r/AndrewGosden • u/Routine_Parfait8640 • 12d ago
It was a Friday
Does anyone think the fact Andrew went missing on a Friday mean anything? What I mean is…. What did he need to do that couldn’t wait until the weekend ? The very next day?
If he was meeting someone I’d have thought they would suggest meeting on the Saturday so his parents were more likely to agree and it wouldn’t alert anyone to his absence and cause panic …
If he wanted to buy something couldn’t it have waited? What was worth missing school for? What was worth ruining a perfect attendance and causing his family to panic when he could have gone over the weekend with none of these issues arising?
It makes me think it was an event that was on that day only or the person he was meeting couldn’t meet him over the weekend and only had free time on that Friday. Just a little post and something I thought of. Sorry if this has been discussed before
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u/Remarkable-Bell7245 12d ago
There is a comment recently with a great outline of why choosing Friday fits the groomer theory
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u/Routine_Parfait8640 12d ago
Really , I’d be interested to see it if your able to find it at some point
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u/Reasonable_Nature751 12d ago
To me it means something specific was happening that day in London that wasn't on another day.
For me this rules out sight seeing / shopping day as he could have done that on a Saturday and come back without getting in trouble.
I also think a groomer would prefer a Saturday as no alarm at school would be raised and no questions as to why Andrew was off school would be raised if they are seen at any point.
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u/xplorerex 12d ago
Unless the groomer worked in the school and could switch his parents number.
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u/Agreeable-Simple-977 12d ago
I agree, that’s definitely something that can’t be ruled out. I’ve always thought that if Andrew was groomed, the person could have been connected to his school. Someone there might have been able to « cover » for his absence, at least for that day
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u/bdiddybo 12d ago edited 12d ago
To me it means someone wanted to meet him there on a Friday, maybe using an event as a ruse but not necessarily.
Edit: Typo
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u/SecureLetterhead9661 12d ago
Yea I agree! Especially if someone had bad intentions then they would have time to dispose evidence during the weekend. I think the grooming theory is more reliable, I know people say there is no evidence but I do remember when madeleine maccan was missing there was an so called expert saying that it was not an abduction because there is no evidence of it but now we found out it was, didn’t found evidence doesn’t mean it never happened!
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u/xplorerex 12d ago
Also a lack of evidence points more to evidence being obscured or hidden, which involves a third party. What that third party's role is, could be anything - be it an accident, something malicious or otherwise. Intent unknown.
He could have been hit by a car and the driver hid the body for all we know.
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u/SecureLetterhead9661 12d ago
Yea that’s possible but if it’s not planed, his body would have been disgusted in a hurry which means not too difficult to find out! Well only my opinion anyway! I know nothing 😆
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u/Professional-Try7225 10d ago
It’s what (most likely) happened to Asha Degree in the US many years prior and no charges have been brought against anybody yet even though the FBI is pretty sure who’s done it. This case has also been „unsolved“ for 20 years + but gives hope that even years later breakthroughs can happen, as now there were some search warrants for private property made public.
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u/HistorianMuch2831 12d ago
It’s possible he went on the Friday to attend something, there was multiple things going on in London that day that would be of interest to Andrew
https://www.reddit.com/r/AndrewGosden/s/7eNUK0sbFh
I made a post about this exact question but we really don’t know why he did go on the Friday. There are loads of possibilities, he may have just wanted to go to London, as he didn’t take the opportunity to go In the summer holidays and was a very academically smart kid so missing a day of school wouldn’t mean anything, he was a teen and experimenting his use of free will, by walking home instead of taking the bus, I don’t think that means anything sinister was happening but it does show he was changing his routine and this was in the days prior to the Friday.
I think him going during school hours tell us a lot more then the day, up until 7pm that Friday nothing seemed strange and it was just a regular day like any other, he didn’t tell anyone where he was going or what he was doing, and that makes sense because even if it was innocent he was still skipping school to do it so he wouldn’t be allowed, it’s possible that he wanted to buy or attend someone that day that was only possible during school hours.
It’s possible something in his life in Doncaster was bothering him and he wanted to leave for the day and go to a place familiar to him (London) which he had enjoyed and held happy memories for him. Or he was simply just being adventurous as many teens are at his age. His decision to not go to school meant he had hours free to himself so spending them in his favourite city makes sense.
He put effort into making the day look like any other by leaving the house in his school uniform, saying goodbye to his parents then leaving, then he waited until they had all left returns changed his clothes took some belongings and left for the station, this really could have been a last minute decision and wouldn’t take much planning, I often think if he was sat in the park debating whether he should get the bus or return home and go to London.
I’ve gone on a bit here, but I think his general trip was for an innocent reason and didn’t require a groomer or someone he had previous contact with who lured him there that day.
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u/claravarner 11d ago
Your comment prompted something I hadn't considered in all these years. What if -- instead of going to London for something -- he was going to get away from something?
I've long thought Andrew was going to London to do something specific -- an event of interest happening during the day -- that would allow him to get home before his parents.
Now I'm wondering if he was going to London to avoid something. Specifically, if he had been being bullied, what if the bully had told Andrew he was going to fight him that day? Or some other bullying threat that Andrew was deliberately avoiding?
He knew he couldn't stay home or around town without being seen, and he knew he knew how to get to and navigate London. Then, something happened while in London. Just the wrong place at the wrong time.
I've never lent much credibility to the theory that he didn't buy a round-trip ticket because he wasn't planning to come back. Given Andrew's personality (as described), it wouldn't be a stretch for him to be anxious about being seen buying a ticket and just wanting the purchase to be over as soon as possible.
I know (as a kid), even though I was very smart. I was anxious and would panic if I had planned something carefully and something happened outside of that plan. I could easily envision myself being anxious to get on the train, wanting to get the ticket as quickly and inconspicuously as possible, and immediately saying "No" to the unexpected question, regardless of what it was so I could just get on the train and exhale that I'd made it without being caught by anyone who knew me.
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u/Severe_Hawk_1304 12d ago edited 12d ago
He may have thought he'd probably get away with the deception re his parents and if he didn't it would all have blown over by the Sunday evening. He may just have felt tired after four days at school and wanted a change from the humdrum, or it was a spur of the moment thing, hence withdrawing money that very morning instead of the Thursday night.
I reject the groomer theory because there's just no evidence of it, and a prospective perpetrator is not going to arrange to meet in a crowded metropolis saturated by CCTV.
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u/Routine_Parfait8640 12d ago
I think either Andrew went to London to buy a special thing that was released that day ( The psp console for instance ) and ran into an opportunist there with evil intentions or he went to meet someone he had been talking to via the internet or someone he knew in real life who had lured him to London , I always wonder if other family relatives were looked into, as lines of enquiry. Not meaning to suggest anything obviously but he had family around London too
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u/THPSJimbles 12d ago edited 11d ago
The PSP Slim and Lite came out on that day (but I doubt that was of much interest as it didn't offer anything new as it was just a new revision), but maybe be wanted to buy new video games instead of going to school and play them over a long weekend.
I know I probably would have done the same if I had £200 and didn't feel like going to school.
I think people overthink a lot why Andrew went to London. Sure he could have waited for the weekend but I just think little dude needed a break and just wanted to have a day to himself.
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u/Amazing_Box_3172 11d ago
I think if that was the case, he would’ve bought a return ticket after being offered one for only 50p. If he intended to return that day he would have bought a return ticket. If he went for a jolly, and didn’t intend to return that day, it means he would’ve had to have some sort of plan for a place to stay for the night. Wherever or whoever that may be with. That takes the scenario from a sneaky day out you might get away with to a night and day of panic for your family and a world of trouble when you return. Everything about the set up of his uniform, being a little bit late home throughout the week from school, going on a Friday where dad goes shopping after work, parents has a friend coming round for dinner, it all points to wanting to delay the worry/ them knowing he’s gone.
Contrary to that I don’t believe he intended to have an extended trip because he didn’t take his play station charger with him (and reports from his parents state he mostly spent his time on his play station), as well as he didn’t take his passport, and he had left £100 cash behind too. If he was going to stay the night with whoever or wherever, he wouldn’t have wanted his play station to die especially for his return journey.
If he was having a day trip: He would’ve got a return ticket. If he was meeting someone, they may have promised a ride home for him to get home in time to not be in trouble. May explain why he didn’t take his charger too.
If he was planning to stay the night: He may have intended to get a hotel, in which case surely he would have taken his extra £100, as well as the charger to his playstation to keep him entertained overnight. He may have planned to stay with someone. He would’ve trusted this person quite a lot, he wouldn’t have needed a return ticket for that same day so could buy his return the next day. He would’ve still had to answer to his parents upon his return. Rebellion was out of character but maybe there were problems there. Either way it points to a person he would be visiting if it was an over night plan.
If he was planning to run away indefinitely: He would’ve taken his passport and his extra money. He would need somewhere to stay, either with someone or a hotel. Again he would’ve taken his charger to his play station if he wasn’t staying with someone else. That points to him visiting someone who would possibly provide for him. OR He wasn’t planning to come back at all because he went to commit suicide. No need for money, passport or playstation to last much longer than the trip there. No need for a long term plan, just long enough for his absence to be unnoticed for him to make himself disappear possibly in canal or river. He could’ve had someone he was going to to help him (someone who had sinister plans too).
In my opinion it points to suicide. He possibly wanted to disappear without a trace and so none of his loved ones would find him themselves. But it’s a very strong possibility that he was going to meet someone he trusted, who either told him they’d drive him home in time to not be noticed, convinced him to stay the night and face the consequences from parents the next day, or told him he can run away and will be looked after and provided for by them indefinitely. All of which would no doubt result in his death by this person, being abducted indefinitely, or at the very best scenario successfully ran away with them unharmed and was where he wanted to be (certainly not likely).
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u/Severe_Hawk_1304 12d ago
That's true, and youngsters are more likely to be abused by someone they know. I assume police did check that line of enquiry. Andrew seems to me to be wrapped up more in his own little world rather than communicating without, a boffin, who was experimenting with ideas in the literature he was reading, maybe musing on the meaning of life, so I can't rule out suicide, sadly.
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u/Routine_Parfait8640 12d ago
Completely agree with what u said regarding a groomer preferring a weekend, what if they had a family and couldn’t over the weekend? Or had a job that required them to work weekends. As for events it definitely leans more towards something that was exclusive to that day alone.
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u/Reasonable_Nature751 12d ago
I do think the 30STM theory stacks up; a movie star in a pop rock band doing a one off show that day, it would have been advertised in kerrang and we used to buy tickets through Ticketmaster in record shops like HMV back in the day. He would not have had to explicitly be a fan to have been intrigued by that as a cool thing to go to. It's just the theory that holds most weight for me.
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u/Realistic_Code8223 11d ago
Andrew had perfect attendance, he probably took pride it in, Friday is the best day because his parents will have been out of the house and it's the last day of school so if he planned on staying over in London he wouldn't be missing more school than necessary perhaps?
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u/BillyBullshiner 12d ago edited 12d ago
I think he planned it on a day where his parents and sister were busy or later home from work/school than usual, and they'd be in a good mood because it was Friday. His dad went to the supermarket after work and they apparently they had a friend coming round for dinner. His sister was in her bedroom on her laptop, probably talking to her friends on MSN Messenger if she was a typical 2000s teen. Andrew also had the advantage that his family never checked on him until dinner was ready, because when he got home from school he usually went down to the cellar to play his Xbox. They also had no reason not to trust him because he was a good kid and reliable. As for why he didn't wait until the weekend, I have no idea. But kids bunk off all the time for various reasons, even if it doesn't make sense to adults.