WEST DES MOINES, IA — A red wooden wagon that became a symbol of one of Iowa’s most infamous cold cases will go on display in this year’s Iowa State Fair. The wagon was being pulled by 12-year-old Johnny Gosch on the morning of September 5, 1982, while he was delivering newspapers. It was left behind when he vanished without a trace.
The boy’s kidnapping remains unsolved 35 years later — and has been the subject of countless headlines, news reports, a documentary, and several books.
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The red wagon has the name “Gosch” painted in black lettering.
Ron Sampson of Des Moines, who owns the wagon, said that he wanted to put the wagon inside the Grandstand at the fair as a “tribute” to Gosch’s parents. Sampson, a real estate agent, met and became friends with Johnny’s parents John and Noreen Gosch shortly after their son disappeared. He also wrote a series of articles for the Ankeny Press Citizen about the case.
“This is the last thing that Johnny touched,” Sampson said. “Think of the significance of that wagon. I’m getting the chills sitting here, and it’s 105 degrees.”
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Sampson explained that the couple played a crucial role in getting the word out about child abductions. “I guess I would reach back and say they were the very beginning of the Amber Alert. They were the first people to have a child on milk cartons,” he said.
Sampson said that John gave him the wagon about a year ago, after moving to Florida where he doesn’t have room to store it. “Anybody who sees that at the fair, whether they know the story or not, if they don’t get the chills or choked up, they better check their pulse,” Sampson said.
The Iowa State Fair in Des Moines is scheduled for August 10 – 20.
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Main photo: Johnny Gosch’s red wagon [KCCI screenshot]
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