Mother of missing law student Jack O'Sullivan, 23, reveals family have been 'sent ransom demands'

2 September 2024, 11:42

The mother of missing law student Jack O’Sullivan, who vanished six months ago on a night out, has revealed the family have been sent ransom demands.

Jack went missing in the Hotwells area of Bristol as he walked home from a night out.

His mother Catherine today revealed the family had received messages saying Jack “is being held and asking for ransom amounts for him.”

She also said trolls have targeted the family trying to cash in on their trauma.

She said she had ‘lost all faith’ in Avon and Somerset Police’s investigation into Jack’s disappearance - adding that she is searching for him every day.

“I go out daily. My day is planned around which direction I'm going to look next, until I run out of areas I can feasibly check.

“We basically climb fences, jump into ditches... it gives me the peace of mind that I know that area's covered.

“’Im Jack's mum, and my aim on this earth at the moment is to find Jack.

“We're no further forward with sightings or anything that would give us an indication of which direction Jack went, or where he is now.”

Avon and Somerset Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall 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.

“When I look at missing persons investigations [in Avon and Somerset] over the last year, we've had around 5 and a half thousand.

“Missing people are somebody's loved ones, they're somebody's family, and we don't close the door on that.”

Jack went missing while on the way home from a party in Bristol on March 2.

The 23-year-old, who is white, around 5ft 10ins tall, of slim build, with short, brown hair, may have fallen into the river Avon, police believe.

His phone remained active until 6.44 that morning, according to the Find My app, and his phone pinged only a few streets away from where he was last seen.

Jack's parents Alan and Catherine have been searching for him ever since he disappeared, and there is a £20,000 reward from a crowdfunder for information that leads to Jack being found.

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Catherine previously said: "It's getting worse and worse for us. We've changed seasons and now we are in the summer.

"You just can't believe it. Time has stood still. I am still on March 2. I can't go forward at all.

"We have to somehow find a way because we owe it to Jack.

"If his brother was missing Jack would move heaven and earth to find him so we must try.

"He never ever takes no for an answer and 'determined' was his middle name."

They have also registered a complaint against Avon and Somerset police, the force in charge of the investigation.

Jack was last seen at around 3.15am in the area of Brunel Lock Road and Brunel Way and was wearing a quilted green/brown Barbour jacket, a beige woollen jumper, navy chinos and brown leather trainers.

He had last been in contact with his mother at around 2am on the night he went missing, saying he was ok.

Then, just before 3am, he left the party alone. CCTV from across the city showed Jack crossing the Junction Swing Bridge and turning down Brunel Lock Road.

His family have retraced his steps every day since and at different times of the day just to get a sense of what might have happened.

Police said in April that they had carried out "extensive CCTV trawls, house-to-house enquiries, we have deployed a specialist dive team to search the basin and the wider River Avon - due to Jack's proximity to the river when he was last seen."

Officers also said that they had been looking at his phone and why it was active after his last confirmed sighting.

Police said: "Detectives have carried out an extensive investigation since Jack O’Sullivan went missing. He was last seen in the Cumberland Basin area of Bristol in the early hours of Saturday 2 March after leaving a house party in nearby Hotwells.

"This investigation has included reviewing and re-reviewing more than 100 hours of CCTV footage, carrying out expert-led searches by land and water involving multiple teams, including the dog unit, drone unit and specialist dive team, proactively seeking and acting on advice from national policing specialists, and issuing multiple appeals to the public and media for information.

"We’re continuing to seek further guidance and support from national experts, including an oceanographer, and we’re following any advice they offer.

"Sadly, despite the efforts carried out to date, we’ve been unable to find Jack. We fully appreciate the distress and anguish this is having on Jack’s family and our thoughts are very much with them.

"We recognise the family’s concerns over the way they’re receiving updates on the ongoing investigation, as well as with the investigation itself, and an Assistant Chief Constable has been in direct contact with them to arrange to meet with them so she can listen to their views and discuss how we can best support them moving forward."