Jack O’Sullivan disappeared after a house party in Bristol in March 2024. A year on, his family are still desperate for answers with a £20,000 reward for ‘key information’ that helps bring Jack home
The mum of a 23-year-old who disappeared over a year ago has issued a desperate plea as she is sure “someone knows something” about his disappearance.
Jack O’Sullivan vanished while on a night out in Bristol and was last seen in the early hours of the morning of Saturday March 2 last year, walking through the streets of Bristol after trying to get a taxi home. Jack, who was 22 at the time of his disappearance, had been at a house party in the Hotwells neighbourhood of Bristol. The last known sighting of Jack was at 3.38am as he walked along Bennett Way slip road, heading toward Bristol city centre, he was last heard from at around 3.30am, when a friend who was still at the party returned a call from him, but the call was disconnected after Jack said “hello”.
Robert William’s mum’s desperate plea to ‘help fetch son home’ 23 years after he vanished
His mum, Catherine O’Sullivan, “remains convinced” that someone has information that could be shared with the family about her son. As part of the desperate year-long search for her son, she set up a Find Jack Facebook page. In a recent post she shared that the family’s plea “remains the same” – “Where is Jack?”
Writing on the page, she said: “Hello everyone, just an update on our ongoing situation. Although we are currently not posting any new posts we are still working night and day looking at every single piece of information that might lead to answers into what has happened and where Jack might be.
“We continue to ask for help from anyone who might be able to help or provide some answers. Our plea remains the same Where is Jack? Any information please send to [email protected] We still remain convinced Someone knows something! Help us if you can – Thank you x.”
Police update one year after Jack disappeared
A year on from his disappearance, Avon and Somerset Police renewed their search for the teen saying they were “appealing for the public to think back to where they were a year ago and to recall if they saw anything which could help our investigation”. They added: “To help people case their minds back to this date, it was a particularly cold evening and had snowed. Later the same day, Bristol City lost 1-0 to local rivals Cardiff City.”
A huge search and investigation was launched when Jack disappeared, with almost 20 police departments involved in the search which took place in the following weeks and months. This year, just two months before the one year anniversary of his disappearance, a body washed up on a South Wales beach.
Family’s agony after body washes up on beach
His mum Catherine, 53, spent six days believing her son was dead. She revealed the family were told by police initially that remains of a man matching her son’s description had been found, and she spent almost a week waiting for confirmation before receiving a call to say it wasn’t him.
She criticised police, hitting out at the length of time the family were left in limbo, claiming police didn’t start the DNA process for several days after the body was found. Avon and Somerset Police said the DNA process was ‘fast-tracked’ and officers provided as many updates as they could.
But for Catherine, it was “six days of utter torture”. She recalled: “Early in the new year we had a phone call to say some remains had been found on a beach in Wales and we strongly felt they were leaning towards this being Jack. It felt very significant.
“It was six days of utter torture while they tried to work out if it was Jack before it turned out it was obviously not. It was the worst six days so far. It was positioned and explained to us in such a way we could not see how it could not be Jack. We were given a description and it fitted everything; height, age range that Jack was fitted into, but they said they could not be conclusive until DNA analysis. We found out after a few days the process had not even started.
“That was pretty grim. We were hanging on every hour of the day for an update and two to three days in they hadn’t even started. I think the communication was pretty shocking. The day they phoned us with the initial info the said they wanted to check how we would like to be told. I was so distressed I could barely hold the phone and said just said tell us anyway you can.
“I then got an email to say we had agreed to a phone call for news of Jack. It was such a difficult and traumatic time and to date is the worst six days so far. People asked me would it be better if it was him and did you want closure. I said no, when I heard it was I was totally relieved.”
Avon and Somerset Police said: “We contacted Jack’s family on Saturday 4 January to inform them that a body had been located at Stout Bay, in Wales. Detectives worked with colleagues at South Wales Police to fast-track the DNA process to identify the remains and provide answers to the family.
“We were able to provide an update to the family on Friday 10 January in which we were able to confirm the remains were not Jack’s. During this six-day period, the Superintendent overseeing the investigation made contact with the family on several occasions to give what update we could.”
Anniversary of disappearance ‘just another day’
The family are continuing to search for Jack where they can, and hired a private investigator in a desperate bid to find the young man. But there have been no clues found or trace of Jack, with Catherine saying they were treating the anniversary of when he was last seen as “just another day”.
Ahead of the anniversary, she explained: “For me it is just another day – now every day for us is hell and it won’t be any more significant from the first day he went missing. I don’t want to draw unnecessary attention or be out having vigils, I don’t want to do that.
“We think of Jack every day, so next Sunday is not a huge milestone for us. But it totally unbelievable that 12 months have gone by. It doesn’t feel real. It has been a whole year and we have no idea what happened to him. We are still completely none the wiser. We get messages of hoaxes, ransoms, people telling me the have got him, but nothing has ever been proven.
“It is totally unbelievable all that time has gone by. For me every day is consumed by it. My husband and son have tried to work and go back to relatively normal lives, but for us as a family nothing is normal or even close to it. It has been incredibly difficult to focus on anything else.
“It is hard to think beyond today and I never plan too far ahead now. I take every day as I can. It would be unforgivable to even think about stopping. It wouldn’t be fair to Jack until we know what happened or where he is. If I am not going to do it as his mum then no-one else will.”
Reward for information that brings Jack home
A Find Jack website has also been set up, with details of what Jack was wearing, a timeline of his movements and a detailed map of his likely path that night. There’s also a £20,000 reward “for key information” on his disappearance. According to the page, Jack’s phone was still active and placed him at an address in the Granby Hill area at 5.40am, with his phone staying connected to the network until 6.44am.
Jack was last seen wearing a green or khaki Barbour jacket, brown Ralph Lauren trainers, navy blue chinos and a cream knit jumper. He had a card holder, his driving licence, his phone, bank cards, his house key, a Peugeot key fob, an Apple Air Tag and his Emporio Armani watch on him when he disappeared, with none of the items having yet been found.
Speaking ahead of the anniversary of his disappearance, Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall said: “It has been one year since Jack’s disappearance, and I want to recognise the pain his family continues to go through. Our collective thoughts remain with them during this very difficult time.
“Anniversaries provide an important opportunity to look back and reflect. A lot can happen in a year and things which didn’t appear significant at the time may look different with the passage of time.
“Do you remember what you were doing that cold, snowy day in March 2024? You may recall seeing something which, on the surface, seemed unimportant, but may be an important piece of information for us to know. Do you remember seeing anything on your journey, whether you were walking in the area or travelling on the roads.
“Our investigation has been extensive, with resources utilised from more than 30 different teams and organisations, including support from colleagues within the fire service, HM Coastguard and the National Police Air Service (NPAS). This includes seeking independent advice, support and guidance from experts at the National Crime Agency, an experienced Police Search Advisor from a neighbouring force and an independent oceanographer.
“Our dive team has searched the river from Avonmouth through to Conham River Park. Officers, including those with our mounted team, dog unit and drone unit, have searched in water and on land, especially in the wider area where Jack was last seen, including the Hotwells, Ashton and North Somerset areas.
“We have kept an open mind throughout this investigation and regularly review our various hypothesis around Jack’s disappearance.
“As the year has progressed, we’ve exhausted multiple lines of enquiry and we’d like to thank the public for their help so far in coming forward with information. We ask you again to please, cast your mind back to this time last year and think about any detail which may help us.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Avon and Somerset Police on 101 quoting reference number 5224055172. Alternatively, you can email [email protected] with any information that might help in the search for Jack.
