The world was greeted with the heartbreaking news that the nearly two-week-long search for missing British teen, Jay Slater, has been called off by Spanish police in Tenerife on Sunday. The global search efforts have seen thousands of people sending messages of support, making donations, and closely following every update as the case entered its fourteenth day.
However, the case has been marred by online trolls targeting the grieving family, and the search efforts have been met with scepticism, with one British volunteer labelling the final push to find Jay as nothing more than a PR stunt. Despite all this, one thing remains certain. Jay’s loved ones are desperate to bring him home and they won’t stop searching.
Tenerife’s Civil Guard, who have been spearheading the efforts to locate the 19-year-old from Lancashire, announced today (June 30) that it was suspending its active search for Jay Slater. The extensive search involving sniffer dogs, a helicopter and mountain rescue experts has now come to a halt.
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They stated that officers would continue to act on any leads or other information that came in – but the active work that has been ongoing since June 17 when the 19 year old apprentice bricklayer was reported missing will now cease.
This significant shift in the case occurred less than 24 hours after a final push operation. However, the hopes of hundreds out on the ground searching for Jay were crushed, as the operation involved around 30 police, firefighters, Civil Protection, and a handful of volunteers.
The Manchester Evening News has learned that the search for Jay has reached unprecedented levels, surpassing even the initial frantic efforts after he was reported missing.
Thirteen days into the hunt, the Civil Guard finally addressed the media before launching a ‘massive search’, but their briefing was scant on specifics. Pressed on the logistics of covering the vast 30km search zone with just 30 rescuers and a handful of volunteers on June 2, the Civil Guard responded to journalists: “We have already spent days searching. The search we are going to do today is going to be around 30 people.”
From the heart of the search operation, Cipriano Martin, who leads the Civil Guard’s Greim mountain rescue team, confirmed yesterday that two individuals Jay had been with at a Masca Airbnb had been dismissed from the investigation. He clarified: “We’re mountain specialists and we’re in charge of searching here, and it’s the Civil Guard investigators who have been responsible for the investigation, those men have been spoken to and they don’t have any relevance whatsoever for the case.”
Later, seeking further explanation, a Civil Guard spokesperson elaborated: “What he was saying was that the investigators have not found anything pointing to those two people being linked to the disappearance.”
The hunt for missing Jay sparked controversy among the volunteers braving dangerous mountain terrain to aid in his discovery. TikTok sensation and climber Paul Arnott, hailing from Bedfordshire, revealed he dashed to the scene after seeing the family’s urgent calls for help when Jay disappeared.
Paul, aged 29, put a charity event on hold and shelled out a hefty sum to fly to the island, joining the search party on June 22. However, just yesterday, he unleashed a scathing TikTok video labelling the operation a ‘massive PR thing’, which was subsequently called off a mere day later.
After days of fruitless searching, Paul vented to his TikTok fans on his ‘downtherapids’ account: “So, guys, I’ve literally been waiting for absolutely ages now. This is a massive PR thing, I’m telling you now. I’m gonna ask him in a second to take my name off the list. I’m just gonna go down there and do my thing. I’m gonna do that now, I think. Because there’s people everywhere. Literally people everywhere and nobody’s doing anything.”
Frustrated, he requested the Spanish police remove his name from the volunteer roster, opting to conduct his own independent search: “[Speaking to Spanish police] Hey, hey, guys, for the list, this thing, just cross out take my name off. Yeah, because I’m going here now. It’s too busy. I wanna go search. I’m gonna search over here cause it’s ridiculous. So, yeah, guys, I can’t deal with this. This is absolutely mad. I’ve been up here for ages.”
“Yeah, there’s people everywhere. I’m just putting it how it is. Everyone is still in their cars. It’s all a big thing. It’s all chat, chat, chat, chat, chat. I’m putting it out there now. I’m sick of it. I’m so stressed out. I tell you what, I’m coming down here, I’m gonna go get some food cause my morning’s already been wasted. And then I’m gonna crack on a search for Jay in the area where I think he is. I can’t deal with this, guys. I’ve been so quiet about this now. I’ve been so quiet about this. Not doing it anymore, people. I’m sick of this c**p.”
Approach has been made to the Civil Guard for comment on Mr Arnott’s thoughts. The videos have been viewed more than half a million times on TikTok.
Yesterday saw the continuation of the search, which added to existing tensions. Jay’s father, Warren, and brother Zak courageously scaled the scorching heat to reach the high-altitude Hilda area – the centre of the search operation overlooking the focused search ravines.
Online trolls drew targeted comments from them as they expressed: “It’s a bit disappointing that there are no British apart from Paul [Arnott] but I suppose to them he’s just a British lad who’s come out here and got drunk,” Warren said.
“I’m grateful to those who have come out here because you can see just how dangerous it is and what gets me is the trollers who are having a go at us for not searching. It’s not the local park, these are big mountains, the terrain is dangerous, put yourself in our position. Would you go out in these conditions?
“It’s tough, it’s hard, we are leaving it to the professionals and I’m grateful for those who have turned out today and I want to thank them for what they are doing. We just still can’t believe it; it’s been so tough on us, and I want people to think about us as parents and what we are going through. All those trollers having a go at us, they don’t know how we feel, why don’t they come up here and have a look and see for themselves how dangerous it is.
“I’ve come up here now myself because I wanted to have a look about with Zak and to thank those who are up here and have given their time. I just didn’t think this would go on for so long, I dropped his mum and brother off at the airport and thought they would be back in a few days. I just thought he’s gone out, had a drink, and ended up at some girl’s place as we all did when we were younger. He’s our youngest, I just want him home.”
Despite the search drawing a blank yesterday, as understood by the Manchester Evening News, it’s clear that the investigation is still very much ongoing. The circumstances of Jay’s disappearance aren’t conclusively tied to criminal activity, however, all possibilities are being kept open by the Civil Guard.
A representative for the Civil Guard said on Sunday: “The search operation has now finished although the case remains open.”
The Civil Guard remained tight-lipped today regarding any active lines of inquiry into connections between Jay’s disappearance and a reported scuffle outside a nightclub.
This incident allegedly occurred in Los Cristianos, a resort in southern Tenerife, following the theft of a wealthy Eastern European gentleman’s designer wristwatch. Disturbingly, one of Jay’s acquaintances has reportedly informed the police of possible links between the theft and the teenager’s mysterious disappearance.
While asserting that “nothing has been ruled out”, the authorities have consistently classified Jay’s situation as a missing person case rather than an active criminal investigation.
One thing became palpably apparent this afternoon, though – Jay’s family and friends refuse to give up hope.
Facing the onslaught of online vitriol and dwindling optimism, they remain staunch in their determination to carry on the search efforts.
Rachel Hargreaves, a close family friend, spoke to the Manchester Evening News twice today. She fervently reassured that those who had travelled to assist in the search remain steadfast in their mission, insisting they’re ‘still going to keep searching’.
Ms Hargreaves, whose son Brad is a close mate of Jay’s and was with him at the NRG festival in Tenerife before he went missing, jetted out to join the search alongside Jay’s distraught family his mum Debbie, dad Warren, and brother Zak.
Ms Hargreaves vowed on behalf of everyone who’s come over: “We will be staying out here and doing all we can to find Jay.”
