Family of missing student's hopes over newly released phone data (original) (raw)

The mother of student Jack O'Sullivan who has been missing since March has thanked phone company EE for handing over data about his mobile device. The development came after months of Jack's family trying to access information from his phone, which police said they could not share.

It is hoped the data will help the family piece together the moments that led up to Jack's disappearance and possibly unlock the mystery. Jack, 23, was last seen at around 3.30am on March 2 after walking home from a party in the Hotwells area of Bristol. He was last spotted walking along Bennett Way slip road on the Cumberland Basin network.

Speaking to WalesOnline in July his mum, Catherine O'Sullivan, originally from Neath, said his phone was active until 6.45am that morning. She said: "We know his phone was still active until 6.45am, which is a long time after he is seen [leaving the party]." You can read the full interview here.

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She explained the family had been concerned that a location app on Jack's phone had pinpointed his phone as being at an address different to that of the house party. However, she said police put that down to location apps being approximate, rather than accurate.

Jack's phone account was registered in Catherine's name, but she had been unable to access the information. It left her concerned that key details about his disappearance had been missed. For the latest restaurant reviews, sign up to our food and drink newsletter here

Jack (third from left) with his family (Image: Catherine OSullivan)

Jack (left) with his brother, Benjamin (Image: Catherine O'Sullivan)

Previously, a post shared on X by campaign group Find Jack O'Sullivan said EE had refused to share Jack's phone data on legal grounds. However, on Tuesday Catherine's mum thanked the company for allowing the release of the information. It's understood the data is now being sent to a cyber forensics company hired by the family.

On the Finding Jack Facebook page Catherine wrote: "I just wanted to say a huge 'Thank You' to EE for allowing the release of the phone data that we have tried so hard to get over the last few months. We really appreciate the help that they have given us - thankfully common sense prevailed in the end and we are so grateful!

"Most importantly, a huge 'Thank You' to the wonderful Jayne Caple and her team who provided so much support over this matter and are continuing to support us on this journey from Hell that we ride everyday! Lastly 'Thank you' so much to the public. We are completely overwhelmed with the love and support - it truly means so much to us - if Jack could, he’d thank you from the bottom of his heart!"

Latest on the investigation

On Monday, Avon and Somerset Police made an appeal on BBC One's Crimewatch as part of its ongoing investigation. DI Chidgey said on the show: “Jack had attended a house party on March 2 after leaving his home address on the 1 March to meet with friends. We know he left the address and tried to get a taxi. We are sure he was minded to make his way home.”

DI Chidgey explained how Jack had been seen walking along Brunel Lock Road before walking onto a green space below Brunel Way. There were two sightings, which are both likely to be Jack, on the Plimsoll Bridge and then on Bennett Way.

He added: “It was a particularly cold night after a mild week in Bristol, and it snowed. It would have been very cold, icy and there was snow on the ground. Bristol City played Cardiff that afternoon (in football), the day Jack was last seen. We are hoping that those two events might trigger something for somebody to come forward and provide us with more information.

“The family have shown tremendous resilience over the past seven months since Jack went missing. We have utilised an awful lot of units inside of our organisation to give them the answers they so desperately need and we are hoping someone can come forward with some new information.”

Jack has been missing since March (Image: Catherine O'Sullivan)

Since Jack’s disappearance, more than 20 different Avon and Somerset teams and departments have been involved in the investigation. They have additionally been supported by other agencies and emergency services, such as the fire and ambulance service, National Police Air Service (NPAS), RNLI, HM Coastguard and independent search and digital experts.

According to officers, since the start of the investigation there has been:

• More than 100 hours of CCTV collated and reviewed multiple times by different officers
• More than 200 hours of searches on the river and the surrounding banks by the police dive team
• Mounted police searches from Bristol City Centre to Flax Bourton, including the Ashton Court estate and Long Ashton.
• More than 40 land searches
• Deployment of the drone unit 16 times during the searches carried out to date.
• More than 120 calls from the public with possible sightings

A force spokesman added: "We’ve also sought reviews from independent agencies such as the National Crime Agency (NCA) and experts such as oceanographers and independent Police Search Advisors, but, sadly, despite the efforts carried out to date, we’ve been unable to find Jack." If you missed the appeal on Crimewatch Live, you can watch it on catch-up via the BBC iPlayer through this link.

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