The search for missing Jay Slater in Tenerife entered its 11th day. The British teenager, who had been in Tenerife for the three-day NRG festival, went missing on the morning of June 17. He was last located walking from an Airbnb where he had travelled with two British men he had met at the festival – who have since reportedly flown back to the UK. Jay left the property, located in the northwest mountainous region of Teno Rural Park, on Monday morning after reportedly saying he wanted to get back to his hotel, however missed the bus. With just one per cent battery left on his phone, he called his friend Lucy Law to warn her that he had “no idea” where he was and that he was thirsty, but he was making the gruelling 11-hour trek back to the accommodation. Ever since, police have been scouring the area of his last registered location, however he is nowhere to be seen. His mum, Debbie Duncan, and other family members have flown out to the Canary Island to join the desperate hunt, who have in recent days been accompanied by a leading British detective, along with amateur sleuths. With the case captivating Britain and Spanish police appearing no closer to finding him, The Mirror today examines the case.
Confirmed movements
- Monday June 17, 1am: Jay is seen looking worse for wear while partying inside Papagayo nightclub, which closes at 4am, on Veronica’s strip in Tenerife’s Las Americas party area.
- 7.30am: Jay posts a snapchat photograph of himself holding a cigarette while standing on the steps of the men’s holiday rental Casa Abuela Tina.
- 8am: Jay is seen “walking fast” uphill after leaving the property and asking a local for the time of the next bus to Los Cristianos, an 11 hour walk away.
- 8.30am: He phones pal Lucy Mae Law, 18, and tells her he is in the middle of nowhere, trying to get home with no water and 1% phone battery.
- 8.50am: Jay’s phone runs out of battery, giving its last location close to Cruz de Hilda viewpoint in Rural de Teno nature reserve.
The search
Jay was reported missing at 9.04am on Monday July 17, prompting police to launch a mountain rescue operation using a helicopter. The search has focused on three separate ravines across an 18-mile area, including Masca gorge and has involved a multi-agency response, with police, fire and mountain rescue officers all working together. They have also been assisted by drones and sniffer dogs, including some brought in specially from Madrid. Jay’s friends and his family have also joined the search alongside local volunteers and British tourists. The search has even been joined by TikTok sleuths, who do not know or have any connection to Jay.
The family, the fund and the TV investigator
Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan, 55, flew to Tenerife on Tuesday morning after police knocked on her door in Oswaldtwistle, Lancs, at 2.30am and told her Jay was missing. She is now on the island with Jay’s dad Warren, 58, and Jay’s older brother Zak, 24, as well as a number of other family members and friends, including Rachel Hargreaves, who has been running a Facebook page pleading for information. They have been helping with the search by going door-to-door asking locals on the island for information and putting up missing posters. A GoFundMe, titled ‘Get Jay Slater home’ was set up by Jay’s pal Lucy has so far raised more than £36,000 and is set to be used to help with their accommodation costs and other expenses. The family are also being helped by former British police detective Mark Williams-Thomas, 54, who is conducting his own investigation into Jay’s disappearance. Speaking about the family while giving a press conference on Wednesday, he said: “They are an incredibly united family. They are all very focused in terms of obviously finding Jay.”
The sightings
Police moved their attention to Los Cristianos and Las Americas on day three of the search after a man believed to be Jay was seen getting out of a taxi in the area. However, it turned out to be a false sighting. Earlier this week Jay’s family shared a photo of a possible new sighting of him walking next to a church in Santiago del Teide, four miles downhill from the mountain village of Masca where he had last been seen. The grainy image was captured by a webcam at 6pm on Monday last week – 10 hours after the 19-year-old’s last confirmed sighting. Family members believe the webcam
