Two years on, the O’Sullivan family continue to search for Jack(Image: Jon Rowley)
Two years ago, Jack O’Sullivan went out for a rare night of relief from the relentless grind of exams – he never came home. Since then his mother, Catherine, says that “everything feels like a battle,” from simply getting out of bed to separating genuine leads from hoaxes. But despite the ongoing struggle, the O’Sullivans remain as determined to find him.
Just 23 at the time, Jack vanished in the early hours of Saturday, March 2, 20214, after attending a house party only three miles from his family home in Flax Bourton. Despite exhaustive searches, no trace of him has been found.
Reflecting on that day, Catherine says, “It was just a normal day. Jack was at home, in two minds about whether he’d go out. I encouraged him to because he needed a break after weeks of studying. Everything seemed normal… there were no issues, no reasons to think he wouldn’t be able to get home. He always managed to get an Uber from that area, he had a sort of regular spot where he would get a cab.”
On the Friday evening, Jack met three new friends from his law conversion course at a Wetherspoons before heading to a flat in Hotwells near the Floating Harbour. When his parents offered him a lift home, he declined. The last message Catherine received was at 1.52am, telling her she didn’t need to wait up. He is believed to have left the party around 3am, briefly called a friend at 3.30 am, and was last seen on CCTV at 3.40 am on Bennett Way. “It was like he was abducted by an alien,” Catherine recalls. “One minute he’s there, the next minute he’s not. I can’t wrap my head around it.”
Now, exactly two years later, the absence of Jack still looms over the family. “It’s hard to understand what’s happening,” Catherine admits. “That time has moved on but we are in the same position as we were. It is very difficult, as you can imagine.”
She struggles to put into words the emptiness that defines their lives. “It’s really hard to describe because our lives are incredibly painful. Everything is so confusing, and there’s no answers, no sense to what’s happened.”
Her own life has been consumed by the search for Jack. “For me, my life is completely different. It’s totally and utterly devoted to still trying to find Jack, exploring all the different information we get, dealing with police, with legal matters.”
Her husband, Alan, and their eldest son, Ben, have tried to carve out some semblance of normality. “They’ve both gone back to work, tried to create a new norm,” she says. “But it’s bizarre. It’s the most peculiar way to live because there’s always this huge black cloud over us. We’re not normal in any way, but we’re making an existence.”
Catherine has been open about what she believes are failings in Avon and Somerset Police’s handling of Jack’s disappearance. From the very start, she claims that the police have operated on assumptions that may have limited the investigation.
“From the start, the police assumed Jack had fallen into the water in Bristol,” she alleges. “But as time has moved on, and more evidence has come to light, it is very clear that’s not the case. Water experts, river experts, harbour experts have contacted us and compiled reports, saying it just doesn’t happen. People do fall in tragic circumstances, and they are usually found. But Jack? Nothing – no belongings, nothing he had with him. People do not just vanish into thin air.”
She adds that even drastic measures, like draining the Cumberland Basin, failed to uncover anything connected to Jack. “They found someone’s wedding ring, someone’s glasses, a football boot – but nothing relating to Jack.”
As a result, trust in the original investigation has eroded. “We got to the point where we were dealing with the police, but we have no trust or confidence at all in what’s happening,” she says.
In the months since the one year anniversary of Jack’s disappearance, the O’Sullivans have sought help beyond the official inquiry. “It’s really difficult to know where you go in these circumstances; how do you find people to help you?” Catherine says.
However, they came across two separate teams of private investigators who scrutinised the case independently. The first group, though not specialists in missing persons, worked to identify gaps in the investigation and organise information in a way the family could formally present back to police. “They clarified lots of things that the police haven’t done and tried to present it so we could say: ‘Look, please can you consider these other options?'”
More recently, in November [2025], a second team became involved – a group of former senior officers from police forces across the country operating as the Periculum Security Group. Their arrival, Catherine says, has brought renewed focus. “They have brought an enormous amount of clarity and strength to us and they are challenging the police for us. There were so many things that weren’t done – or done so badly – that need to be done again.”
In light of the findings gathered by their independent investigators, the family have formally requested that the case be transferred away from Avon and Somerset Police and reinvestigated by a different force. Ensure our latest news and sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings
“Now this is quite unprecedented and these things don’t normally happen,” Catherine acknowledges. “But we’ve presented so much information that we feel is relevant that it’s under consideration. It hasn’t been approved, because another force has to have the resources to fund it. So we don’t know at this moment what is going to happen. But that’s our request.”
For Catherine, the issue goes beyond procedure – it is about how her son has been characterised from the outset. “We’ve had to go along with it for a long time, but knowing deep down in our hearts that police are barking up the wrong tree because that’s not Jack’s personality. He doesn’t stay out, he doesn’t go off. He’s very communicative. To try and get that recognised has been a real struggle.”
She believes early assumptions placed Jack into a broader category of missing adults who may have chosen to stay away. “From the start we said this isn’t Jack. Everything’s been a battle and it just shouldn’t be. Our energy shouldn’t be going into dealing with the police, it should be concentrating on trying to find Jack.”
Some of the family’s deepest frustration stems from what they describe as missed opportunities in the critical early hours. “Very basic mistakes were made in the beginning – not getting CCTV in certain areas. When we realised this we were horrified. Time was moving forward, and then it’s too late.”
To support the next phase of the search, the family have also launched a GoFundMe campaign, which has already raised over £6,000. The funds will help sustain the increasingly complex and costly efforts required to pursue new lines of inquiry by Periculum Security. This includes ongoing professional engagement and correspondence with police and relevant authorities, specialist search operations and equipment where necessary, and independent forensic and investigative analysis.
The money will also contribute towards expert consultation and case review, interviewing witnesses who continue to come forward with information, further CCTV review and analysis, and legal support in dealings with local and national police services overseeing the matter. Travel and logistical costs linked to search activity, interviews and forensic work will also be covered. The donation page can be found here.
The support shown through the GoFundMe – and far beyond it – has been overwhelming for the family. “Gosh, we’ve had so much support,” Catherine says. “I get private messages from people I’ve never met – mothers who just say, ‘I want to reach out to you… keep going.’ That support helps to keep us going because at times you just don’t know what to do or where to turn.'”
While much of the public response has been compassionate and generous, not all contact has come with good intentions. Over the past year, Catherine says, the family have also faced a darker side of publicity.
“I consider everything we get sent, even if it reads as something quite outlandish. We can’t dismiss it,” she explains. The family try to assess information carefully, contacting police only when messages appear serious. “We’ve had ransom requests, suggestions that he’s been killed and this is where they’ve put him… It’s a world you can’t believe people would operate in. But it’s happening, and we’ve got no choice but to follow it up.”
Several times, she admits, she believed a breakthrough had come. “Two or three times I’ve really thought, this is it, this is genuine. But we’ve unpicked it and it’s been a hoax or false information.” For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here
One recent message felt different. “The wording was almost like an apology,” she recalls. “They said they had accidentally killed Jack. They gave a name, a place, a time. I just thought – oh my God – this is something else.”
Instead of immediately contacting police, Catherine first reached out to the private security team supporting the family. “I actually said out loud, ‘Will the police do anything about this?’ because I just didn’t know.” She was advised to report it immediately. Without a direct line of communication, she had to send an email. “That’s where we are,” she says.
Police responded quickly, requesting full details. But it was the family’s own security team who traced the individual and passed that information on. “Really, that responsibility shouldn’t fall to us,” Catherine adds.
Avon and Somerset Police told WalesOnline that upon further enquiry, police confirmed there is no evidence of any third-party involvement, and the investigation remains open-minded
But for Catherine, each new lead, whether genuine or false, takes an emotional toll. After dealing with hoax messages and disturbing claims, the family were confronted once again with news that initially appeared alarming.
In July 2025, the media reported that remains had been found in a suitcase near Clifton Suspension Bridge. They were later identified as partners Albert Alfonso, 62, and Paul Longworth, 71. However Catherine said that the reports immediately struck a chord.
“I had people contact me; we saw it first in the media coverage,” Catherine recalls. “It was only later that day that we learned that police did not believe it had any connection to Jack but it was about four hours too late. Every time there is a situation, people jump to conclusions.”
She reflects on the repeated cycles of hope and heartbreak. “We’ve had situations where the police really persuaded us that this is it, we think we found Jack. And then it’s checked properly and… no, it’s not Jack. We’ve had some horrendous, horrific times. But you kind of learn to face another day, to take it on the chin a little. Still, it’s a terrible way to live.”
In response to the family’s wider concerns, Avon and Somerset Police’s Professional Standards Department carried out a full review of the investigation. To ensure transparency, the family’s official complaint was also voluntarily referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). The review examined all aspects of the inquiry, including investigative procedures, communications with the family, and the handling of CCTV footage.
Of the 11 complaints raised, 10 were found to reflect an acceptable level of service, while one – relating to the initial viewing of CCTV showing a figure at 3.38am – was deemed unacceptable. The review made clear that this did not affect the overall direction of the investigation.
Jack’s details had been logged on the Police National Computer and the Missing Person Unit database on the first day he went missing. The PSD and IOPC noted that officers conducted “an in-depth, exhaustive investigation into the disappearance of Jack,” with independent oversight, and some areas of organisational learning were identified to improve future practice.
However, as the family remain without answers, they say that there is only one thing that keeps them going: the drive to bring Jack home. “For me, I’m just Jack’s mum and I’m trying everything I possibly can to find him.”
In light of Catherine’s points, Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall of Avon and Somerset Police said: “As we reach the second anniversary of Jack O’Sullivan going missing, I wholeheartedly recognise the devastating impact his disappearance continues to have on his loved ones.
“We know how difficult it is for Jack’s family that, despite extensive enquiries, we have not yet been able to find him or provide the conclusive answers they so desperately need.
“From the outset we’ve always had a shared aim of finding Jack and this intention has been at the heart of every action we’ve taken and decisions we’ve made.
“Alongside our ongoing investigation, we have also drawn on specialist expertise and independent agencies to review, test and assure our work, ensuring that any further opportunities for enquiry are fully explored. At every stage we have been led by the evidence and pursued the relevant lines of enquiry.
“It’s important to stress that this remains a live investigation. If anyone has information that could assist our enquiries, please contact us online through our website, or call 101, quoting reference number 5224055172.”
If you wish to report newly uncovered CCTV footage of Jack or the night he went missing, please contact the police by calling 101 and quoting reference: 5224055172. For all other purposes, including reporting information in connection with the £100,000 reward, please email: [email protected]. You can also contact The Missing People charity: call or text 116 000 or email [email protected]
