What we know about missing student Jack O'Sullivan who vanished six months ago

(PA)
Student Jack O'Sullivan went missing after leaving a house party in Bristol in March. (PA)

A renewed appeal has been made to find a student who went missing six months ago after a night out.

Jack O'Sullivan, 23, left a house party in Bristol in March and has not been seen since.

On Monday, Avon and Somerset Police issued a new appeal for information from the public six months after his disappearance.

His mother, Catherine O’Sullivan, also revealed that the family have been the subject of fake ransom demands from trolls trying to cash in on their heartache.

Jack O'Sullivan was last seen in the area of Brunel Lock Road and Brunel Way in Bristol at about 3.15am on Saturday 2 March after leaving a house party.

There were two further sightings after that time which are likely to have been Mr O'Sullivan - on the Plimsoll Bridge at about 3.25am heading back towards the city centre; and on the Bennett Way slip road on the northern side of the River Avon at about 3.38am.

(PA)
Jack O'Sullivan has been missing for six months after disappearing in Bristol. (PA)

Mr O'Sullivan is described by police as white, about 5ft 10in tall and of slim build, with short brown hair.

The night he disappeared he was wearing a quilted green or brown Barbour jacket, a beige woollen jumper, navy chinos and brown leather trainers with white soles.

Mystery surrounds the disappearance of Mr O'Sullivan and what happened to him is not known.

On Monday, Avon and Somerset Police made a renewed appeal for information, and are particularly interested in hearing from anyone with doorbell, dashcam, CCTV or mobile phone footage from that night which might feature Mr O’Sullivan.

CCTV sightings of Jack O'Sullivan before he disappeared. (Avon and Somerset Police)
CCTV sightings of Jack O'Sullivan before he disappeared. (Avon and Somerset Police)

Avon and Somerset Police said investigators have looked at more than 100 hours of CCTV, and that more than 200 hours' worth of searches have been carried out along the river and its banks, along with 40 land searches, while its drone unit has been deployed 16 times.

There have been almost 100 calls from the public with possible sightings, the force said.

The National Police Air Service (NPAS), the RNLI and HM Coastguard have all been involved in the search.

Anyone with information can call police on 101 quoting the reference 5224055172.

Search for Jack O'Sullivan continued today as volunteer searchers met at the Cumberland Basin in Bristol, Saturday 18 May 2024, to resume looking for the missing 23 Year old.  Jack went missing March 2 2024 from a party in the Hotwells area of the city.  Katie Bailey has taken it on her own to keep public interest in looking for Jack.     PHOTO:PAUL GILLIS / Reach Plc
The family of Jack O'Sullivan are unhappy about how police have handled his disappearance. (Reach)

His mother, Catherine O’Sullivan, said on Monday she has been the subject of ransom notes from trolls trying to make money out of his disappearance. “I have had messages suggesting that Jack is being held and asking for ransom amounts for him," she told the BBC. “People telling me that awful things have happened to him and where I might find him.

“But what would anybody do in my situation? I have to read them, as bad as I know it is, putting myself through hell at times, but I can't ignore anything.”

She also said that she goes out searching every day for her son, climbing fences and jumping into ditches until she runs out of places she can feasibly check.

Search for Jack O'Sullivan continued today as volunteer searchers met at the Cumberland Basin in Bristol, Saturday 18 May 2024, to resume looking for the missing 23 Year old.  Jack went missing March 2 2024 from a party in the Hotwells area of the city.  Katie Bailey has taken it on her own to keep public interest in looking for Jack.     PHOTO:PAUL GILLIS / Reach Plc
Family and friends and volunteers have carried out searches for missing student Jack O'Sullivan. (Reach)

Mr O'Sullivan's family previously raised £20,000 through a crowdfunding page as a reward for information that leads to a break in the case.

His family have been unhappy with the way the force has handled the search, and have turned to private investigators in an effort to find him.

Mrs O'Sullivan has said her family have been treated with "disrespect" by police and the family filed a formal complaint about the force's attempt to locate him.

On Monday, Avon and Somerset Police said it had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which recommended that a local investigation be carried out by the Professional Standards Department.