It has been 18 days since British teenager Jay Slater disappeared in Tenerife while on holiday with friends.
The 19-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, left a rave on the Spanish island by car with two British men and stayed the night at an Airbnb in the middle of a rural village. He vanished on the morning of Monday, June 17 as he attempted to make his way back to the touristy town of Los Christianos, where he was staying with his friends Lucy and Brad.
According to Lucy, Jay had phoned her moments before he vanished at 8:50am, saying he was disoriented, needed water, and that his phone was only one percent charged. It later emerged that the apprentice bricklayer had bragged on Snapchat about allegedly stealing a £12,000 Rolex just hours before he went missing.
Jay’s mum, Debbie Duncan, who flew out to Tenerife as soon as the news broke says the family are “absolutely devastated about his disappearance.” She added: “Words cannot describe the pain and agony we are experiencing. He is our beautiful boy with his whole life ahead of him and we just want to find him.”
A GoFundMe page set up to help find the teenager has raised £49,000 in donations so far since it was launched two weeks ago. As the investigation into Jay’s disappearance continues, the Mirror recaps the full timeline of the case, day by day.
Monday June 17: Jay Slater goes missing in Tenerife
Jay Slater vanished on the morning of Monday, June 17, while on holiday in Tenerife with his friends Lucy and Brad. The trio had attended the three-day NRG music festival, which ended on Sunday, before Lucy and Brad headed back to their holiday accommodation, while Jay stayed out with two men he befriended that night.
The 19-year-old then returned with the men to their Airbnb in a remote part of Tenerife. According to Jay’s friend Lucy Mae Law, Jay had called her on the morning he went missing and said he was disoriented, needed water, and that his phone was only one per cent charged.
Tuesday June 18: Family and friends fly to Tenerife as investigation is launched
Jay Slater was declared missing in British media on Tuesday, after the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) confirmed the investigation.
That same day, Jay’s mum, Debbie Duncan, flew to Tenerife with his older brother Zac. Debbie said she was “beside herself with worry” and was convinced Jay had been kidnapped. She later revealed that twisted Brits with “northern accents” phoned her with hidden numbers, claiming they had her son captive and were keeping him because he owed them money.
Wednesday June 19: Search location changes after ‘false lead’
Search and rescue teams in Tenerife switched their search from Rural de Teno Park, where Jay is believed to have stayed before suddenly vanishing, to touristy towns in the south after a suspected sighting of Jay. They then returned to the mountains after the sighting was found to be a false lead.
Thursday June 20: Footage emerges of Jay at Tenerife rave, GoFundMe is launched
New footage emerged of Jay at a rave in Tenerife moments before he went missing. In the clip, Jay is seen mingling with other partygoers at a packed-out nightclub as music blares in the background. On that same day, Jay’s close pal Lucy Mae launched a GoFundMe page titled “Get Jay Slater home” with a target of raising £30,000.
Friday June 21: Jay seen walking ‘alone and fast’, Spanish police reject British cops help
The Airbnb host of the property Jay stayed at before vanishing said she saw him walking “alone and fast” on the morning he went missing, just outside the remote village of Masca. Ophelia, the owner of the accommodation, said: “It’s dangerous walking around here, it’s easy to lose yourself. He walked up the road when I saw him for the last time. He was alone. He was walking normally, though he was fast.”
Spanish police later rejected British cops’ help in the search for Jay. Lancashire Police confirmed the Guardia Civil in Tenerife declined the force’s offer to help, despite close friends confirming that “no updates” could be shared following the deployment of helicopters, drones and sniffer dogs.
Saturday June 22: Fundraiser to ‘Find Jay Slater’ surpasses £30,000 in donations
Over the weekend, a GoFundMe page set up to raise money for the family of Jay Slater surpassed its goal of £30,000, just three days after it was launched. Jay’s mum Debbie revealed on Monday that the money was being used to the cover expenses of Jay’s friends and family, including the trip to Tenerife and accommodation.
Sunday June 23: Jay Slater’s dad arrives in Tenerife
Jay’s dad, Warren Slater, arrived in Tenerife on Sunday and said the disappearance of his son “doesn’t make sense.” Along with his other son Zak and family friend Rachel Hargreaves, Warren revealed he was putting up missing posters around the village of Santiago del Teide and that police were pursuing “every lead”.
Leading British detective Mark Williams-Thomas, who investigated the disappearance of Nicola Bulley, said he could get answers on Jay Slater ‘in three days’ as he offered to join Spanish police in Tenerife urgently.
Monday June 24: Search location changes for a fourth time, leading British cop offers help and possible CCTV footage of Jay emerges
A full week since Jay was reported missing, rescue teams returned to a ravine where his phone last “pinged”. Prior to this, investigators were focusing on three key areas, including a ravine around 100 metres below the Airbnb he stayed at, as well as mountains between Masca and San Jose, and Masca and Las Portelas.
Jay’s family also shared a new CCTV image showing a possible sighting of him in Tenerife. The grainy image is understood to have been captured in Santiago del Teide at about 6pm on Monday night, ten hours after he was last confirmed to have been seen in the village of Masca.
Investigators in Tenerife say they are “totally focused” on the hunt for Jay and will not be side-tracked by criticism from his friends. Civil Guard officers insisted they would not let the attacks stop them from their “priority” of continuing to work on finding the missing 19-year-old.
Tuesday June 25: Ex-Nicola Bulley investigator Mark Williams-Thomas lands in Tenerife and vows to ‘track down’ two key men
Former British cop Mark Williams-Thomas arrived in Tenerife to help the family . The experienced investigator, who has probed a string of high-profile missing persons cases, including Nicola Bulley’s disappearance, was spotted on the island where the 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer was last seen. He had reached out to Jay’s mother Debbie Duncan, 55, on Sunday offering his help and is now working for them, free of charge, to find out what has happened to their son.
Speaking before the family accepted his help, Mr Williams-Thomas had said he believed he could get answers for the relatives within just three days. He also vowed to “track down” the two British men Jay is said to have stayed with at a holiday rental the night before he vanished.
Tuesday June 25: Further police officers arrive from Madrid to assist in the search
Detectives leading the search in Tenerife called in reinforcements from Madrid. Officers from the Civil Guard’s canine unit were already on the island with sniffer dogs, but it was announced more specialist dogs and their handlers had flown in from the Spanish capital to aid the search efforts.
A Spanish force spokesman told reporters: “The Civil Guard is continuing with the search operation for the young British man who went missing near the Masca area of the municipality of Buenavista del Norte in which different units are participating. In addition today several dog trainers and their expert dogs who have transferred from Madrid have joined the search. These dogs are specifically trained in searching for people over large swathes of land.”
A 51-year-old hiker, from Scotland, was found on Tuesday during the search too. But David Larkin said he didn’t need the help of authorities. He said he didn’t “want to appear ungrateful” and “thanked them for their concern but I was fine”.
Wednesday June 26: Jay Slater ‘is spotted watching Euros in Tenerife,’ claim locals
It was reported Jay may have been spotted in Tenerife watching Euros matches. Several locals in the town of Santiago del Teide said they believed they may have spotted the teenager in the days following his disappearance.
Mayor Emilio Jose Navarro said some locals who reported sightings of Jay have already been interviewed by police, including a few who think they may have seen Jay on the coast watching Euros matches.
Wednesday June 26: Mark Williams-Thomas delivers press conference – but says Spanish police told family members not to talk to the media
In a press conference, detective Mr Williams-Thomas admitted Spanish authorities had advised Jay’s loved ones against talking to the media. So, on their behalf, he thanked reporters and expressed the importance of continued coverage.
The 54-year-old professional said he was keen to speak to two “key” people who would have last seen the teenager. The former police added: “I need to speak to those people because they are the last people, other than the owner of the holiday rental, that saw Jay.
“I believe they have crucial information that may enable us to find out what has happened to Jay. They were in the bars of the strip area, certainly, for two days, they mixed with Jay and Jay’s group of friends that were there.
“They spent a number of time in the bars there, they say that they drank Hennessy, which was their preferred drink. I know the nickname of one of those individuals. I have a photograph of that individual.”
Thursday June 27: Jay Slater’s mum confirms GoFundMe funds being withdrawn in major update
The mum of missing teenager Jay Slater said funds from her son’s GoFundMe page, which had surpassed £36,000 in donations, were being withdrawn.
In a new major update shared with fundraisers, Debbie Duncan said: “Hi everyone, this is Debbie again. First, I would like to thank everyone for your support, kind messages, and good wishes. It’s difficult to wrap our heads around what is happening right now, but we are not losing hope that we will find Jay and return home together.
“We are currently working with GoFundMe to withdraw part of the funds, which are being safely held. I wanted to share that these funds will be used to support the mountain rescue teams who are tirelessly searching for Jay.”
Thursday June 27: Concerns Jay Slater ‘wouldn’t have survived had he got lost in the mountains’
It was reported that it is “unlikely” the missing man will be found alive in Tenerife if he got lost in the mountains. It came as Spanish police had no plans to stop the huge search operation for the 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer. Speaking on day 11 of the search, a police spokesman said: “The Civil Guard is continuing to search for the young British man who disappeared, carrying out inspections of all the paths, trails and ravines belonging to the village of Masca within the municipality of Buenavista del Norte.”
The force on Wednesday also released footage showing officers moving on foot through some of the rough and remote terrain and others carrying out aerial inspections in the Civil Guard helicopter. It is feared Jay may have got lost in remote mountains.
Friday June 28: Jay Slater’s best friend says the teen’s last phone call was ‘cut off’ by mystery caller
Jay Slater’s best friend detailed the last conversation he had with the missing teen before their phone call was cut short. Crime journalist Isla Traquair spoke to one of the last people to hear from the holidaymaker before he disappeared – one of his closest friends Brad Hargreaves.
Appearing on Friday’s instalment of This Morning, Brad detailed the last promise Jay made to him before their conversation ended. Brad was sadly one of the last people to have spoken to Jay prior to his disappearance.
In a major update, Spanish police called on volunteers to join them in a huge search operation in “rocky” areas of the rural Masca village.
Saturday June 29: Only six volunteers show up to huge search operation for Jay
Only six volunteers, including a British TikToker, joined a major search operation for Jay Slater following an appeal for help by Spanish police. The internet star bashed Spanish police, branding their final search a “huge PR stunt”. Jay’s dad later said he was “disappointed” that only one British volunteer joined what was aimed to be a “massive search”.
Sunday June 30: Spanish police announce the end of their search, but Jay’s family vow to stay in Tenerife
After no luck, Spanish police announced they would be ending their search for Jay after almost two weeks, but said the investigation into his disappearance was still ongoing. A Civil Guard spokeswoman said: “The search operation has now finished although the case remains open.”
The search formally ended at 10am on Sunday morning, with media turning up to the usual viewpoint meeting spot at the search site only to find it deserted. Jay’s loved-ones were said to be “devastated” and “heartbroken” by the decision to stop the search, and vowed to stay in Tenerife to continue looking for him. A close source of the family also said they believed the trolls had “won” following Spanish cops decision to end the search.
Rachel Hargreaves, mum of Jay’s friend Brad and close pal of Jay’s heartbroken parents, said: “Nothing has changed. We will continue to search for him.” Detective Mark Williams-Thomas later advised Jay’s family to fund a private search after Spanish authorities stopped looking for the teen.
Monday July 1: Judge finds ‘no evidence of criminality’ in case, Jay’s mum makes desperate plea to cops
A judge being kept informed of developments told the Civil Guard she sees nothing at this stage pointing to Jay being the victim of a crime. A judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity as is normal in Spain, said: “There is no evidence of criminality at this stage in this case. That’s not to say things won’t change because the case remains open and investigations are ongoing. But right now that’s the situation.”
Jay’s mum held talks with Tenerife police just 24 hours after the search was called off. A source close to the family said: “The family want to be sure the police aren’t giving up on Jay. They are in constant contact with them about the case.”
That same day, British tourists in Tenerife formed an army of “angels” to continue looking for Jay.
Tuesday July 2: Jay’s mum issues heartbreaking statement, specialist investigators spotted in Masca
In a heartbreaking statement, Jay’s mum spoke of the family’s “pain and agony” following the disappearance of “our beautiful boy”. She said: “We are a very close family and are absolutely devastated about his disappearance. Words cannot describe the pain and agony we are experiencing. He is our beautiful boy with his whole life ahead of him and we just want to find him.”
“We do not have any information on his whereabouts. The Guardia Civil have worked tirelessly up in the mountains where Jay’s last phone call was traced,” she continued. “They conducted a land search for 12 days which involved every resource they had available.
“We are aware of the conspiracy theories and speculation on social media and some websites, and can only describe this as vile, the negative comments are extremely distressing to our family.” Read the full statement here.
A British TikTok star who flew to Tenerife to track down Jay says he bumped into an elite Spanish crime unit, who were still scouring the mountains for clues – despite Spanish police announcing the end of their search after almost two weeks.
Wednesday July 3: Detective claims Jay allegedly stole a Rolex, Jay’s mum issues another GoFundMe update
Investigators turned their attention to an alleged ‘stolen Rolex’ after detective Mark Williams-Thomas revealed Jay had posted a video on Snapchat boasting about the theft of a £12,000 Rolex, just hours before he vanished.
He explained: “On route Jay posted a Snapchat saying that they had taken a £12,000 Rolex from a person. We have been unable to validate this in terms of a reported theft. However, friends of Jay he would not make this up and the watch was the subject of a later conversation between them.”
Jay’s mum issued an update on his GoFundMe page, which has surpassed £49,000 in donations. Posting on the fundraising platform, she said that, alongside money for local volunteers and mountain rescue, the family is also putting together a package of equipment for Brit searchers who have flown to Tenerife.
Debbie also thanked the public for their support by saying: “Your generosity has been vast, and we are so grateful for all of your support and kindness during this unimaginable time for our family.”
