When a 12-year-old paperboy named Johnny Gosch disappeared on the job in West Des Moines, Iowa at the crack of dawn on Sept. 5, 1982 – 40 years ago – America was just beginning to awaken to the problem of missing and sexually exploited children in this country. On September 5 , 1982 , 12-year-old Johnny Gosch vanished while running his newspaper route in West Des Moines, Iowa. Over 40 years later, the case remains unsolved. In 1999, a witness in an embezzlement trial claimed he had participated in John ’ s abduction and that he himself was a victim of the same child sex ring that got John. When police investigated, however, they discovered the witness had been in Omaha, Nebraska on the date John disappeared. Yet, the haunting question remains: what really happened to Johnny Gosch ? His disappearance continues to resonate as one of America’s most unsettling and enduring mysteries—a case where answers remain elusive and hope, for some, still lingers. In the early hours of September 5, 1982, the quiet suburb of West Des Moines, Iowa, was shattered by the disappearance of 12-year-old paperboy Johnny Gosch . What started as a routine day for young Johnny, delivering newspapers with his trusty red wagon, soon turned into one of the most chilling cases of a missing child in American history. On Sunday, September 5, 1982, John Gosch started getting calls at the family’s west Des Moine home from neighbors, saying that they were concerned because Johnny hadn’t delivered their morning newspaper yet. Noreen Gosch established the Johnny Gosch Foundation in 1982, shortly after her son went missing. Eventually, it had a website where Noreen Gosh posted information regarding her son’s case , including all the pictures she received. However, it appears to no longer be in operation. Twelve-year-old Des Moines Register paperboy Johnny Gosch left his West Des Moines home on Sunday morning, September 5, 1982, to begin his paper route. He wore a white sweatshirt with ‘Kim’s Academy’ on the back, warm-up pants, blue rubber flip-flops, and carried a yellow paper-bag.
The John David Gosch Case: What Really Happened?
When a 12-year-old paperboy named Johnny Gosch disappeared on the job in West Des Moines, Iowa at the crack of dawn on Sept. 5, 1982 – 40 years ago – America wa...
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