Catherine O’Sullivan, the mother of missing student Jack O’Sullivan, has hit back at online trolls who have accused her of not doing enough to find her son. Jack, 23, disappeared without a trace after last being seen in the early hours of Saturday, March 2, around Brunel Lock Road/Brunel Way in Bristol.
Despite numerous searches and an ongoing campaign to uncover his whereabouts, Catherine, who dedicates every day to the search, has been criticised by some for her efforts. She stated: “We continue to do absolutely everything we can to make sense of the hell that we are going through. Still no answers to so many questions that just don’t make sense.
“I have had messages that read ‘Do you really want to find your son as you are not trying that hard’. If these people only knew the lengths we are going to. There is not an hour of a day that I’m not doing my very best to get an answer.”
Last month, Catherine successfully fought with EE to gain access to data from her son’s missing phone. Following this, the campaign group announced a new search initiative involving metal detectorists looking for his phone and other clues.
In a recent update on the ‘Find Jack’ Facebook page, Catherine revealed that these searches had been temporarily halted due to recent storms but would be resuming shortly. She continued: “We have had technical data analysed and we put searches in place – we have the most amazing support from professionals that are doing everything possible to help us.
“Then we get a storm that completely takes all our best laid plans away. We will go again, as soon as it is possible.”
The last confirmed sighting of Jack was at 3.13am on Sunday March 2 as he walked onto a grass area at the junction of Brunel Lock Way and Brunel Way. His family say they have ”lost all faith” in Avon and Somerset Police’s investigation and are continuing to search everyday themselves.
A complaint to the IOPC remains ongoing. Avon and Somerset Police say that since Jack’s disappearance, more than 20 different teams and departments have been involved in the investigation.
A spokesperson said more than 100 hours of CCTV have been reviewed, 200 hours of searches on the river and the surrounding banks, mounted police searches from Bristol city centre to Flax Bourton, 40 land searches, and 16 drone deployments.