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

[sundaaaay]

cctv footage captures him on Bennett Way, it’s only a hypothesis

I see...so they can't necessarily make out from the CCTV footage which direction he went, so are hypothesising he went in the direction of Hotwells Road, towards the house party. It does make sense for him to return there because his home is very far away. But of course, there is also the possibility he didn't take the Hotwells Road route and walked back along the Cumberland Basin instead, which again places him near water.

This case is interesting because there is certainly missing footage of his further steps and the water may actually be a red herring, now we know he has passed this section. It opens up different possibilities, particularly regarding him being involved in a crime or something unusual. I hope that more CCTV footage is found.

 

[sundaaaay]

I don't think the Apple Airtag has been found yet. The Granby Hill location came (as I understand it) from the Find my Friends app, which appears to show his mobile phone there

Sorry for the confusion, I know little about either. So how can an Apple Airtag be located? Do you need access to the person's Apple ID?

It's quite remarkable he has both Find my Friends & an Apple Airtag!

 

[CS2C]

Someone told me earlier that an Apple AirTag needs another Apple device nearby to connect to via Bluetooth. Hopefully I have got that right.

<modsnip>

 

[dotr]

What Are Apple AirTags and How Do They Work? | SafeWise

Apple AirTags are location trackers that use Bluetooth instead of GPS. We’ll explain how they work and when to use them.

www.safewise.com

''Apple AirTags emit a Bluetooth signal that anonymously connects to any nearby device active within Apple’s Find My network. The AirTag’s location is triangulated based on the strength of the Bluetooth signal sent to those third-party devices''.

''Precision Finding requires an iPhone with a U1 ultra wideband chip, so it only works with iPhone 11 and up. It’s like a quest arrow in a video game: your iPhone turns into a compass that points toward the AirTag and tells you exactly how far away it is.''

 

[Bahshudc]

Did the police say his Find my Friends app (and therefore his phone) was showing up on Granby Hill? Or his AirTag? Also, do you need to be logged into someone’s phone to access the AirTag, or are there ways his family could’ve got that data by now?

 

[Coconutty]

I use my AirTag when travelling so I can see where my case is. It’s on an app called find my… and everytime someone with an apple product goes within (I think) about 30 feet of it it updates its location on the app. It won’t update if no one has an apple product near. The batteries last around a year.

The Facebook group that coordinates searches and trying to find Jack has been paused this afternoon, not sure why but admin said they will try and update later. Hopefully they’re just taking a short break.

 

[Luwin]

CCTV released in search for missing 23-year-old Jack O’Sullivan | Avon and Somerset Police

The investigation into the disappearance of 23-year-old Jack O’Sullivan is ongoing, two months after his disappearance.

www.avonandsomerset.police.uk

 

[Luwin]

Trawling cctv must be such a painstaking task

 

[MollyHarps]

Trawling cctv must be such a painstaking task

I agree

I do have to say the quality of CCTV in this country also needs a massive upgrade.

The picture quality is like from the 1980s with the advancement in technology you’d think they could improve this.

 

[Coconutty]

I’m always really shocked by the poor quality, even in major cities it’s usually hard to make much out at all. I’m not sure that this new footage helps much at all.

 

[JennieM]

A map showing the route Jack took including the two possible sightings. Image: Google Maps.

Jack is white, approximately 5ft 10ins, of slim build, with short, brown hair. He was last seen wearing a green/brown quilted Barbour jacket, a beige woollen jumper, navy chinos, and brown shoes with a white sole.

We are appealing for anyone who was walking, driving or in the area of Brunel Way, Brunel Lock Road, Junction Swing Bridge, Plimsol Swing Bridge or the Portway anytime between 2.45am and 4am on Saturday 2 March, to come forward if they have any information which could help us.

We also ask anyone who has any CCTV, dashcam, doorbell or mobile phone footage to review it and contact us if you see anything remotely suspicious or something which could be a person walking.

If you can help, please call 101 and give the call handler the reference number 5224055172, or complete our online appeals form.

CCTV released in search for missing 23-year-old Jack O’Sullivan | Avon and Somerset Police

The investigation into the disappearance of 23-year-old Jack O’Sullivan is ongoing, two months after his disappearance.

www.avonandsomerset.police.uk

 

[Normal Norm]

I agree

I do have to say the quality of CCTV in this country also needs a massive upgrade.

I don't disagree about this.

The picture quality is like from the 1980s with the advancement in technology you’d think they could improve this.

I think in this latest CCTV footage is taken from cameras that are really quite some distance from Jack and have simply picked him up fortuitously in the background. The footage has probably been enlarged many times (say, by a factor of 20), with the result that it will look blurred and / or grainy.

 

[Normal Norm]

View attachment 500512

Snipped by me for focus.

It looks to me as if this footage was taken from the camera located here (link points to Google Earth Street View) on the top of the traffic light which has two sets of lights attached. If this is the case, then I feel sure that this same camera would have picked up Jack if he had headed north / north-easterly down Bristol Gate and onto Hotwell Road, as has previously been hypothesised.

 

[sundaaaay]

Interesting CCTV footage, we definitely can't be certain its him from so far away, but both stills do seem to have a slightly forward leaning gait, whether that is due to being a bit drunk from the party, it's hard to tell.

But if this footage is him and he has cleared the Cumberland Basin area, combined with his friends saying his location (on the Find My Friends app) was in the Granby Hill area until 06:44, then that location should be taken more seriously.
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. He could have turned left from Hotwell Road either up Joy Hill, or Hope Chapel Hill but something happened on route in the early hours of the morning. It doesn't seem to be a very long walk (maybe 35 minutes) but it is uphill and for someone drunk it might have been difficult. It's quite a mishmash of lanes and different properties in this area, it looks affluent but many of these old houses could be split up into multiple apartments, so the population density is probably high.

 

[touch]

It looks to me as if this footage was taken from the camera located here (link points to Google Earth Street View) on the top of the traffic light which has two sets of lights attached. If this is the case, then I feel sure that this same camera would have picked up Jack if he had headed north / north-easterly down Bristol Gate and onto Hotwell Road, as has previously been hypothesised.

Well spotted! I think you're right about the camera.

It's possible he was aiming for the pedestrian bridge above Bennett Way. Could have walked north across Plimsoll Bridge and onto Bennett Way before realising that there is a barrier stopping him getting onto the pedestrian bridge. Might have turned back to the north end of Plimsoll Bridge where there is a staircase down to the road below and access onto the pedestrian bridge a little further east. That pedestrian bridge then takes him out onto Granby Hill.

However, that theory relies on him deciding to turn back and take a detour when he encounters the railing blocking his path. It's only about a metre tall so it seems implausible to me that a young 22 year old guy wouldn't just hop over it.
Railing in question:

 

[sundaaaay]

I'm surprised there isn't cctv facing multiple angles of the Plimsoll swing bridge because as the name suggests, this bridge swings open. You would think for health and safety reasons, it would have cameras pointed at it, in case there was an accident when the bridge was opening/closing.

It's only about a metre tall so it seems implausible to me that a young 22 year old guy wouldn't just hop over it.

I agree, it is odd because the bridge barrier is really not much of an obstacle at all. A reason he turned back could be that he has a fear of heights, or it just looked daunting to traverse alone. He also could have gone in multiple directions from the bridge (see image), which would have saved time on route towards the party or his brother's house, so why he didn't take it makes little sense. But I think it's also important to point out this area is likely more familiar travelling by car rather than as a pedestrian, so I suspect he was just confused.

I'm still on the fence whether he did fully clear the water yet. There is another dangerous section, the matching stairs from Plimsoll Swing Bridge onto the lower road (see below), one staircase on each side. Stumbling down these last few steps and you could easily end up in Cumberland Basin as there is no barrier.

 

[Luwin]

I'm surprised there isn't cctv facing multiple angles of the Plimsoll swing bridge because as the name suggests, this bridge swings open. You would think for health and safety reasons, it would have cameras pointed at it, in case there was an accident when the bridge was opening/closing.

I agree, it is odd because the bridge barrier is really not much of an obstacle at all. A reason he turned back could be that he has a fear of heights, or it just looked daunting to traverse alone. He also could have gone in multiple directions from the bridge (see image), which would have saved time on route towards the party or his brother's house, so why he didn't take it makes little sense. But I think it's also important to point out this area is likely more familiar travelling by car rather than as a pedestrian, so I suspect he was just confused.
View attachment 500695
I'm still on the fence whether he did fully clear the water yet. There is another dangerous section, the matching stairs from Plimsoll Swing Bridge onto the lower road (see below), one staircase on each side. Stumbling down these last few steps and you could easily end up in Cumberland Basin as there is no barrier.
View attachment 500697

Agree re knowing this area in a vehicle is so very different than navigating it on foot.

 

[CS2C]

 

[hallini]

Hoping this photo comes up a bit clearer

 

[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 ?