A £100,000 reward has been offered for information that helps locate Jack O’Sullivan, the University of Exeter graduate who disappeared in Bristol 18 months ago after leaving a house party, his family said Tuesday.
The offer, which Jack’s mother, Catherine O’Sullivan, said has been verified as genuine, would be payable to anyone — other than police officers — who provides information that leads "directly or indirectly" to Jack being physically reunited with his family. Jack, who would now be 24, was last seen in the early hours of March 2 last year in the area of Brunel Lock Road and Brunel Way, the family said.
Police and the family say the last known movements included CCTV sightings around the Cumberland Basin and below the Plimsoll Swing Bridge. Jack’s phone showed activity after 6 a.m. in the vicinity of Cumberland Basin and Hotwells, and there has been no activity on his bank account since his disappearance, the family reported. The last likely sighting was recorded at 3:38 a.m., when he was seen walking along the Bennett Way slip road toward Bristol city centre.
Catherine O’Sullivan told supporters on the Find Jack Facebook page, which has more than 99,000 members, that the family initially doubted the reward was real after receiving hoax offers in the past. "Once we established that it was real, we were overcome by the generosity," she said. She said she has spent every day since the disappearance searching for her son and that the family remains determined to find out what happened.
Avon and Somerset Police said they will carry out a further review of the investigation. The force said it had always taken an evidence-led approach and that a senior investigator would reassess the work already completed to ensure nothing has been missed. The investigation has involved more than 30 teams and organisations, the force added, and has included support from the fire service, HM Coastguard and the National Police Air Service.
Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall, who has previously appealed for public help, urged people to consider whether they recalled anything from the cold, snowy day in March 2024 that might have seemed insignificant at the time. "You may recall seeing something which, on the surface, seemed unimportant, but may be an important piece of information for us to know," she said.
Investigators have reviewed more than 100 hours of CCTV footage, conducted more than 200 hours of searches on the River Avon and surrounding banks, deployed mounted teams, carried out 40 land searches and used 16 drones, police records show. The investigation has also drawn on independent advice from the National Crime Agency, an experienced police search adviser from a neighbouring force and an independent oceanographer, the force said.
Family accounts describe Jack falling on a stairwell at the party on Hotwell Road and briefly hitting his head before leaving. He texted his mother at 1:52 a.m. to say he was safe and that he planned to get a taxi. He left the party roughly an hour later, the family said, and did not return home.
The reward flyer published by the family asks that anyone with information contact [email protected], Missing People at [email protected] or by calling 116000, or Avon and Somerset Police on 101 quoting reference 5224055172. The family and police continue to appeal for anyone with relevant information to come forward as the review of the case proceeds.