Kit Roberts
The mother of a missing paperboy believes that he is alive 40 years after his initial disappearance.
On September 5, 1982, Johnny Gosch vanished while he was out conducting his paper round early in the morning.
Reports from the time claim that on the day Johnny disappeared, a blue van was seen pulling up beside the 12-year-old to ask for directions.
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A very tall man was later seen walking behind the boy as he went north down 42nd Street - with it appearing as though he was following him, CNN reported in 2023.
Johnny has not been seen since that day, despite extensive police investigations attempting to find him.
Investigators looking into the disappearance have never uncovered conclusive evidence that Johnny is dead.
No remains have been found, and nor has Johnny's body, leaving his fate uncertain.
But even though he has not officially been found for 40 years, Johnny's mom, Noreen Gorsch, believes that her son is still alive and claims that he has visited her - however, this has never been confirmed by authorities.
Around the time that alleged sightings of Johnny were being reported, Nueces County sheriff’s investigator, Guy Genovese, was quoted as saying: “I believe the boy is alive and I believe he can be found, but I’m not saying when or anything like this.”
Many years later in 1997, after his parents had gone on to divorce, something seemingly remarkable happened.
Noreen claimed to CNN that during the middle of the night, she was suddenly woken up, seemingly out of nowhere.
Getting up to investigate, she encountered two men standing at her door.
One of them looked a lot like her missing son, and greeted her by saying: "It's me, mom. It's Johnny."
Noreen claimed that she had recognised her son's eyes, saying: “The eyes don’t change."
The pair had embraced, and the man had reportedly shown her a birthmark shaped like South America to confirm his identity.
According to Noreen, he told her that he had been sexually abused and was now on the run, however, the man's identity has never been confirmed.
When he was asked if he believed Noreen's incredible story, West Des Moines Police Department retired detective Tom Boyd said: “I don’t know. I don’t know.
"I don’t want to call Noreen a liar. Noreen is likely grieving the loss of her — her son. It seems weird, yes. And I’ve always just kind of thrown the question back. ‘Well, I don’t know. Do you believe it?’”
For her part, Noreen said they she would 'like to see this case resolved and justice served'.
“It would be important to me, before I leave this earth. If the truth would finally be acknowledged.” she added.
UNILAD has contacted West Des Moines Police for further comment.