UK UK - Jack O'Sullivan, 22, left friends after night out, last seen Brunel Lock Road/Brunel Way, Bristol at 3.15am, 2 Mar 2024

[CS2C]

So he left the party and was by all accounts heading home. So was Jack expected to turn left on Brunel way (towards the direction of his parents house) but instead went straight on and almost in a circle ? Is that right ?

 

[sundaaaay]

instead went straight on and almost in a circle ? Is that right ?

Yes, almost a full circle.

Home would be South of the River Avon but he crossed again onto the North side of river.

This updated map clarifies things a bit. I thought he had walked down Bennet way from the Swing Bridge and then turned around towards the control tower. But he seems to have walked down the stairs from the Swing Bridge and then looped around, walking back up Bennet way.

 

[hallini]

So he left the party and was by all accounts heading home. So was Jack expected to turn left on Brunel way (towards the direction of his parents house) but instead went straight on and almost in a circle ? Is that right ?

Yes, that appears to be so.

Presumably cameras would have picked up if he decided to walk home as he would have passed the same cameras on Plimsoll Bridge. Which means he could have; walked down Bristol Gate which has no pedestrian access, or went down the spiral staircase coming back out at Cumberland Basin, or he crossed the two roads ( no pedestrian access) on the Plimsoll Bridge to go towards Humphrey Davy Way.

 

[CS2C]

So I guess a lot of this (at least in my mind) revolves around what happened at the party ?
He spoke to a female on the phone if I’m not mistaken or a female tried to call him ?
Was there some kind of falling out ?

It just seems a bit strange to leave but then turn around so quickly ? Do we know if he went off course before or after the phone call ?

 

[sundaaaay]

So I guess a lot of this (at least in my mind) revolves around what happened at the party ?

We actually know very little about the party, or if it was a girl who had called him. We also don't really know how drunk he was, or if he was on drugs. The route he took was in the direction of his home until he walked back onto the North side of the river, which we have only just discovered.

Our current understanding was that his plan was to go home but it was far to walk. He may have been trying to find a lift home in a taxi, but we don't know. It has been speculated he was either heading back to the party, which is close to where he was last spotted, or to his brothers house.

 

[rightsaidfred]

It was also speculated he was aiming to stay at his brother's in Clifton and passing Granby Hill is in the direction of his brothers house.

I confess I haven't read the full post, but do we know where within Clifton the brother actually lived?

Depending on that, I wonder if he decided to walk along Hotwells Road / Portway and up Bridge Valley Road, towards the Zoo. It's a very natural route for someone more familiar with driving than walking the area you don't drive up Granby Hill unless you trust your handbrake and hill start skills.

Heading along that road throws up a few things
- there's no shops and only a very short terrace of houses, so little to no CCTV opportunities
- it sees him walking along a very long stretch of the River Avon, and some parts have low barriers between pavement and river. This section is tidal with flows that I think could carry a body, with a high range (rises and falls daily) and an awful lot of mud which I suspect could trap a body underwater. This is in contrast to some of the other areas, beyond the Plimsoll Bridge, which are essentially harbours, controlled by locks, and are much less 'natural' in terms of flows and mud (apologies if I've got some technical river term wrong here)
- Bridge Valley Road itself isn't especially treacherous, unless he strayed off into the woodland and cliffs near it. It has a decent pavement.


- There's a footpath that runs from the bottom of Bridge Valley Road up. I don't know that it's very well travelled; I know The Downs like the back of my hand but it's never occurred to me to go that route frankly.

- the cliffs of the Avon Gorge could be an absolute bugger to search without a drone; I am reminded of the tragic death of Charlotte Bevan and her newborn baby about ten years ago

 

[dotr]

Wondering if Jack dropped something and backtracked trying to find 'it'?
Does Jack have good eyesight, does he wear contact lenses?

 

[Coconutty]

I know in daylight and sober both of my sons would just hop over that barrier. Not sure when drunk, they might think it was dangerous to go over it or something. As it’s not been said that Jack isn’t a drinker I think it’s fair to assume he had been drinking.

I really don’t like the look of the spiral staircase, like PP said one stumble at the bottom and you’re very close to the water.

 

[sundaaaay]

I confess I haven't read the full post, but do we know where within Clifton the brother actually lived?

No we don't what part of Clifton the brother lives in.

The Bridge Valley Road certainly has its dangers but his current last known location was walking along Bennett Way with his back facing the Clifton Suspension Bridge. There is also his possible (somewhat inaccurate) location on the Find My Friends app in the Granby Hill area, until around 6am later that morning.

So I guess a lot of this (at least in my mind) revolves around what happened at the party ?

The party is something which I also feel has been somewhat overlooked. The focus seems to be more on where his intentions of going were - Home, his brothers, back to the party. But from his last location he is not heading in fastest direction of any of these locations. Did he want to go home at that point at all? Was there a potential love interest, the use of drugs, an argument - a reason to turn around from his route home. We really know very little about his personality but from what I see, he seems quite innocent and academic.

 

[StillDiggin]

Jack O'Sullivan: Why missing student's brother visits last known route daily

Jack O'Sullivan, a 23-year-old student, never returned home from a house party two months ago.

www.bbc.co.uk