TENERIFE – The disappearance of Lancashire, apprentice bricklayer, Jay Slater was reported earlier by InSpain.news. Three weeks on, and there is still no sign of the teenager.
Jay and his friends, Lucy and Brad arrived to the island on June 13th for a holiday and to enjoy a rave. Slater went missing in Tenerife after attending the NRG rave on the morning of June 17.
What do we know?
Jay Slater and his two friends, Lucy and Brad went on holiday to Tenerife to enjoy a rave on the island. During the rave, they met two men. On the final night of the rave, in the early hours, instead of going home with his friends, he went in a hire car to the rented accommodation of the two men. This was some 40 minutes away in the north to the village of Masca.
The morning of 17 June
An image was posted on Jay´s Snapchat of someone wrapped in a blanket or scarf holding a cigarette. It was seemingly a photo of Jay although his face wasn´t seen. A couple of hours later, at around 7.30 am, Jay reportedly told the men he was going out for cigarettes and something to eat. He never returned.
The owner of the airbnb, Ofelia Medina Hernandez stated she saw Jay at around 8.00 am when he asked her what time the next bus was due. She told him it was due at 10.00 am. The bus stop was very close to the airbnb. A little later he asked her again. 10.00 am she confirmed. But when she went out in her car, she said she saw him again walking very fast, but in the wrong direction. That was the last she saw of him.
One of Jay´s friends, Brad called him. Jay told him he had missed the bus and was going to walk. He checked the maps on his phone and said he thought it was a 15 minute drive or an 11 hour walk. His friend told him to phone a taxi. Jay also said he was thirsty and had only 1% battery.
At around 8.30 am Jay phoned Lucy and woke her up. He told her he was thirsty and had cut himself on a cactus. He also said he only had 1% battery on his phone. Lucy was seemingly the last person to have spoken with Jay.
Reported missing
When Jay didn´t return, his friends reported him missing to the local police.
Missing persons operation
The police opened a missing persons investiation and initiated a search. Jay has also been added to the missing persons website SOS Desaparecidos. Jay´s parents were informed and advised to fly out to Tenerife.
Police interviewed the two men in the airbhnb but they were allowed to leave as they were not thought to be relevant to the case.
The search
For almost 2 weeks, the Spanish police along with helicopters, drones and dogs searched the mountainous area where Jay´s phone signal was last recorded. They were joined by various volunteers and ex-police from the UK. The only clue that turned up was a broken pair of sunglasses thought to have belonged to Jay. However, this has not been confirmed. Although the official search has been called off, the investigation is still open.
Go Fund Me
While the search was being carried out, Lucy created a Go Fund Me page. To date, this has amassed over £51,000. Jay´s mother, Debbie Duncan has repeatedly stated they have been “overwhelmed” by the support.
Volunteers
British climber and TikToker, Paul Arnott flew to Tenerife to help find Jay. He has said he will not leave until Jay has been found. Furthermore, he is waiting on permission from the Spanish authorities for his friends from a Scottish mountain rescue service to join him in the search.
Callum Fahim voluntarily travelled to Tenerife but he has now ended his search is back home following death threats and seemingly no financial help from Jay´s family. However, this has been disputed by Debbie as she said she gave him £740 of her own money.
TV detective, Mark Williams-Thomas has been conducting his own investigation into the case and has spoken to one of the men Jay was with before his disappearance. The man, Ayub Qassim seemingly offered Jay a lift back to his accommodation but he needed to rest some more first. Howeverk, Jay wanted to eat, so he decided to leave. Qassim has refused to provide the identity of the second man.
Who are these people?
In 2021 Slater was found guilty of being part of a group of teenagers who assaulted another male using golf clubs and a machete.
It has been reported in UK press and on social media that Jay´s friend, 18-year-old Lucy is an alleged drug mule.
One of the two men from the airbnb claimed to know Jay from “back home”. This man used a false name to book the accommodation and was previously convicted for being the mastermind behind an operation to flood Wales with Class A drugs. As reported by the Sun newspaper, Ayub Qassim is closely connected to a legal canabis cafe in Tenerife owned by his friend, drill rapper Potter Payper. 31-year-old convicted drug dealer, Qassim insists he has nothing to hide. In 2015 Qassim spent 9 years in jail when he was found guilty as the ringleader of a London based operation dealing in heroin and crack cocaine destined for Cardiff.
Brad and Lucy
When Brad was on the phone to Jay the morning he went missing, he said he could hear Jay´s feet slidding on rocks as he fell a little. Jay was laughing about it. Brad told him to switch on his location. Jay hung up as he said someone was calling him and that he would phone back. He never made that call.
Lucy was the last person to speak with Jay. She also traced the accommodation where the two men were staying and went to speak with them.
Missing rolex
Jay reportedly bragged to his friends on Snapchat that he had stolen a Rolex worth £12,000 and that he was trying to sell it.
It has since been uncovered that on the last night of the rave, a fight broke out in the club. During the scuffle, a Rolex was reported missing.
- Jay bragged to friends he had a Rolex.
- Friends thought Jay may have gone off to look for the Rolex.
- It is not known if there is a link between the missing Rolex and Jay.
- Was it really a missing Rolex – Rolex is also a street name for cocaine.
Conspiracy theories
The minute Debbie Duncan stepped off the plane, she recieved a Snapchat message. ” Kiss goodbye to your boy, you´re never going to see him again. He owes me a lot of money.” She asked her other son to take a screenshot before it disappeared. This is one theory that for some reason, Jay has been taken. His uncle who is involved in the search thinks a third party could be involved in Jay´s disappearance.
An unclear image has been picked up by British media outlets of a person walking near a church at around 6.00 pm in the evening of June 17. This is about 6 km away from the Masca area where Jay lost contact. Was this Jay?
Another theory is that Jay and his friends planned the whole thing to cash in on the Go Fund Me page that Lucy set up.
However, the main theory is that Jay has simply got lost trying to make his way back to his friends.
Regardless, his family are distraught and determined to stay in Tenerife until he is found.