Missing student's mum's heartbreak after 18 months with no answers

IN THE early hours of March 2, 2024, Jack O'Sullivan, a 23-year-old student from Neath, living in Bristol, left a party with plans to hail a taxi back home.

- ELLA KIPLING & HOLLY MORGAN

Like thousands of other young people across the country that Friday night, Jack was out enjoying himself with his mates. But unlike them, he never made it back home.

Eighteen months later, Jack's family remain without answers or leads, but they remain resolute in their search for him. More than 100,000 people have rallied behind the Find Jack campaign on Facebook, and more than £59,000 has been raised to aid the search efforts.

A generous benefactor has even put forth a £100,000 reward. But Jack's parents feel no closer to uncovering what happened to their son, as they continue to plead for any information on what happened to Jack that night.

On the night he vanished, Jack texted his parents at 1am, informing them he'd be catching a taxi home. CCTV later captured him at 3.17am, wandering onto a grassy area at the junction of Brunel Lock Way and Brunel Way, apparently unsuccessful in securing a cab.

He was seen again at 3.40am, heading back towards Hotwells, close to where the party had taken place. In between these two sightings, Jack attempted to ring a mate at the party, but the call cut off shortly after he said 'hello!

Jack's parents, Catherine and Alan, realised he hadn't returned home by 5am. Nevertheless, despite vanishing from CCTV footage for hours, his mobile phone located him at a property in the Granby Hill area at 5.40am and remained connected to the network for just over an hour. Though to this day, his phone has never been recovered.

Despite extensive searches conducted by police and volunteers, nothing was uncovered that provided any clue about what befell Jack and his whereabouts. Catherine said the absence of evidence makes it appear as though "Jack has been abducted by an alien".

In an interview with the Mirror, Catherine said: "We don't have any evidence at all so we have to try and keep his name out there, keep his story out there, and keep asking questions."