Age-progression images released by Doncaster family in bid to crack missing person mystery

Andrew Gosden was 14 year old when he went missing from Doncaster in 2007.

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The schoolboy, who would be 26 now, boarded a train on September 14, 2007 and was last seen at Kings Cross station, London, later that day.

The gifted Balby youngster, who attended McAuley School, left his home, withdrew £200 from his bank account and bought a one-way ticket to London from Doncaster.

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He was captured on CCTV cameras leaving the station and there have been no positive sightings since.

The new age-progression photographs have been released by Andrew’s dad, Kevin, in his blog about the disappearance of his son, in which he draws attention to a number of identifying features – including a distinctive ear.

South Yorkshire Police said: “Andrew was 14 when he disappeared in September 2007. He would be 26 now and over the years, many sightings of people who bear some resemblance to Andrew have been called in to officers. No positive sighting of Andrew has ever been confirmed.

“There are some specific features of Andrew’s appearance and character, which his dad highlights in his latest blog, to accompany the new photograph.

“Previous age-progression photographs have always shown Andrew wearing glasses. At the time Andrew went missing, his vision was very poor without correction and he needed strong lenses. The new photograph shows Andrew without glasses, as he may now be using contact lenses.”

The force added: “Andrew has an unusual and distinctive right ear, which has been highlighted before. However, if Andrew has slightly longer hair then this may not be immediately noticeable. What may be more noticeable is that Andrew is deaf in his left ear and struggles to locate the direction of sounds.

“Andrew used to speak quickly and quietly, without a strong accent, which is unlikely to have changed. He is highly intelligent and can carry out complex calculations in his head.”

Detective Inspector Andy Knowles, who has been overseeing the police investigation into Andrew’s disappearance since 2017, said: “While this latest photograph may not seem to show much change, someone’s face can look drastically different without glasses and therefore it’s important that we share this photograph in case it helps jog someone’s memory.

“Andrew has now been missing 12 years and his family are understandably desperate for any answers that may help them understand what happened to their loved one.

“Sharing specific features of Andrew’s appearance and character is intended to help the public and reduce the number of generalised sightings we receive. We want you to study Kevin’s blog closely and think hard about anyone in your lives who may have one or more of these traits.

“Anyone in your life who has an incomplete life history, anyone who might not have easy access to a bank account or a passport possibly, with the distinctive right ear markings that we know Andrew had – we’d be really keen to speak to those people.

“Throughout our investigation, we have liaised with the Missing People charity regarding reported sightings of him. The charity have a page on their website dedicated to Andrew.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to once more appeal to Andrew directly. Andrew, know that you can contact us completely confidentially - let us know you are safe so we can reassure your family that you have come to no harm.”

Anyone with information should call South Yorkshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Click HERE to visit Missing People’s dedicated page on the disappearance of Andrew.