MISSING: Andrew Gosden - new age progression photo

A new age-progression photograph of missing Andrew Gosden, who has been missing from Doncaster since 2007, has been released on Monday 28 October.

Andrew’s dad Kevin has been working with national charity Missing People, collating useful information to help the wider public in their search for Andrew. This information is available via Kevin’s blog: <a href="http://helpustofindandrew.weebly.com/blog/searching-for-andrew-what-to-look-for" rel="noreferrer nofollow">helpustofindandrew.weebly.com/blog/searching-for-andrew-w...</a>

Andrew was 14 when he disappeared in September 2007. 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 blog, to accompany the 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.

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 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 16 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 at <a href="https://www.missingpeople.org.uk/help-us-find/andrew-gosden-07-019198" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.missingpeople.org.uk/help-us-find/andrew-gosden-07-01...</a>

“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 who believes they may know someone with these identifying features, or may hold information about an individual that matches the above descriptions, is asked to please call South Yorkshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 161 of 13 September 2017.

You can also speak to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.