We Didn’t Get our Papers Today
Noreen and John Gosch, Johnny’s parents, were getting calls from people on Johnny’s route, saying that they did receive their newspapers. John Gosch immediately went outside to look for his son, and just two blocks from his home, he found Johnny’s wagon full of newspapers.
That’s when John ran home and called the West Des Moines police department to report his son missing. During that time, there wasn’t much of a difference with the protocol for missing children and missing adults. This means that Johnny’s disappearance didn’t qualify as a ‘missing person’ until 72 hours after he was seen last.