Johnny Gosch

In the early morning hours of September 5, 1982, 12-year-old Johnny David Gosch set out to deliver newspapers for the Des Moines Register in his West Des Moines, Iowa neighborhood. His father had usually accompanied him but did not that morning. When customers began calling to report undelivered papers, Johnny's parents went looking for him and found his wagon full of newspapers, two blocks from their home. Johnny was gone.

Witnesses reported seeing a man in a blue car approach Johnny and later seeing a boy matching Johnny's description being pulled into a vehicle. Despite these sightings, West Des Moines police initially classified the case as a runaway rather than an abduction, delaying the investigation. The department's handling of the case was later heavily criticized.

Johnny's mother, Noreen Gosch, became one of the most prominent advocates for missing children in American history. Her efforts, combined with those of other parents of missing children, led to significant reforms including the use of children's photos on milk cartons (Johnny was one of the first to be pictured), the establishment of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and changes to federal law regarding missing children investigations.

In 1984, another Des Moines paper carrier, 13-year-old Eugene Martin, also disappeared under similar circumstances, suggesting a possible connection. Noreen Gosch has claimed that Johnny visited her briefly in 1997, though this has never been confirmed. In 2006, photographs allegedly showing bound and gagged boys—one purportedly Johnny—were left at Noreen's door, but investigators could not confirm the photos depicted her son. The case remains one of the most well-known unsolved child disappearances in American history.