Jack O’Sullivan’s parents are making a complaint about the police operation

The parents of missing Bristol schoolboy Jack O’Sullivan say their distress has been made worse by the police force tasked with finding their son.

His family now say they have lost all faith in Avon and Somerset Police’s attempts to find him – and have now made a formal complaint about their experience.

Avon and Somerset Police said they “fully recognize the distress and anguish” his family is going through and officers are “committed to doing everything we can”.

The force added that the family’s complaint has been registered and is being assessed and the family will be updated.

Jack’s family say mistakes have been made since the start of the search for him and say CCTV footage placing him in a different location – at a different time – was initially missed.

It was only found by Jack’s mother, Catherine, when she was allowed to see a part of herself.

“For them to have footage of my son the day after he went missing and for someone not to see that is just ridiculous,” she said.

“And we have to live with that … thinking about what might have been different here if the next day, the whole world knew he was there — and we could have drawn people.”

Jack went to school in Bristol before studying and graduating from Exeter University, then returned to Bristol to continue his studies.

He was living with his parents and close to his older brother Ben at the time of his disappearance.

The night Jack disappeared, he had been at a party with friends from his course. He had left in the early hours of the morning.

Records show his phone was still in use hours after he was last seen on CCTV. But despite repeated requests from his family to try to find out more about what it was used for – they say, police have drawn a blank.

Ben O’Sullivan says this is a real problem.

“We have been told for weeks and weeks that there is an opportunity for the National Crime Agency to help them and provide them with resources, but despite asking them … there has still been no progress.

“I’ve tried my best to help – but I’m the first to admit I’m no tech expert. And you’d hope Avon & Somerset would have the resources to keep me out.”

The family were also distraught to learn last week that an administrative error within the police force meant Jack was not added to the National Missing Persons Register until he had been missing for more than two months.

“The mistakes that put so much doubt in our minds about what was done, when it was done and whether it continues to be done have caused us untold damage,” says Catherine O’Sullivan.

“I wouldn’t want anyone on earth to have to deal with what we’ve been dealing with for the last 100 days, because it’s awful.

“We have to live with the fact that Jack is not here, but to find that the people who could have been looking for him didn’t do it properly is just devastating.”

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: “This investigation involved reviewing and re-examining over 100 hours of CCTV footage, carrying out expert-led searches on land and water, involving multiple teams including the dog unit , the specialized drone and diving unit. team, proactively seeking and acting on the advice of national policing experts and making several calls to the public and media for information.

“Unfortunately, despite these efforts, we have not been able to locate Jack so far.

“We fully recognize the distress and anguish this has caused Jack’s family and our thoughts remain very much with them,” they added.

“We are determined to do everything we can to find the answers they so desperately need.”