Andrew Gosden: "It never becomes easier," says dad on missing son's 30th birthday

14-year-old Andrew Gosden disappeared in 2007 – and despite huge national and international manhunts, he has never been found.

Dad Kevin has never given up on finding Andrew, who was last seen at King’s Cross Station in London on September 14 of that year after leaving the family’s home in Balby.

Today is Andrew’s 30th birthday and to mark the occasion, Kevin posted an emotional message about his struggle to come to terms with Andrew’s disappearance.

He 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.”

He revealed that his family have an oak tree in memory of Andrew.

He said: ”I think he was 10 when he read somewhere that an oak tree kept in a tub would become a fully mature tree, but in miniature because the roots were constrained from growing fully.

"At the time, I picked up a few acorns and we planted these in a tub to test this theory.

"Half a dozen grew and I gradually replanted them over the years, keeping one for our own back garden. Last year, it produced its first acorns, showing that, while still only about six feet/two metres tall, it has matured as Andrew predicted.

“In the Missing People offices, there is a “tree” – one of the leaves is inscribed with his name and our message to him.

"There are too many inscribed leaves on this tree, 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 a major breakthrough in the case, in December 2021, two men were arrested in connection with Andrew's disappearance.

The pair were detained on suspicion of kidnap and human trafficking and at the time of the arrests in London, police said electronics taken from the pair, aged 39 and 46, could take "six to 12 months" to analyse.

The older man was also arrested on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children, the force said at the time.

Andrew skipped school and withdrew just under £200 from his bank account before buying a one-way ticket to the capital.

He was last seen at King's Cross Station and has not been seen since.