Missing student’s mum’s heartbreaking statement after 18 months with no answers
Jack O’Sullivan went missing after a night out in Bristol in March 2024 and despite an extensive search, there have been no sightings of him since. His family have shared their heartbreak
In the early hours of March 2, 2024, Jack O’Sullivan, a 23-year-old student from Neath, living in Bristol, left a party with plans to hail a taxi back home.
Like thousands of other young people across the country that Friday night, Jack was out enjoying himself with his mates. But unlike them, he never made it back home.
18 months later, Jack’s family remain without answers or leads, but they remain resolute in their search for him. Over 100,000 people have rallied behind the Find Jack campaign on Facebook, and more than £59,000 has been raised to aid the search efforts.
A generous benefactor has even put forth a £100,000 reward. But Jack’s parents feel no closer to uncovering what happened to their son, as they continue to plead for any information on what happened to Jack that night.
On the night he vanished, Jack texted his parents at 1am, informing them he’d be catching a taxi home. CCTV later captured him at 3.17am, wandering onto a grassy area at the junction of Brunel Lock Way and Brunel Way, apparently unsuccessful in securing a cab.
He was seen again at 3.40am, heading back towards Hotwells, close to where the party had taken place. In between these two sightings, Jack attempted to ring a mate at the party, but the call cut off shortly after he said ‘hello’.
Jack’s parents, Catherine and Alan, realised he hadn’t returned home by 5am. Nevertheless, despite vanishing from CCTV footage for hours, his mobile phone located him at a property in the Granby Hill area at 5.40am and remained connected to the network for just over an hour. Though to this day, his phone has never been recovered.
Despite extensive searches conducted by police and volunteers, nothing was uncovered that provided any clue about what befell Jack and his whereabouts. Catherine said the absence of evidence makes it appear as though “Jack has been abducted by an alien”.
In an interview with the Mirror, Catherine said: “We don’t have any evidence at all so we have to try and keep his name out there, keep his story out there, and keep asking questions.”
For 18 months, Catherine and Alan, along with their elder son Ben, have been living through their “worst possible nightmare”.
“At times it’s hard to believe that it’s actually happening because everything seems so surreal. The world is carrying on around us, but for me, my world has pretty much stopped. We kind of exist really, we don’t live,” Catherine continued.
Since her son vanished, she has been relentless in keeping his name alive, from television appearances to social media campaigns. Catherine is determined to keep going.
“I don’t have an answer, I don’t know what’s happened to Jack and I can’t just accept that that’s the way it is. I have to keep this going because I know if we don’t as a family, it’ll all disappear. As far as the police are concerned, they would like this all to disappear.”
Questions over policing standards
The role of the police has been a central issue in Jack’s case, with the family filing a formal complaint against Avon and Somerset Police last June. They believe errors were made early in the search for Jack, which could have had significant implications for finding him.
One major grievance was regarding CCTV footage. Catherine claimed that initial footage, which showed her son in a different location at a different time, was overlooked.
A new sighting of Jack was only identified by Catherine herself after she was finally permitted to view the CCTV. She told the BBC: “To have footage of my son in their possession the day after he was missing and for someone not to see that is just ludicrous. And we have to live with that… thinking what would have possibly been different here if on that second day, the whole world knew that he was there – and we could have appealed to people.”
The family discovered an administrative blunder within the police force that resulted in Jack not being added to the Missing People’s Register until over two months after he vanished.
Avon and Somerset Police have assured us of their “evidence-led, open-minded, and transparent approach, with the shared aim of finding Jack”.
A spokesperson stated: “We’ve carried out extensive enquiries, including searches of land and water, following up on public contacts, reviewing and re-reviewing all CCTV and other available footage, contacting drivers and taxi companies travelling in the area and conducting a thorough examination of all digital data.
“We’ve had the support of more than 30 different police teams and partner organisations during the investigation, and we’ve sought the very best expert and independent advice, support and guidance from nationally recognised experts, including from the National Crime Agency.
“Despite this we’ve sadly not been able to find Jack and we fully recognise the devastating impact his disappearance continues to have on his family and loved ones.”
Catherine revealed that, in her view, the police “made an assumption within hours of us reporting Jack being missing” due to the location where he was last spotted. Hotwells sits near Bristol’s river, and previous concerns have been raised about the dangers faced by intoxicated individuals in the vicinity during nighttime hours.
With statistics indicating that 85% of men who go missing near water after a night out end up in the water, police told the family a few days after his disappearance that Jack likely had done the same. However, despite extensive searches of the river, the surrounding area, and the five-mile route he might have taken to walk home, Jack’s body has not been found.
“To them, it’s obvious what’s happened. Unfortunately, their assumptions have led nowhere,” she explained.
Following extensive searches, the family’s conviction that Jack had not plunged into the river was strengthened when a former Harbour master made contact. He explained that social media comments from individuals insisting to Catherine and Alan that their son was in the water prompted him to reach out.
Catherine revealed: “He wrote a report based on every fact that was associated with the 2nd March and he based it on the weather, the tidal range and flow and lock gate movements and everything that happens around the harbour and the river. And he said on that basis, ‘my conclusion is with certainty that your son hasn’t fallen in the water.'”.
Jack’s case received a significant development last week when an anonymous benefactor provided the family with £100,000 to offer as a reward for information. The reward is available to anyone who supplies details that directly or indirectly results in Jack being “physically reunited” with Catherine, Jack’s father, Alan, or his brother, Ben.
Ben, who is several years Jack’s senior, revealed the family had been “overwhelmed by the generosity and a bit shocked”. “Hopefully, it can draw some attention to anyone who does know anything significant about what has happened to Jack. We never thought we’d be in the position of doing this but sadly we are.”
Initially, Catherine had doubts about the donation, questioning whether the offer was legitimate. Nevertheless, she revealed: “The person verified themselves quite quickly and put us in touch with a solicitor so it’s all been handled by a legal team.
“It’s amazing to think somebody would really want to support us like that, we’re blown away really, we are so grateful. In our situation, we’ve got to give everything a try.”
Jack’s friends say he is the ‘kindest guy in the world’
The donation has thrust the case back into the spotlight, yet behind the media coverage lies a caring, humorous and devoted now-24-year-old who remains deeply missed by those closest to him. Just over a year since Jack’s disappearance, several of his mates completed the Bristol Half Marathon in his memory.
One participant, Archie Browne, shared with us: “I thought it would be a great way of spreading awareness for our best friend Jack. Running through the area where he was last seen. It was such an emotional day, with lots of cheers saying ‘Do it for Jack!’ it really got to us. He was with us every step of the way.”
Another friend, Oscar Lucas, described Jack as the “nicest and kindest guy in the world”. “He would make time for everyone, all the time. He was always there whenever you needed someone to talk to, and you couldn’t have asked for a better friend,” he said.
“When I found out he went missing, it was just heartbreaking. Honestly, it felt like the whole world was moving in slow motion. It’ll be a day I’ll never forget and wish it had never happened. I miss him every day.”
Toby Weale, who has been mates with Jack since they were three years old, said the duo shared everything “from football away days to rounds of golf and all the laughs in between”.
“The last 18 months without him have been devastating. I think about Jack every day and cling to the hope that we’ll get answers. He means everything to me and others – caring, hilarious, faithful, always there for people – and our lives aren’t the same without him being around.”
Toby described the anonymous reward as an “incredibly generous act” and hoped it would help to bring Jack home.
Catherine revealed that at the time of his disappearance, Jack was “probably in the best phase of his life so far”. He had excelled at university in Exeter and had secured a place on a law course with a scholarship.
Just before March, “he had just sat his first exams, which he was so nervous about”, Catherine said. “The results came out after he’d gone, which was a tragedy because he had done so well.
“Everything had just fitted into place. Everything is desperately sad, but it feels even more sad when everything was so good.”
Ben echoed his mum’s sentiments over Jack’s potential, saying: “He has such a bright future ahead of him and has done so much work to put himself in that position. We all desperately want him home.”
Investigation into police conduct
Following the family’s complaint last year, Avon and Somerset Police voluntarily referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which subsequently determined the complaint warranted a local investigation. The Professional Standards Department (PSD) then carried out a thorough review involving a “detailed and comprehensive examination of the investigation carried out to date”.
The report examined the 11 complaints and determined that 10 demonstrated an “acceptable” standard of service, whilst one was deemed “unacceptable” – the matter of Jack’s case not being entered onto the Missing People database. Whilst the force acknowledged this was not a mandatory requirement, it “fully accepts the learning here”.
Jack’s family requested the IOPC review the report and although the office endorsed most of the conclusions, it instructed the force to re-examine a matter concerning the initial examination of CCTV footage by officers.
Whilst a PSD investigator described it as “understandable” that the sighting in the footage had been overlooked, the investigator concluded the service standard was unacceptable. The report remains under consideration by the IOPC.
Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall said: “The investigation carried out by PSD has been comprehensive and thorough, and I note the report highlights the officers’ professionalism and dedication to this investigation, despite the significant complexity of the circumstances.”
All relevant information that could lead to Jack’s whereabouts should be provided to any of the following:
- [email protected]
- The Missing People charity at 116000missingpeople.co.uk or by calling 116000
- The police on 101 quoting reference 5224055172
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