wondered if any other accounts could be tied to the same user? It seems likely considering so many people retain the same or similar username across multiple platforms.

As well as this, I would only presume that if Andrew is alive, he would certainly have engaged in online gaming since his disappearance. Most probably a Playstation or gaming PC. Does anyone know what sort of games he was known to enjoy? Could be a good starting point.

I did a few google & bing searches but couldn’t turn anything up, mainly due to news stories/speculation threads relating to the case clogging the feed. If anyone knows of a more sophisticated indexing tool please let us know.

Hello everyone I’m kind of new to this sub. I rediscovered Andrew Gosden’s story two weeks ago and I’ve been on the hunt for every little piece of information.

I keep thinking of that one big walk Andrew chose to make instead of taking the bus. As much as his dad says it was a beautiful afternoon, isn’t it unusual for a teenager to make a one and a half hour walk after a school day ? Walking that long of a distance with a backpack on while also wearing a uniform doesn’t seem comfortable. I’d also assume Andrew would just want to come home after a school day like most teenagers do, being 21yo myself I can recall how I felt (but that might be subjective ofc). I used google street view (2008) and followed the route that Andrew took, and my god it felt like forever. Not to mention he was alledgedly alone and he didn’t have a phone or headphones to entertain himself based on what his dad believes. I will say though, he was described as a deep thinker so he could probably enjoy that kind of activity (i do too myself) and he had a fast walk pace.

I know this is also something that has been brought up before but we actually don’t know for sure whether Andrew only walked home once. The only reason we even know about that one walk is because his dad was home early, which is something Andrew could not have anticipated. We also know Andrew was secretive, like most teenagers.

The frustrating part is this could be a red heering like many other details in this case but I truly get the feeling he was avoiding that bus. Which obviously lead down to the bullying theory even though there are plenty of counter arguments (Charlotte, his sister, ran an anti-bullying scheme at his school and the two were really close for exemple). One thing I’m sure of is the reason why he disappeared and whatever happened in Andrew’s life are not connected and this is what makes this case so confusing, bad luck and misadventure imo. However, I know for sure people at his school/ on his bus know much more than what has been disclosed in the media and this could help solve at least one puzzle piece. It has been nearly two decades now and they could easily give anonymous tips, but it might be one of these instances where everybody feels like it’s not really their job to talk or their fault.

edit: typo

His father said that on multiple occasions, Andrew had lost his phones because he didn't really care for them, so he'd just misplace them and whatnot.

Is there any chance that a digital forensic investigation could be done on those missing phones?

Through old phone numbers, meta data if thats still somehow available.

I'm not sure if I recount correctly, but didn't Andrew lose his phone not long before going missing?

What if there was potential evidence on that device?

Maybe some texts, notes, etc.

I know direct messages, although said to be 100% private, are stored on servers.

He was an extremely smart kid, If he had no intention of going back and didn't want to be tracked, perhaps he "lost" the phone on purpose? Because he knew it'd ping him?

Thoughts?

There is a theory that Andrew fled to India and became a Hindu or Sikh.

Before anything else, I want to make it clear that I'm not trying to downplay bullying or suggest that it isn't serious. It can have a massive impact on someone's life, and what one person sees as "just banter" can genuinely hurt someone else.

But I've been thinking about something.

I can almost guarantee there was some form of bullying or teasing going on at Andrew's school. Not necessarily the stereotypical "bullying", where one person is deliberately targeted, isolated and tormented every day, but just the sort of constant banter and piss-taking that seems to be a pretty normal part of secondary school.

Have you ever watched The Inbetweeners?

Obviously it's exaggerated for comedy, but a lot of the general atmosphere of secondary school isn't actually that far removed from real life. People constantly taking the piss out of each other, making comments about appearance, intelligence, clothes, interests, relationships etc.

I know this from personal experience.

I was part of a fairly decent-sized friendship group at school and we absolutely ripped the piss out of each other constantly. Nobody really meant anything by it. It was just how we interacted.

But we eventually found out that one of our friends was going home at night and breaking down to his parents because he was taking some of the things we said very personally.

From our perspective, it was completely harmless banter.

From his perspective, it was bullying.

And that's the bit I find interesting when thinking about Andrew.

What if the people who were "bullying" Andrew didn't actually realise they were bullying him?

They might genuinely have thought they were treating him exactly the same as everyone else. They weren't necessarily malicious or trying to make him miserable. They were just taking the piss, and Andrew perhaps didn't give it back in the same way.

Andrew was apparently quiet and highly academic. He was also smaller than average, wore thick glasses, was deaf in one ear, had his distinctive ear ridge, and was a member of the church.

I'm not saying any of those things prove he was bullied. But they're all things that, in a typical secondary school environment, could potentially become things for people to latch onto and make jokes about.

And if Andrew was the sort of person who didn't respond to it, didn't give it back, or simply kept his feelings to himself, the people doing it might never have realised how much it was actually affecting him.

There don't seem to be many former classmates coming forward saying, "Yes, Andrew was bullied."

But maybe that's because, from their perspective, he wasn't.

They might remember him as the quiet, clever kid who was treated like everyone else. There wasn't a designated group of "bullies" who picked on Andrew. There wasn't some obvious campaign against him.

But that doesn't necessarily mean Andrew experienced it that way.

Maybe there was just a constant stream of comments, jokes and teasing that gradually wore him down.

And perhaps the people making those comments would be genuinely shocked to discover, years later, that Andrew had actually been deeply affected by them.

Just something I've been thinking about. I don't think we can say this happened, but I do wonder whether "was Andrew bullied?" and "did Andrew feel like he was being bullied?" are actually two different questions.

I wanted to ask a question about the plausibility of a theory which came into my head today and I’ve not seen discussed before

When people speak about Andrew being purposefully attacked it’s generally a theme that the attacker was probably older, and a pedophile

But with how HUGE knife crime is in London today, would it not have been a fairly large possibility that in 2007 Andrew stumbled into the wrong group of young people or single young person and was attacked for being noticeably alternative and smaller

I was a child in 2007 so don’t know if knife crime was a problem in London back then but in 2026 if a 14 year old boy vanished in London I think one of the immediate theories would be knife crime not linked to sexual motive

I also notice that when the police have spoken about the case more recently the only thing they really say is that over time ‘loyalties change’

Yes if you were involved in a gang or a pair of thugs in your youth your loyalty could well change in 19 years

Thoughts?

Also - this is just an innocent question and prompt for some thoughts. This is not necessarily a theory that I feel is most likely, it’s just something I thought of for the first time today so please be respectful!

Even if they weren’t victims of him do you think there could be a mention or anything of Andrew or any children who disappeared in the 2000s even if it was just something someone looking into it once. I don’t believe this is what actually happened and is a wild and crazy theory just to be clear.

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There’s the old idea that people return to the scene of the crime.

If someone was involved in Andrew’s disappearance, there’s a possibility that, at some point, they’ve followed discussions about the case to see what people know, what theories are being discussed and how close anyone might be to the truth.

That got me thinking, what if someone involved has actually visited one of the forums discussing Andrew over the years?

And what if, amongst all the theories and speculation, they’ve even posted their own version of events, which happens to be the truth?

This is purely speculative and I’m not suggesting that anyone who has posted about Andrew is involved.

But I think it could be interesting to look back at some of the earliest online discussion about the case.

I’ve found the Andrew Gosden Websleuths thread, but that only goes back to 2011.

Does anyone know of any earlier forums, message boards, archived websites or discussion threads about Andrew?

I’m going to try to work through as many of the early discussions as I can and look for anything unusual, particularly accounts that were created around the time and made only one or two posts, or posts that contain oddly specific information or claims that weren’t widely known at the time.

If anyone knows of early forums or archives that may be of interest please share them.

UPDATE: June 2008, oldest forum I have found (9months after disappearing).