Before sunrise on September 5, 1982, 13 year old Johnny Gosch left his home at 1004 45th St. in West Des Moines, IA to start his paper route. He went to the paper drop to pick up the papers to be delivered that morning and began his route. Two witnesses saw him talking to a man in a blue vehicle, and these sightings were the last time Johnny would be conclusively seen.

Later that morning, people along Johnny’s route who had not yet received their papers began to call his home, reaching Johnny’s parents. This led Johnny’s father, John, to head out in his car to look for Johnny. About 2 blocks from their home along the paper route, he found Johnny’s wagon which he used to carry the papers. He immediately returned home and called the police to report Johnny missing.

There have been no arrests or serious suspects in the case of Johnny Gosch and the case remains open to this day. Photos of Johnny appeared on milk cartons across the country in an attempt to find the missing boy. His mother believes that he is still alive after she claims that he visited her with an unknown man in the early morning hours of March 1997. There have been other incidents where his mother has received photos that she believes show Johnny as a victim of human trafficking, but none have been conclusively proven to be Johnny.