Tenerife police are reportedly investigating a fresh lead in the puzzling case of missing British teenager Jay Slater. The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, vanished after attempting to walk back to his lodgings on June 17. He had been at the NRG music festival on the island with two mates before he went missing, and his last known whereabouts was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the island, roughly an 11-hour trek from where he was staying. Cops are now said to be looking into allegations of a nightclub brawl over a nicked Rolex in the hours leading up to the teen’s disappearance. A scrap kicked off outside Papagayo Beach Club – where Jay was seen partying – involving a bloke who claimed his Rolex watch had been pinched, it’s been reported.
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It’s unclear how this incident might be connected to Jay’s disappearance, but one mate suggested he could’ve gone to search for the watch. Police are now said to be examining CCTV and security camera footage, according to MailOnline. This new theory emerges as Spanish police have called for expert volunteers to assist in a new major search, kicking off at 9am (local time) in the village of Masca, close to his last-known location. The search is planned to cover a steep rocky area, including ravines, trails and paths, reports the Mirror. The Guardia Civil has put out a call for volunteer groups, including firefighters, and individuals skilled in navigating difficult terrains to join the extensive “busqueda masiva” ‘massive search’, as day 13 commences in the ongoing hunt for the missing trainee bricklayer.
Brad Hargreaves detailed to ITV’s This Morning the events leading up to his mate’s disappearance, sharing that he was on a video chat with Mr Slater at the time. “He was on the phone walking down a road and he’d gone over a little bit not a big drop but a tiny little drop and he was going down, and he said ‘I’ll ring ya back, I’ll ring ya back’ because I think someone else was ringing him.” Mr Hargreaves elaborated, saying he witnessed his friend’s feet “sliding” down an incline and could make out the sound of gravel the pair were able to laugh about it then. Despite the gravity of the situation, he remained optimistic: “He didn’t seem concerned on the phone until we knew how far away he was.” He expressed his enduring hopefulness on the programme, “praying” fervently for Mr Slater’s safe return.
