Andrew Gosden: ‘We all still miss him intensely’ says dad on missing South Yorkshire boy’s 30th birthday
“It never seems to become easier”, said the father of a teenager who went missing from Doncaster 16 years ago, as he marked his son’s 30th birthday.
At age 14, Doncaster’s Andrew Gosden went missing after skipping school and buying a one-way ticket to London. Despite huge national and international manhunts, there have been no confirmed sightings and his whereabouts since remain a mystery.
For almost 16 years, Kevin has never given up on finding his son, Andrew, who was last seen at King’s Cross Station in Central London on September 14, 2007. The young teen withdrew just £200 from his bank after leaving the family’s home in Balby.
Today (July 10), on Andrew’s 30th birthday, Kevin marked the occasion with an emotional blog post about his struggle in coming to terms with his son’s disappearance.
The former speech therapist said: “Almost every day since he disappeared, I have struggled with crippling anxiety and depression, to the extent that it is barely possible to function.
"No matter how many years pass by without him, those feelings never change and are often intensified by seemingly small things that would not have been a problem before he vanished.
"After all the searching, appealing, praying and hoping, we all still miss him intensely every single day; it never seems to become easier.”
Kevin revealed that the family has an oak tree in their garden, which he planted with Andrew when he was a child. He also shared his thanks to the charity Missing People, which has a ‘tribute tree’ to mark all individuals who have vanished.
"There are too many inscribed leaves on this tree,” Kevin said. “Too many loved ones missed each and every day. There are too many families left bewildered, wondering, searching, hoping and praying; longing for an answer, any answer, no matter how difficult that answer could be.
”As Andrew’s oak tree bears the fruit of the acorn, we hope that awareness of his case bears the fruit that others are helped to find positive solutions in their lives and that other families are spared the pain that too many of us live with every day.”
In December 2021, two men were arrested in connection with Andrew's disappearance. South Yorkshire Police told earlier this year that they were still under investigation.
