Lined with garish neon signs, booming music and ridiculously cheap drink deals, Veronica’s Strip in Tenerife could be seen as a British teenager’s heaven or a nightmare. Young Britons appear to be the main clientele along the popular street in Playa de Las Americas, with hundreds gathering this week to celebrate the end of their A-Level results. It was here that Jay Slater spent his Sunday evening clubbing, before disappearing 37km away in the mountain region of Rural de Teno national park, with few clues leading as to why the teenager would travel such a distance. With a ticket to the three-day New Rave Generation festival, he and his friends had been among the thousands of teenagers and young adults who walk along Veronica’s strip each night. Staggering around the Irish bars and Ibiza-style clubs with cigarettes and vapes in hand, it is understandable how holiday-goers are lured inside by the insistent promoters, who offer free shots, jager bombs, and drinks packages. However, a dark side of the infamous strip barely simmers under the surface. Within seconds, offers of Class A drugs and cannabis are made, with men trying to hand over their business cards and sell their illegal wares at “bargain prices”. One dealer insistently tries to lead potential buyers to his dark stairwell to observe his row of drugs, promising you “quality powder” and a “good night at good price” while ushering potential takers from the main street.
When asking the various club promoters who line the streets if they have heard of Mr Slater, the majority of them nod their heads. “Of course I know,” says one outside Revolution bar. “It’s all anyone is talking about, we have a lot of British tourists here who want to know. We hear the stories, I’ve been watching the TikToks,” they say, referring to videos posted by amateur sleuths. “I’d never seen him before with my own eyes, I wasn’t at the festival but he was apparently drinking around here.” Another added that he was aware of the case, adding: “No one knows what happened and I don’t want to speculate but you don’t want to mess with the wrong crowds around here.” Asked if this area is dangerous, one guy laughed before shrugging his shoulders. “We have security here if there is trouble.”
In Papagayo’s nightclub itself, where the apprentice bricklayer partied on 16 June, it was reasonably deserted for 10.30 on a Wednesday night. A terracotta-tiled building with a mezzanine spreading around the dancefloor, it also has a restaurant where groups of women in heels can be seen enjoying cocktails. Neon pink signs and heart shapes decorate its booths, with a dance floor opening up on the ground floor, although the thumping music doesn’t start until midnight. Open until 3am, it hosted the NRG festival last weekend, and is considered a more exclusive venue than the Irish pubs and bars like Jumping Jacks that line the strip. By speaking to bar staff and employees, it was clear they had been told to say nothing about the case of Mr Slater. A friendly waiter immediately became reserved, before saying a few words to his manager through his earpiece. He denied having ever heard of the teenager, and denied that a festival had taken place that weekend.
Jay Slater was seen leaving the club at around 4am on 17 June, before travelling with two British men to an AirBnb in the remote village of Masca. At 8.15am, he called his friend to say that he was lost, dehydrated and had only one per cent phone battery, with his phone last located on the side of road climbing over the valley. Over the last 11 days, mountain rescue search parties and Spanish police officers have combed the rugged terrain, using helicopters, sniffer dogs and drones to aid their operation. Yet there has been no sign of the teenager, with his family and friends becoming increasingly desperate for answers as to how he has seemingly vanished into thin air on an island inundated with tourists.
