Interview · moment 9 of 21
West Des Moines Police Incompetence and Chief Clooney/Wadman
from This Ain't Great · #10
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
5 minGuest
David and Tim discuss the police department's early dismissal of Johnny's case as a runaway, corrupt police chiefs Orval Clooney and Wadman, and why suspicion initially fell on the parents.
- 32:24Johnny Gosch, 12 years old, went out on his paper route in West Des Moines on September 5th—the first time he went alone.
- 32:44His dog came home without him, and neighbors started calling about missing papers.
- 33:04West Des Moines police department had only 25 or 30 officers, too small to handle the investigation properly.
- 33:36Johnny had begged to go on the route alone that morning; his father didn't accompany him as he normally would.
- 34:10The parents became immediate suspects, which is statistically common in abduction cases.
- 34:32Noreen's appearance—dark hair, big personality—went against the stereotypical Midwestern housewife look, which clouded people's perception of her.
- 35:00Police immediately framed Johnny as a runaway despite evidence that he'd spoken to someone in a car.
- 35:20Police Chief Clooney told search parties to go home, saying the boy was nothing but a runaway.
- 35:31Clooney was a troubled figure with complaints of corruption, alcoholism, and ineptness rather than any direct connection to the disappearance.
Johnny GoschNoreen GoschWest Des Moines