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Post by HeadMarshal on May 18, 2013 17:48:21 GMT -5
  (Pictured: Above: Left: John, circa 1982. Right: Age-progression to age 40, circa 2009. Photo Credits: Charley Project and/or NCMEC Missing Child/Person Profile as of September 4th, 2014 (Based on missingkids.org poster): Missing Since Sep 5, 1982
Missing From: Des Moines, IA
DOB: Nov 12, 1969
Age Now: 44
Sex: Male
Race: White
Hair Color: Light Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 140 lbsTIPS: Anyone having information should call 1-800-THE-LOST or the West Des Moines Police Department (Iowa) at 1-515-223-3211 Or Your Local FBI
12-year old John "Johnny" Gosch has been missing since 1982. Undenieably one of the most controversal missing child cases still unresolved, because of the amount of conspiracy theories abound in this case and the powerful people implicated in them. AMW aired this case back in the early 90s. What can confirmed as correct is that Gosch disappeared on the morning of Sep 5, 1982 in West Des Moines, Iowa. He was delivering newspapers when witnesses saw him talking to a man in a car. Eventually, his mother, Noreen got tired of the lack of proactive investigation by authorities (even though that wasn't rare at the time, since missing person cases only became well known shortly after John disappeared). Noreen wrote a book about the case and believed that her son was sold into a pedophile prostitution ring. Noreen also claimed that her son visited her apartment in 1997 with another man, and was given information as to John's situation. In 1999, a witness claimed that he had assisted in John's abduction and was the victim of this same sex ring, however, authorities determined that the man was in Omaha, Nebraska at the time of John's disappearance. In 2006, Noreen told the press that she had received photos that depicted what she determined to be John and other boys bound and gagged. A Florida law enforcement official claimed to have investigated the same photos in the 1970s. But wait, things get more bizarre. This mysterious supposed prostitution ring was said to be run by high-level officials in Omaha, Nebraska. Alleged victims claimed that children in foster care were sent to the eastern US to be abused at "bad parties". Two juries determined the allegations to be baseless. The case continues to be a hot topic as far as conspiracies go. Noreen also believes that John's father was involved in her son's abduction. Noreen has also implicated the abductor of California girl Michele Garecht (her mother actually denies Noreen's claims) in this case. I also recall reading somewhere that Noreen refused to submit a sample of John's DNA (although that I may be wrong on). There were two other boys who went missing in West Des Moines in the mid 80s. 13-year old newspaper carrier Eugene Martin vanished in 1984 and 13-year old Marc Allen disappeared in 1986. As for the conspiracy theories, they range from former president George H.W. Bush being a homosexual pedophile, the involvement of this so called Illuminati Pedophile Ring and theories that missing children are turned into slaves at Area 51. So here's my analysis of some of the facts and opinions that have been presented. #1: Why would a high-level pedophile ring target children in suburban America? My high school Law teacher said it best when criminals should commit their crimes in urban centers, seeing as how they would be less likely to stand out and authorities have to contend with so many other crimes. Also if this ring originated out of Omaha, Nebraska, why would this ring have to abduct three boys all the way in a Des Moines suburb? Even the modus operendi of how some of the women and girls of Juarez, Mexico were abducted resulted them being lured into downtown businesses. It is so illogical. #2: Is everything that Noreen Gosch has said reliable? Noreen has claimed that someone told her right before Eugene Martin disappeared that another boy would vanish. However, no one in law enforcement has taken her seriously and I don't believe anyone credible helped her in making her book. I don't think she's truly dishonest but someone who was frustrated at the actions of law enforcement (in general) at the time and wanted to link almost anything to her son's case. It is also illogical that if she was actually visited by her son that she would not have helped him in some way, living a life having to look over your shoulder is not something any truly-loving parent should want their child to go through. #3: How many other missing children were victimized by this supposed ring? The most common case people try to link this to is Jacob Wetterling, even though that happened in Minnesota. I want to see a list from one of these conspiracy theorists as to how many missing children we should be looking at and if there aren't alternatives to the individual disappearances. #4: If there was no prostitution ring, then what happened to Johnny, Eugene & Marc? We can all agree that the cases are somehow linked. Although the common similarities appear to be the work of a serial killer than some high-level prostitution ring. Perhaps because of the inactivity of Iowa authorities, and because of Noreen's conspiracy theories, no honest law enforcement work was done. How do we know that the supposed sighting of John talking to a man in the car was even legit? I want to hear the opinions of anyone who may be interested in this case or have previously researched it. I'm not totally discrediting the theory of some sort of pedophile ring, it's just some of the claims brought forth either have to be taken with some skepticism or a grain of salt. And does anyone have any other theories? You can read intensive discussions on both credible law enforcement message boards and conspiracy theory boards, the amount of debate is quite astounding. www.amw.com/missing_children/case.cfm?id=26170www.charleyproject.org/cases/g/gosch_john.htmlwww.charleyproject.org/cases/a/allen_marc.htmlwww.charleyproject.org/cases/m/martin_eugene.htmlAdmin Note: If you have any news-related updated information on this case, please contact us here: amwfans.com/thread/1662/website-contact-form |
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Post by Scumhunter on May 20, 2013 7:58:10 GMT -5
I don't know what to think about this case, except to say I have a hard time believing all these crazy theories. All we do know for sure is witnesses saw him talking to a man in a car.
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Post by pakman on Jul 15, 2013 14:57:40 GMT -5
As an adopted Iowan, I can tell you that people still talk about this case to this very day. A friend of mine from West Des Moines said everybody in town knows Noreen Gosch, too. Any time there's a child abduction in the state, the TV networks always interview her. She looks EXACTLY the same as she did when AMW interviewed her about the case. I've heard that she wants to look exactly as she did when Johnny went missing so that if he comes home, he'll recognize her.
I've actually seen her in person myself, but I've never spoken to her.
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Post by HeadMarshal on Jul 15, 2013 17:46:06 GMT -5
As an adopted Iowan, I can tell you that people still talk about this case to this very day. A friend of mine from West Des Moines said everybody in town knows Noreen Gosch, too. Any time there's a child abduction in the state, the TV networks always interview her. She looks EXACTLY the same as she did when AMW interviewed her about the case. I've heard that she wants to look exactly as she did when Johnny went missing so that if he comes home, he'll recognize her. I've actually seen her in person myself, but I've never spoken to her. Do you think her claims can be viewed as credible. I've read that AMW frequently aired this case in the early 90s but stopped airing it afterwards. |
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Post by pakman on Jul 15, 2013 19:30:21 GMT -5
Quite frankly, no. I think she wants to believe that her son is still alive out there somewhere and in her mind has come up with any explanation, no matter how farfetched, to explain that.
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Post by Scumhunter on Dec 9, 2013 17:52:20 GMT -5
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Post by HeadMarshal on Aug 11, 2014 18:40:33 GMT -5
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Post by HeadMarshal on Sept 1, 2014 16:52:55 GMT -5
Out of curiousity, has anyone ever watched the never aired 1994 Discovery Channel documentary "Conspiracy Of Silence"? It was at least partly based off the Franklin Child Abuse conspiracy debate and you can watch it on youtube, even though I have yet to watch it all (just saw like two minutes of it so far).
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Post by Scumhunter on Sept 1, 2014 17:36:58 GMT -5
Never seen the movie, but it does sound like something I'd find interesting.
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Post by TheWebDetective on Jun 21, 2015 13:24:15 GMT -5
This is a very fascinating case. Though I have to agree that due to the incompetence of law enforcement and Noreen's dillusions and conspiracy theories growing because of that, proper investigation is difficult. I've heard a lot of stories surrounding this case. Along with the high profile sex slave factor, Some claim Johnny's father to have kidnapped/killed him to save his marriage with Noreen (which obviously eventually didn't work).
The only way I can believe a pedophile ring (or crime period) in suburban America is that Iowa and Nebraska are smack dab in middle America. Despite the possibility of standing out, Nonurban areas means low population/population density and wide space/isolation which means few witnesses and easier to do the crime and hide it. Plus this is before crime investigation was really modernizing so whoever took Johnny may have had the benefit of unsuspecting law enforcement. One thing to note is that Paul Bonacci claimed to assist Johnny's abduction in 1989. While Noreen believed him, Johnny's father was more skeptical. Paul Bonacci also claimed that Johnny along with other boys had been marked with a "Rocking X".
Some go so far as to claim Johny is alive as infamous columnist Jeff Gannon. As to Paul Bonacci's claims, I think he's lying to gain some fame. I also think the conspiracy theories involving Nebraska are partly the doing of John DeCamp, a fundamentalist and fundamentalists at times dabble in conspiracy theories. Regardless, this is one tough cookie of a case to solve.
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Post by HeadMarshal on Jun 21, 2015 15:24:51 GMT -5
This is a very fascinating case. Though I have to agree that due to the incompetence of law enforcement and Noreen's dillusions and conspiracy theories growing because of that, proper investigation is difficult. I've heard a lot of stories surrounding this case. Along with the high profile sex slave factor, Some claim Johnny's father to have kidnapped/killed him to save his marriage with Noreen (which obviously eventually didn't work). The only way I can believe a pedophile ring (or crime period) in suburban America is that Iowa and Nebraska are smack dab in middle America. Despite the possibility of standing out, Nonurban areas means low population/population density and wide space/isolation which means few witnesses and easier to do the crime and hide it. Plus this is before crime investigation was really modernizing so whoever took Johnny may have had the benefit of unsuspecting law enforcement. One thing to note is that Paul Bonacci claimed to assist Johnny's abduction in 1989. While Noreen believed him, Johnny's father was more skeptical. Paul Bonacci also claimed that Johnny along with other boys had been marked with a "Rocking X". Some go so far as to claim Johny is alive as infamous columnist Jeff Gannon. As to Paul Bonacci's claims, I think he's lying to gain some fame. I also think the conspiracy theories involving Nebraska are partly the doing of John DeCamp, a fundamentalist and fundamentalists at times dabble in conspiracy theories. Regardless, this is one tough cookie of a case to solve. Thank you so much. This post is one of the most logical web responses I have ever read regarding this case.  |
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Post by King Of Clubs on Jul 7, 2015 17:03:48 GMT -5
I don't know really what to think. But this is one of the few cases where I'll tolerate conspiracy theories.
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Post by Scumhunter on Oct 8, 2017 5:26:42 GMT -5
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Post by Maddog on May 6, 2020 21:47:43 GMT -5
I'm not saying Paul Bonacci is a liar, but they interviewed Lt. Lyle McKinney (assigned to the Gosch disappearance) of the West Des Moines, IA Police in 1993.
Interviewer: "Do you have any suspects?"
McKinney: "No."
Interviewer: "Are you close to breaking the case?"
McKinney: "No."
Interviewer: "Are you close to making an arrest?"
McKinney: "No."
At the same time, they interviewed Senior Officer James Rowley of the Des Moines Police (assigned to Eugene Martin's case):
Interviewer: "Are you any closer to solving the case than you were eight years ago?"
Rowley: "No."
Bonacci's name had emerged by that time (he claimed he was involved in the Gosch kidnapping and that he knew what happened to Eugene Martin). The fact that both officers really indicated they had no idea what happened tells me that they didn't view Bonacci as credible. What I think is entirely possible is that both cases were connected, but that there may not have been a pedophile ring involved at all. I want to stress that I'm not calling Noreen Gosch a liar, either. However, I am just wondering if the abductor was someone local and not tied to any pedophile rings at all, and the police just haven't identified him yet.
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Post by Maddog on May 12, 2020 21:13:18 GMT -5
I have been fascinated by this case for years as an Upper Midwesterner, and I can tell you it's a case my step-grandma had talked about every time our family visited Iowa. I'm of the belief that the theory of a sexual slavery ring is WAY too far-fetched. In my opinion, I share the same opinion as this author of a very well-written Reddit post: www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/4pi4s0/oc_johnny_gosch_and_eugene_martin_cases_possibly/I believe that Johnny Gosch's and Eugene Martin's abductions were committed by the same person. This Reddit poster identified eleven similarities between the two cases. Additionally, the physical abductions seem fairly similar. In both cases, eyewitnesses described the abductor as a male in his 30s or 40s, and about 5'9" in height. A sketch does exist of a person of interest in the Gosch case, but I haven't found one in the Martin case (someone feel free to upload a composite if they find one). In that Reddit story, you will find that a lot of the abductions took place in the same area (and a map was provided). Another thing is that there were several attempted abductions in Indianola, Iowa. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation believed that one of these abductions was likely committed by the same person who abducted Gosch. Although one witness who saw the Ford Fairmont which had stopped (and its driver was seen talking to Johnny) said the Fairmont had Nebraska plates, another witness said that the car had Iowa plates. More specifically, Warren County plates (County seat: Indianola, IA). My guess is there was a serial abductor/killer probably based out of Indianola, Iowa. If you want my opinion: The abductor was either tied to, or knew someone who worked for a local newspaper. The best articles I have read on this case indicate that this was likely the case because the abductor appeared to be VERY familiar with how paper routes worked, what time papers would be picked up and delivered, etc. I believe Johnny did not know his abductor (two witnesses claim he told them before his abduction about the Fairmont driver: "That man is really weird.") However, I think there's a possibility that Eugene Martin knew the abductor. Eyewitnesses said he was engaged in a very cordial "father and son-like" conversation with the person of interest before he disappeared. My problem with the sex-ring theory is that a lot of it hinges on Paul Bonacci's testimony. While Noreen Gosch has verified some of the things he has said, the police haven't. I have read comments online that the police are complicit in Johnny and Eugene's abductions, but I don't buy this. From all accounts, Senior Officer James Rowley of the Des Moines Police (assigned to the Martin case) treated this case as if his own child was missing. I have read that before Eugene's father Don Martin passed away years ago, Rowley would meet with him every week to discuss any updates and where the case was at. Rowley made it clear in one interview that this case really bothered him. His belief was a local pedophile abducted and killed both boys (although he has made it clear that out of the 3,000 or so leads they had, not one was concrete, so there are no primary suspects). With Bonacci, we have to keep in mind that he was charged with perjury at one point, and additionally, he was up for possible early release when he revealed this information. I believe some abuse did happen in the Franklin Credit Union scandal, but I just don't buy that it led to random abductions like Johnny Gosch's or Eugene Martin's. Plus, a lot of Bonacci's claims were debunked. For instance, he and Alisha Owen claimed they could provide a very good description of what the Omaha Police Chief looked like naked based off of the fact that he sexually molested her, but they conveniently forgot various details, including the fact that he had heavy scarring on a hip and an arm (they claimed that he had no surgical scars). With regards to the claims by Noreen Gosch, keep in mind, in 2006, when Noreen found those photos, it was determined that the person who left them there was likely playing a hoax. With regards to that visit in 1997, I'm inclined to believe it was a sick prank, as well, possibly by the same person or persons. My bottom line is this: I think this is a local abduction, and I don't find the sexual slavery angle to be plausible. I was hoping to get everyone else's take on this information. |
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