News / Jack O’Sullivan
Unanswered questions one year since Jack O’Sullivan’s disappearance
It has been a year since Jack O’Sullivan went missing after a night out in Bristol, with posters with his face on still a common sight around the area where he vanished.
Jack, who was 22 at the time at the time of his disappearance, was last seen in the early hours of Saturday, March 2 after he attended a house party in Hotwells.
Now, one year on, Avon & Somerset Police are asking the public to think back to where they were a year ago and to recall if they saw anything which could help their investigation.
is needed now More than ever
The last likely sighting of Jack, who is from Flax Bourton, was at 3.38am walking along Bennett Way slip road, heading in the direction of the city centre after he had earlier left friends in Hotwell Road after a night out.
He had earlier been spotted on CCTV walking around the Cumberland Basin and below the Plimsoll Bridge.
Jack is described as white, around 5ft 10ins tall, of slim build with short, brown hair.
When he went missing, he was wearing a quilted green / brown Barbour jacket over a beige woollen jumper, navy chinos and brown leather trainers with white soles.
To help people cast 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 Cardiff City at Ashton Gate.
The day Jack went missing, an investigation was launched into his disappearance, with almost 20 police departments being involved in the search over the following weeks and months.
A hot air balloon with the message to ‘Find Jack’, reminding people of the search for Jack O’Sullivan who went missing following a night out in Hotwells on March 2 2024 – photo: Martin Booth
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 may not looked 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.”
Missing posters for Jack are a familiar sight around the Cumberland Basin – photo: Martin Booth
An award of £20,000 was offered in previous search attempts, more than 1000 taxi drivers were contacted in a bid for witnesses, along with multiple Find Jack Facebook groups that have attracted hundreds of thousands of people wanting to support the search.
The family of the former Clifton College pupil have previously said on multiple occasions that Avon & Somerset Police are not doing enough to find Jack and had received “no support from authorities”.
In a statement on her Facebook page in December, Catherine O’Sullivan reflected on the year, saying: “There are so few words to sum up the year that has passed – the overriding thing is pain on such a scale its’ beyond words!”
Catherine then thanked all those keeping the search for her son alive, with his disappearance making headlines across the world and provoking a myriad of theories.
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Read more: Jack’s mother calls life a ‘rollercoaster from hell’ since his disappearance
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Chief constable Sarah Crew spoke with Bristol24/7 on the case in November 2023.
Crew said: “I want to recognise the immense distress Jack’s disappearance has had on his family and all those who love him.
“It’s impossible to comprehend what impact this continues to have on them and they are always in our thoughts. They are desperate to know what’s happened to Jack and I know I speak for all those involved in the search over the past seven months, that we’re sorry we haven’t been able to give them these definitive answers so far.
“We have a shared aim with Jack’s family. We want to find out what happened to him after the last likely sighting on CCTV in Bennett Way, in the early hours of Saturday, March 2.
“We have an assistant chief constable overseeing what remains an active missing person investigation and I’m being kept regularly updated on its progress.
“We’ve kept an open mind from the outset, always making sure we’re being led by the evidence. We’re still actively appealing for anyone with information about Jack’s disappearance to come forward.”
If you have any information, please call Avon and Somerset Police on 101 and quote reference 5224055172 to the call handler, or complete their online appeals form.
Main photo: family
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