John David Gosch: A Case That Will Haunt You

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Johnny Gosch , a 12-year-old paperboy, vanished in 1982, sparking one of America’s most chilling missing child cases. His whereabouts remain unknown. John’s mother, Noreen Gosch , hired private investigators to look into her son’s disappearance. She believes he was kidnapped and sold into a pedophile prostitution ring. She claimed she was visited by her son when she testified during a 1999 pedophile crime organization trial in Nebraska. Noreen Gosch , of West Des Moines, Iowa, whose 12-year-old son, John David , vanished from his paper route on the morning of Sept. 5, 1982, recalls the sheer “physical pain” of the vigil. His case is still unsolved and is now classified as a non-family abduction. Law enforcement continued to deny any connection between Johnny, Eugene and Marc’s disappearances. Bonacci and Mrs. Gosch met in person at the correctional facility where Bonacci provided details about Johnny that only a person who had seen him or his family would know including describing a birthmark on Johnny’s chest and various scars on his body from childhood accidents. In March 1983, a 12-year-old boy matching Johnny’s description approached a woman leaving a store in Oklahoma. The boy said to her, “I’m John David Gosch . Please help me.” Two men came to the boy and led him away. John has never been seen or heard from again. They immediately phoned authorities to report Gosch missing. Authorities initially treated the case as that of a runaway but his parents were adamant that he was abducted or that foul play was involved. 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. On July 1 , 1984 , a bill she authored — the Johnny Gosch Bill — was passed into Iowa law.