Catherine O’Sullivan has sat on her son’s bed every day for nine months and wondered what happened to him. A framed Manchester United poster still takes pride of place alongside smiling photos of him above his perfectly made bed.
Jack O’Sullivan, 23, vanished after being last seen at 3.15am on Saturday, March 2, in the Cumberland Basin area of Bristol. His mum had text him at 1.52am offering him a lift home from the party he was attending in the city but he insisted on getting a taxi home.
At 5.25am, Catherine woke up with a sudden sense of dread. She checked her son’s room but found his bed had not been slept in, reports the Mirror.
“Jack is so considerate and conscientious and doesn’t stay out without telling us where he is. When I saw he hadn’t come home I just instinctively knew something wasn’t right. Call it mother’s intuition. I had this sinking feeling that something was wrong,” Catherine says.
“He was very ambitious and his hard work was paying off – everything was just fitting into place. I am 100% convinced that he wouldn’t run away from home.”
Catherine, her husband Alan, and their older son Ben, 28, are clinging on to hope as they continue their desperate search for answers regarding what happened to Jack. He was last seen on CCTV walking near a stretch of water called The Cumberland Basin close to Bristol Harbour.
With the knowledge that 85 per cent of men who go missing near water after a night out end up in the water, police informed the family a few days after his disappearance that Jack had likely suffered the same fate. However, despite thorough searches of the river, the surrounding area, and the five-mile route he might have taken home, Jack’s body has not been recovered.
“There have been many local cases of people falling in the harbour – especially on nights out – but his body hasn’t been found,” Catherine shared. “Jack has gone missing without a trace.
“There’s no evidence he’s fallen into the river and we still haven’t found his phone or his keys. His phone put him at a different address to the party address at 5:30am that morning. Did he go back to someone’s house or did he lose his phone?
“Did he get into a vehicle? If he got in a car, he could be anywhere in the country. I do worry that police haven’t followed up possible sightings because they’ve always assumed he’s gone in the water.”
Catherine has tirelessly sought answers since Jack vanished, retracing his last known steps, scouring CCTV footage, collaborating with specialists, and making widespread appeals for help. Rewarding her persistence, new evidence emerged: a CCTV clip suggesting Jack headed back towards the city centre at 3.38am – contradicting prior reports that he was last seen at 3:13am.
She remains resolute, telling The Mirror: “I can’t explain it, as I’m usually the most negative person in the world, but I definitely feel Jack is somewhere and that he’s still alive.” She added: “I know some people will think it’s just me not accepting the worst and not being able to let go, but my gut tells me he’s out there.”
Numerous searches have been conducted by Avon and Somerset Police, including over 200 dives, 40 land operations, and 16 drone flights, alongside a review of 100 hours of CCTV.
Joanne Hall, Assistant Chief Constable, said: “The first media appeal was issued on the day Jack was reported missing. Officers have conducted an in-depth and exhaustive investigation into the disappearance of Jack O’Sullivan and there has been a thorough and extensive review into the investigation by experienced, independent experts, including the involvement and support of the National Crime Agency.
“Those attending the party were contacted a matter of hours after Jack was reported missing and initial accounts were taken. This provided essential background and information for this investigation and enabled us to start searches and actions in order to locate Jack. This was done within the ‘golden hour’.”
In September, six months after his disappearance, Avon and Somerset Police renewed their appeal for witnesses, asking for people to check their doorbell cameras, dash-cam footage and mobile phone recordings for any clues of what happened to Jack that night.
Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall added: “The last confirmed sighting of Jack, where we can say with certainty that it is Jack, was at 3.13am when he was walking through a car park onto a green area below Plimsol Swing Bridge, by the Cumberland Basin.”
“Following a further review, two later sightings of someone who we believe to be Jack were located. This footage is grainy and taken from a distance, so we cannot say with absolute certainty that it is Jack, however, due to the timing, the location and the family’s views, we feel that it is likely to be him. The last of these sightings is at 3.38am on Bennett Way.
“We’re continuing to appeal to anyone who was travelling in or walking around Cumberland Basin in the early hours of Saturday 2 March to come forward with information. We believe the last sighting of Jack on CCTV was around 3.38am walking on Bennett Way. Did you see him after this point? If you have information and haven’t yet spoken with the police, please contact us.”
Meanwhile, Catherine has been relentless in her search for her son. Posters bearing his image are still scattered across the city and a Facebook page named Find Jack has amassed over 87,000 supporters. The Missing People charity has been ‘a lifeline’ to Catherine, arranging counselling for her and helping to spread the word about her son. The Mirror is supporting the charity with its Christmas Appeal this year.
Kate Graham, from Missing People, said: “Missing People provides families like the O’Sullivan’s with both practical and emotional support. Each family is assigned a dedicated Family Support Worker who remains available for as long as needed.”
One theory about Jack’s disappearance that haunts Catherine is that he could have been concussed, as the family discovered weeks after he went missing that he fell on the stairs and knocked his head at the party. Currently on compassionate leave from her job as a matron at nearby Clifton College, where Jack’s dad is a housemaster, Catherine has experience of boys seeming completely normal after a knock to the head, but becoming confused some time later.
But she still refuses to lose hope that one day she will see Jack’s smiling face again. Her eyes brightening, she recalls the story of a man who went missing for 18 months, only to be found in Cardiff recently.
“His family were looking for him every day,” she says. “They never gave up hope.
“There have been many more people who have contacted me saying never give up hope after their loved ones have been found. Perhaps I’m being naive but I’m not going to stop looking for my son until somebody can give me proof that he’s not alive. I’ll never stop looking for Jack.”
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