Heartbroken Mum Spends Six Days Believing Missing Son Was Dead—Then the Truth Emerges

The family of missing student Jack O’Sullivan lived through six agonizing days believing their worst fears had come true after being told a body found on a beach matched his description—only to later discover it wasn’t him.

Jack’s mum, Catherine O’Sullivan, has spoken out ahead of the first anniversary of his disappearance, criticizing the police for leaving them in limbo for nearly a week. She claims officers didn’t even start the DNA process for the first few days, despite initially telling them the remains could be Jack’s.

“Early in the New Year we had a phone call to say some remains had been found on a beach in Wales, and we strongly felt they were leaning towards this being Jack. It felt very significant,” said Catherine, 53, from Flax Bourton, near Bristol.

She described the next six days as utter torture, as they were led to believe that the body found could be Jack’s. “It was positioned and explained to us in such a way that we could not see how it could not be Jack,” she recalled. “We were given a description, and it fitted everything—height, age range—everything Jack fitted into. But they said they couldn’t be conclusive until DNA analysis. We later found out that the process hadn’t even started.”

She described the experience as the worst six days so far, adding: “People asked me if it would be better if it was him if I wanted closure. But when I heard it wasn’t, I was totally relieved.”

The family received the devastating news on January 4 and had to wait until January 10 to be told the remains were not Jack’s. Despite a year passing, Jack is still missing, and his family is no closer to finding answers. They have hired a private investigator, who remains in contact with the police, but so far, there has been no trace of him.

As the one-year mark approaches, Catherine says the family will treat it as “just another day”. “I don’t want to draw unnecessary attention or be out having vigils—I don’t want to do that. We think of Jack every day, so next Sunday is not a huge milestone for us,” she explained. “But it is totally unbelievable that 12 months have gone by. It doesn’t feel real. We are still completely none the wiser about what happened to him.”

Catherine also revealed the family has been bombarded with cruel hoaxes, including fake ransom demands and messages claiming people “have got him”, but nothing has ever led to a breakthrough.

Avon and Somerset Police defended their handling of the situation, saying they “fast-tracked” the DNA process and stayed in contact with the family throughout the six days. Jack’s disappearance remains a mystery, and his family are still desperately hoping for the answers that have eluded them for an entire year.

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