Missing Jack O'Sullivan's mum says questions remain unanswered and she'll 'never stop looking'

Every day for nine months, Catherine O'Sullivan has sat on her son's bed, trying to come to terms with the inconceivable. A framed poster of Man Utd still holds a pride of place above his immaculately made bed, and his room is filled with happy photos of him sharing memorable moments with friends and family.

Jack was happy to be back home after studying history at Exeter University and was excited about starting a law placement when he disappeared. Catherine had sent him a message at 1.52am, offering him a lift home from the party he'd gone to in Bristol with friends, but he chose to stay a bit longer and take a taxi home.

Suddenly, at 5.25am, she jolted awake and had a gut feeling that something was wrong. She rushed to Jack's bedroom to find that his bed hadn't been slept in.

"Jack is so considerate and conscientious and doesn’t stay out without telling us where he is," Catherine said. "When I saw he hadn’t come home I just instinctively knew something wasn’t right. Call it mother’s intuition. I had this sinking feeling that something was wrong."

Catherine described her son as a popular and hardworking young man, who was finally starting to get where he wanted in life: "He was very ambitious and his hard work was beginning to pay off - everything was falling into place. I am 100% convinced that he wouldn't run away from home."

Catherine, her husband Alan, and their older son Ben, 28, are clinging to hope as they continue their desperate search for answers about what happened to Jack. He was last seen on CCTV walking near a body of water called the The Cumberland Basin, close to Bristol Harbour, reports the Mirror.

With statistics indicating that 85% of men who go missing near water after a night out end up in the water, police told the family a few days after his disappearance that Jack likely had done the same. However, despite extensive searches of the river, the surrounding area, and the five-mile route he might have taken to walk home, Jack's body has not been found.

"There have been many local cases of people falling in the harbour - especially on nights out - but his body hasn't been found," Catherine explained. "Jack has gone missing without a trace. There's no evidence he's fallen into the river and we still haven't found his phone or his keys. His phone put him at a different address to the party address at 5.30am that morning. Did he go back to someone's house or did he lose his phone? Did he get into a vehicle? If he got in a car, he could be anywhere in the country.

"I do worry that police haven't followed up possible sightings because they've always assumed he's gone in the water." For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter

Catherine has relentlessly spent every day searching for the truth, tirelessly retracing his steps, reviewing CCTV footage, consulting experts, and appealing to the public for information. She made a critical discovery when she located new CCTV evidence indicating that Jack was last seen walking back towards the city centre at 3.38am, much later than the previously held belief of his last sighting at 3:13am.

"I can't explain it, as I'm usually the most negative person in the world, but I definitely feel Jack is somewhere and that he's still alive," she insisted. "I know some people will think it's just me not accepting the worst and not being able to let go, but my gut tells me he's out there."

The local authorities, including an Avon and Somerset Police dive team, have searched the nearby waters and riverbanks over 200 times, conducted 40 land searches, and 16 aerial drone searches, while also examining around 100 hours of CCTV footage. Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall told The Mirror: "The first media appeal was issued on the day Jack was reported missing."

"Officers have conducted an in-depth and exhaustive investigation into the disappearance of Jack O'Sullivan and there has been a thorough and extensive review into the investigation by experienced, independent experts, including the involvement and support of the National Crime Agency.

"Those attending the party were contacted a matter of hours after Jack was reported missing and initial accounts were taken. This provided essential background and information for this investigation and enabled us to start searches and actions in order to locate Jack. This was done within the 'golden hour'."

In September, six months after his disappearance, Avon and Somerset Police renewed their appeal for witnesses, asking for people to check their doorbell cameras, dash-cam footage and mobile phone recordings for any clues of what happened to Jack that night. "The last confirmed sighting of Jack, where we can say with certainty that it is Jack, was at 3.13am when he was walking through a car park onto a green area below Plimsol Swing Bridge, by the Cumberland Basin," says Asst Chief Const Hall.

"Following a further review, two later sightings of someone who we believe to be Jack were located. This footage is grainy and taken from a distance, so we cannot say with absolute certainty that it is Jack, however, due to the timing, the location and the family's views, we feel that it is likely to be him. The last of these sightings is at 3.38am on Bennett Way.

"We're continuing to appeal to anyone who was travelling in or walking around Cumberland Basin in the early hours of Saturday, March 2, to come forward with information. We believe the last sighting of Jack on CCTV was around 3.38am walking on Bennett Way. Did you see him after this point? If you have information and haven't yet spoken with the police, please contact us."

Meanwhile, Catherine has been relentless in her search for her son. Posters of his face remain scattered throughout the city and a Facebook page called 'Find Jack' has amassed over 87,000 supporters.

The Missing People charity has been an invaluable resource to Catherine, providing her with counselling and helping to spread awareness about her son. Kate Graham, from Missing People, said: "Missing People provides families like the O'Sullivan's with both practical and emotional support. Each family is assigned a dedicated Family Support Worker who remains available for as long as needed."

One theory that haunts Catherine about Jack's disappearance is that he may have been concussed, as the family discovered weeks after he went missing that he had fallen and hit his head at the party. Currently on compassionate leave from her job as a matron at nearby Clifton College, where Jack's dad is a housemaster, Catherine has seen boys appear completely normal after a knock to the head, only to become confused later on.

Despite the heartache, she remains hopeful of seeing her son Jack's cheerful face once more. Her face brightens as she recounts a recent story of a man who went missing for 18 months before eventually being found in Cardiff.

"His family were looking for him every day," she said. "They never gave up hope." She added: "There have been many more people who have contacted me saying never give up hope after their loved ones have been found. Perhaps I'm being naive but I'm not going to stop looking for my son until somebody can give me proof that he's not alive. I'll never stop looking for Jack."

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