Renewed appeal to find Jack O’Sullivan, 23, six months on

Posted on 2 September 2024, at 08:40 in Appeals

There are 6 related updates to this story

Today (Monday 2 September) marks six months since the disappearance of 23-year-old Jack O’Sullivan in Bristol.

Jack, from North Somerset, was last seen in the early hours of Saturday 2 March after he attended a house party in the Hotwells area of Bristol.

The last likely sighting of Jack was at 3.38am walking down Bennett Way slip road, heading back towards Bristol city centre.

CCTV showing the last confirmed sighting of Jack.

Since his disappearance, more than 20 different Avon and Somerset teams and departments have been involved in the investigation.

They have additionally been supported by other agencies and emergency services, such as the fire and ambulance service, National Police Air Service (NPAS), RNLI, HM Coastguard and independent search and digital experts.

Since the start of the investigation six months ago there has been:

More than 100 hours of CCTV collated and reviewed multiple times by different officers
More than 200 hours of searches on the river and the surrounding banks by the police dive team
Mounted police searches from Bristol City Centre to Flax Bourton, including the Ashton Court estate and Long Ashton.
More than 40 land searches
Our drone unit has been deployed 16 times during the searches carried out to date.
Almost 100 calls from the public with possible sightings
Eight media appeals issued

The investigation into Jack’s disappearance is still ongoing, with further searches planned following information and advice received from other law enforcement agencies.

In June, we received a complaint through our Professional Standards Department regarding areas of concern raised by the Jack’s family.

We made a voluntary referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who responded stating it was appropriate for a local investigation carried out by investigators in our Professional Standards Department (PSD).

The investigation into the complaint continues and we will update Jack’s family first when the report is finalised.

*A map of the confirmed route Jack took (green) and the two possible sightings from CCTV (red).*

Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall, who met with the family in July to discuss their concerns, said: “Our staff and officers remain committed to doing everything we can to find Jack and we do not underestimate what a distressing time this has been, and continues to be, for his family.

“Throughout our investigation, we’ve been open-minded about what happened to Jack, considering different possible outcomes and scenarios following his last sighting.

“We have sought reviews from independent agencies such as the National Crime Agency (NCA) and experts such as oceanographers and independent Police Search Advisors.

“Sadly, despite the efforts carried out to date, we have been unable to find Jack and we fully appreciate the anguish this is having on his family and our thoughts remain with them during this hugely difficult time.”

We are once again renewing our appeal for any witnesses from Saturday 2 March to come forward. You may have been driving into or out of Bristol city centre in a taxi, a personal car or a bus, or you could have been on foot and walking in a similar area to Jack. If you haven’t yet spoken to police and have information, we want to hear from you.

If you have any doorbell, dashcam, CCTV or mobile phone footage from that night which could have Jack in it, please contact us as well.

If you have any information, please call 101 and quote reference 5224055172, or complete our online appeals form.