Noreen Gosch
Special appearance
John David Gosch (November 12, 1969; disappeared September 5, 1982) was a 12-year-old paperboy in West Des Moines, Iowa, who disappeared without a trace between 6 and 7 A.M. on September 5, 1982. He is presumed to have been kidnapped. , there have been no arrests made and the case is now considered cold, but remains open.
His mother, Noreen Gosch, claimed that Johnny escaped from his captors and visited her with an unidentified man in March 1997. She claimed that her son told her that he had been the victim of a pedophile organization and had been cast aside when he was too old but subsequently feared for his life and lived under an assumed identity, feeling it was not safe to return home. Gosch's father, John, divorced from Noreen since 1993, has publicly stated that he is not sure whether or not such a visit actually occurred. Authorities have not located Gosch or confirmed Noreen Gosch's account, and his fate continues to be the subject of speculation, conspiracy theories, and dispute.
The case received huge publicity in 2006 when his mother claimed to have found photographs on her doorstep depicting Gosch in captivity. Some of the photos received were claimed to be children from a case in Florida, but one boy in the photos was never identified. Noreen Gosch insists that boy is Johnny.
Johnny Gosch's picture was among the first to be featured on milk cartons as an attempt to help finding missing children.
John David Gosch (November 12, 1969; disappeared September 5, 1982) was a 12-year-old paperboy in West Des Moines, Iowa, who disappeared without a trace between 6 and 7 A.M. on September 5, 1982. He is presumed to have been kidnapped. , there have been no arrests made and the case is now considered cold, but remains open.
His mother, Noreen Gosch, claimed that Johnny escaped from his captors and visited her with an unidentified man in March 1997. She claimed that her son told her that he had been the victim of a pedophile organization and had been cast aside when he was too old but subsequently feared for his life and lived under an assumed identity, feeling it was not safe to return home. Gosch's father, John, divorced from Noreen since 1993, has publicly stated that he is not sure whether or not such a visit actually occurred. Authorities have not located Gosch or confirmed Noreen Gosch's account, and his fate continues to be the subject of speculation, conspiracy theories, and dispute.
The case received huge publicity in 2006 when his mother claimed to have found photographs on her doorstep depicting Gosch in captivity. Some of the photos received were claimed to be children from a case in Florida, but one boy in the photos was never identified. Noreen Gosch insists that boy is Johnny.
Johnny Gosch's picture was among the first to be featured on milk cartons as an attempt to help finding missing children.