EXCLUSIVE: ‘My son, 22, vanished on night out – I found devastating film of last movements’
Jack O’Sullivan went missing on a night out in 2024, when he was 22. His devastated mum Catherine tells the Mirror of her search, and why she believes he’s still alive
Jack O’Sullivan went missing on 2nd March 2024 from Bristol, aged 22
Jack O’Sullivan went missing on 2nd March 2024 from Bristol, aged 22. His mum, Catherine O’Sullivan, 54, is a school matron and lives in Bristol with her husband Alan, 60, a teacher. She has another son, Benjamin, 29
She says: “Mother’s Day is an incredibly sad day for me, and hard to ignore – it’s everywhere you look. But it will be my third without my son Jack, who went missing in March 2024. We were – and are – an incredibly close family. Jack was living at home with us to save money while doing a law conversion course, and it was great having him. He was happy, he’d run every day, and we’d have family dinners with him and Benjamin, who lives nearby. Often.
“Jack had just done his first set of exams, which had gone well, and he was actively applying for training contracts. On Friday March 1 2024, he decided to go out with some new friends from his course to a party. Most of his close pals had moved away, so I thought it was a great idea – new connections and all that.
“He was in two minds whether to go, but in the end decided to let his hair down. He texted at 1.30am to say he was going to be later than he thought, but he had his key. I went to bed. At 5.30am I woke up, and something didn’t feel right. I went to the landing and Jack’s bedroom door was open, he wasn’t in there – nor was he anywhere else in the house. I text and called, with no reply.
Jack’s mum, Catherine O’Sullivan
“Waking my husband, we drove to where it said Jack was on the Find My iPhone app, but nobody had seen him. We called Benjamin, who hadn’t heard from him either. We called the police. By this point, I was frantic.
“CCTV was unclear, and at first police said that they thought Jack had probably fallen into the river and drowned. Searches were done of the river, the harbour and the land nearby. But nothing whatsoever was found of Jack.
“The last sighting of Jack was at 3.39am, walking in the opposite direction to the river. His phone was still live at 6.50am – there is so much time left unaccounted for. CCTV footage was not collected in certain areas and in some places the Police totally missed Jack on CCTV that I found myself.
“The Police based their theory on statistics and not on facts, they have no evidence whatsoever to support the theory of Jack falling in the water. Initial theories led to some crucial footage going unchecked and being lost, which means we might never know what happened. It’s been a shambles, and excruciating.
Benjamin, Catherine, Alan and Jack
“Two years on and I exist, but I am not living. I need to find Jack. If you’d ask any mother, they’ll tell you they’d do anything to find their child. It’s a horrible existence. My gut tells me he’s still alive. But I have nothing to back that up. I’d give anything to have him back. As time goes on it’s harder to keep awareness going, but I’ll never give up. I’m stuck on March 2nd, my life hasn’t moved forwards since that night.”
If you have any information, see www.findjackosullivan.co.uk; FindJack on Facebook
MISSING PEOPLE
Someone is reported missing every 90 seconds in the UK where, every year, more than 170,000 people go missing, including nearly 75,000 children. The Mirror’s Missed campaign is calling for better support and care for missing people and their families. Backed by Missing People, the only UK charity dedicated to supporting missing children and adults and their loved ones, we are campaigning to stop missing people from falling through the cracks. Many are found, but others remain missing, leaving them at serious risk of harm and causing heartbreak for their loved ones.
Jack O’Sullivan
A few cases become high-profile, gaining nationwide attention from the media and politicians. But many go unreported, leaving devastated families battling to be heard. Race, class, gender, sexuality, job choices, familial ties can all be factors. People disappear for many reasons, including mental health issues, suicide, exploitation and dementia. But there’s no clear government strategy to prevent this or to support people. A dedicated strategy led by the Home Office, Department for Education, and Department for Health and Social Care could provide the proper attention and resources.
The Mirror’s asks:
• Publish a new missing children and adults strategy to ensure police, health and social care play their part
• Invest in prevention for those at most risk of going missing
• Offer support to every missing child and adult on their returnMissing mums
*The Mirror is using its platform to run Missed – a campaign to shine a light on underrepresented public-facing missing persons in the UK in collaboration with Missing People Charity. Because every missing person, no matter their background or circumstances, is someone’s loved one. And they are always Missed. For more information, visit missingpeople.org.uk
Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/jack-osullivan-missing-son-search-36862716
