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The family of a missing student have set a £20,000 reward for information that leads to him being found.
Jack O’Sullivan, 23, was last seen over 100 days ago in the Hotwells area of Bristol after walking home from a house party.
A GoFundMe fundraising page has been set up by a friend of the family, raising the £20,000 for information that could “reignite the search efforts” for Jack and overcome a “standstill” in the case.
The page adds that if the reward money goes unclaimed, the funds will be donated to the charity Missing People.
Police say they have spoken to hundreds of taxi drivers in the area Jack was last seen and reviewed thousands of hours of CCTV – but Jack has still not been found.
“Jack’s parents, Catherine and Alan, and his older brother Ben have decided that a £20,000 reward for information leading to the discovery of Jack is needed to help spark new leads and reignite the search efforts,” a statement on the fundraising page reads.
“They need your help to achieve this. Any donations will stay with GoFundMe until such time as the reward is given out.
“In the event that the reward goes unclaimed, all money raised will be donated to the charity Missing People, who have been supporting the O’Sullivans throughout this difficult time. At this point, you will also have the option to request that your donation is returned.
«Every donation, big or small, may help bring them closer to bringing Jack home. Thank you for your support and generosity.»
The family of the 23-year-old complained earlier this week that they had lost all faith in Avon and Somerset Police finding their son, and had lodged a formal complaint, after they realised that crucial CCTV evidence in the disappearance of their son had been missed by the police.
Parents Catherine and Alan O’Sullivan’s distress has been made worse after they were informed that the force had failed to add the Bristol student to the national missing persons register, which is operated by the charity Missing People, due to an administrative error, despite his being missing for more than two months.
“I wouldn’t want anyone on earth to be faced with what we’ve dealt with in the last 100 days, because it is horrific,” Ms O’Sullivan told BBC News.
“We have to live with the fact that Jack’s not here, but to find that the people who could have been looking for him haven’t done it properly is just devastating.”
