Johnny Gosch
John David Gosch
Age at Report: 12
DOB: November 12, 1969
NCIC #: M-089641270
DCI Case # 82-04613
Des Moines PD Case # 82-2976
NCMEC #: NCMC601763
West Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Missing Since: September 5, 1982
Also See: Johnny Gosch Videos and Johnny Gosch Photos
It’s a story that shocked communities and catapulted Iowa into the national spotlight, changed state law and forever changed the way parents monitored their children’s activities.
On September 5, 1982, Johnny Gosch left his West Des Moines home to work his Des Moines Register paper route. Normally, his father accompanied him on the route, but on this day Johnny went alone. He never came home.
What happened after that has been the subject of speculation for nearly three decades.
Courtesy photo WHO-TVIn a November 11, 2010 interview — the day before Johnny would have celebrated his 41st birthday — Johnny’s mother Noreen Gosch told WHO-TV Channel 13′s Aaron Brilbeck that several other paper boys, all witnesses to the abduction, said Johnny was approached by a man driving a blue Ford Fairmont.
“The guy shut off his engine, opened the passenger door and swung his feet out on the curb right where the boys were assembling their newspapers. And he started talking about where’s 86th street?” Ms. Gosch told Brilbeck. “Johnny turned to Mike and said, ‘I’ve got my papers loaded in the wagon. I’m scared. I’m getting out of here. I’m gonna head home.’”
As Johnny left, the driver of the car took off, too, the boys told police.
“The man pulled the door shut and started up the engine, but before he left he reached up and flicked the dome light three times. Then he pulled out and left,” Ms. Gosch said.
Courtesy photo WHO-TVShe said she believes the driver was signaling another person who later grabbed Johnny, and that one of the paperboys saw a tall man come out from in between two houses and follow her son.
West Des Moines Police Lt. Jeff Miller — a rookie cop at the time — told Brilbeck police began scouring the area immediately but hit one wall after another.
“They went ahead and called in the staff,” Miller said. “The troopers. They called in detectives. Reserves. Contacted Polk County Sheriffs. The State Patrol. At that point they did a door to door canvass of that neighborhood trying to find someone who saw something of Johnny.”
Nothing was found, and they saw nothing at all.
One month after her son’s disappearance, Noreen founded The Johnny Gosch Foundation and also developed a program called “In Defense of Children.” She began touring the nation, making nearly 1,000 personal appearances with law enforcement, missing persons organizations, those involving human trafficking, and doing whatever she could to increase overall awareness of crimes involving children.
On July 1, 1984, a bill she authored — the Johnny Gosch Bill — was passed into Iowa law. It mandated immediate police involvement whenever a child went missing, and was subsequently adopted by eight additional states.
Courtesy photo WHO-TVThat same year, she traveled to Washington, D.C. and testified before Congress during hearings on organized crime. Her testimony, she said, led to death threats and also, in part, the eventual establishment of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. President Ronald Reagan invited her to the center’s opening and dedication.
She went to work on two documentaries — one for HBO and another for the State Department.
Her story and Johnny’s story led to the publication of Why Johnny Can’t Come Home, a book published in 2000.
Time marched onward — months turning into more years — still with no sign of her son.
In the interim, two more Des Moines paperboys also vanished under mysterious circumstances. Thirteen-year-old Eugene Martin vanished from Des Moines’ south side on August 12, 1984. Not quite two years after Martin’s disappearance, 13-year-old Marc Allen told his mother he planned to walk to a friend’s house down the street but never arrived at the neighbor’s home and hasn’t been seen since March 29, 1986.
Marc Allen’s mother, Nancy Allen, has stated she doesn’t know whether her son’s disappearance is linked to the disappearance of either Johnny Gosch or Eugene Martin, but felt police were reluctant to pursue her son’s case because of the other two missing boys.
“I got the distinct feeling [police] did not want parents to be frightened to let their children sell newspapers or do different things,” Nancy Allen told WHO-TV’s Aaron Brilbeck in a story Channel 13 aired November 25, 2010.
More than two decades after all three boys disappeared, one mother received a stark reminder.
Early one September morning in 2006, Noreen Gosch said a mysterious envelope showed up on her front doorstep. Inside, she said, she found three disturbing photos of several boys, all tied up. One of the boys appeared to be Johnny.
“I literally could not breathe. I could not get my breath,” Gosch told Channel 13′s Brilbeck. “I was so totally unprepared to see something like that. All these years had gone by and here was this picture.”
The image in question depicted a young boy, hog-tied and wearing only his underpants and socks.
Gosch took the photos to the West Des Moines police department.
“When I did we spread them out and the detective kept saying ‘That’s Johnny, that’s Johnny,’” said Gosch. “I said ‘I know that’s Johnny.’”
The press went wild. Newspapers and television stations across the country reported Gosch’s story. Then came a call from the West Des Moines police, who told Gosch they were planning a press conference of their own; they planned to announce the pictures weren’t of Johnny after all.
Courtesy photo WHO-TV“I said that picture is Johnny, and the detective said to me, ‘Well, somebody from Florida called in and said he used to be an investigator and remembered the pictures — those pictures — from a case in 1970-something,’” Gosch said.
Noreen Gosch said she asked the detective if the caller had provided them with any evidence, and he’d responded with ‘no,’ telling her they just had the phone call.
“And based on his phone call you’re going to do a press conference and say that picture’s not Johnny?” she recalled asking him. “And he said, ‘Well, yes I am.’”
To this day, Gosch believes the boy in the photo is her son, and that he was bound, gagged and abused, and taken for the purpose of satisfying pedophiles. Police continue to insist it’s not him.
“We found out where the photos were taken,” Lt. Miller told Brilbeck. “We talked with investigators in Florida and they were able to identify all of the kids in that picture and they weren’t Johnny Gosch.”
Courtesy photo WHO-TVThe differing opinions on the boy’s identify hasn’t stopped Noreen Gosch, who continues to dedicate her life to finding her son’s abductors and raising awareness about kidnapping and human trafficking. Her lobbying helped change laws and improve child safety. Her son was one of the first children ever to appear on a “Missing Kids” milk carton.
“The things that are good is the awareness that this has brought. The case changed the country. It was a watershed case,” she said.
In a personal note to her son on a website she created in his honor, Noreen wrote, “My hope is that the latest report saying you are still alive is true and that one day we will be able to see each other again.”
She also posted a list of things she knows about her son’s kidnapping and notes how it all feels “like it was yesterday.”
Police, however, doubt he’s alive and believe the only real break in the case will come when Johnny’s remains are found.
“In the ideal world he is alive and he comes home and everybody’s happy,” Lt. Miller said. “But in the real world more than likely our best lead will come when his body is found. And at that point it becomes a crime scene.”
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released this photo showing how John Gosch might look at age 40.Miller told Brilbeck that as a parent, he didn’t know what Ms. Gosch is going through, and felt his statements might be kind of harsh.
“But that’s reality,” he said. “That’s more than likely what will happen.”
With her son’s 41st birthday here, Noreen said she often thinks about what his life would have been like had it not been for that fateful day in 1982.
“He would have gone on, probably found the love of his life. Maybe, hopefully settled down. Had a family, an interesting career that he enjoyed like his siblings,” she said. “You want the best thing for your child and the sad thing is that was all robbed from him…and those years are missing. The clock stopped at 12 years old for us.”
WHO-TV Channel 13′s Aaron Brilbeck talks with Noreen Gosch, mother of Iowa missing paperboy Johnny Gosch, and the West Des Moines Police Department on what would have been Johnny’s 41st birthday. WARNING: Some viewers may find the content disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised. Air date: November 11, 2010
If you have any information about Johnny Gosch’s disappearance, please call West Des Moines Police at (515) 222-3320.
Related: More Johnny Gosch Videos and Johnny Gosch Photos
http://www.justiceforjohnnygosch.com/PHOTOS.php
Picture of Johnny aged, by Noreen his mother.
Picture of John Doe found in Colorado, never identified. This would represent the time after Noreen said she saw her son. The man was found in an area of Colorado that Noreen said Johnny was taken during his time held captive. There is an obvious resemblence, including the front teeth gap. The recreation was done of the deceased man, but he was found within 24 hours of his death.
The link to this unsolved case is:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/174umco.html
This information was submitted to Noreen’s sight but no reply was received. It would be great to finally bring Johnny home, but I hope he is still living and in peace.
Thank you for the links, Terri! I hadn’t seen this Colorado case before, but you’re right about the resemblance. The Doe Network states that dental records and DNA are available, though I have no idea whether they’ve been compared to Johnny’s records. Thanks for passing this along, and hopefully someone else might have further insight. All best, Jody
John Joubert was a military man who killed two paper boys in Nebraska. Robert Ressler FBI profiler from Iowa worked the case.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sc9l2v-8Ho&feature=youtu.be
Jeff
Thanks so much for the link, Jeff! I remember hearing about this and am going now to watch the video.