Jay Slater has now been missing for three weeks
Jay Slater, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire , disappeared on the Spanish island on the morning of June 17. The 19-year-old was on holiday with friends Lucy Law, 18, and Brad Hargreaves, 19.
Those closest to Jay have spoken out about how damaging it has been to read the comments going viral on the internet, with one of Jay’s best friends who travelled out to Tenerife dismissing one particular theory. Yet, both Jay’s father and uncle have thrown doubt over the police investigation in recent days – as well as addressing possible criminality involved as they aired their frustration with the lack of progress in finding the teenager.
Mark shared a video online updating the public in which he revealed he had spoken with Qassim. Mr Williams-Thomas said: “He told me he was on the Strip in Playa de las Americas and said that Jay wanted to carry on partying and that he hadn't anywhere to stay, so he invited him back to his rental. In the car they played music all the way, they stopped once to get a can of fizzy drink, and there was three of them in the car, Jay in the back and Qassim's friend in the front.
Mr Williams-Thomas added that Qassim told him he then went to sleep and was awoken by the sound of the door buzzing. He added: “Qassim opened the door and spoke to a woman and man and they told him to move his car, which he did and he said he could see Jay chatting to a woman. The decision which has 'baffled' Jay's family Spanish police have already spoken to Qassim and the unnamed pal he was travelling with - after which officers on the ground said the pair were 'irrelevant' to the investigation. Qassim has now returned to his family's flat in east London after he reportedly booked the £40-a-night Tenerife apartment under the name of Ayub Abdul.
One of Jay Slater's close family members has said that he has 'been thinking third party involvement from the start' as the search for the missing teenagers goes into its third week. Glen Duncan, the youngster's uncle, joined other family members in a renewed search for the 19-year-old from Lancashire.
In an interview on July 18, Ms Law said: "Jay was obviously thinking he would be able to get home from there. But then in the morning he's set off walking, using his Maps on his phone and ended up in the middle of mountains with nothing around. "However, there are still a number of outstanding actions and therefore we still remain open minded to the possibility of this changing. The evidence strongly supports that Jay walked off and was walking for at least 30 minutes off the road on a track before he last had contact with friends, with a very accurate location pin drop at 8.50am.
"It's so easy to get lost down there," said Mr Duncan, of the huge and unforgiving search site, as he endured several hours under a scorching 25C temperature as they searched the valley close to the village of Masca, at the heart of the mountainous terrain in Tenerife where Jay vanished. "There was a group of us and you can't see anybody. It got to a point where I wasn't even looking for my nephew, I was just trying to find my own way out to safety.
"We've been unable to validate this in terms of a reported theft", Mark Williams-Thomas said in another video. "However, friends of Jay said he would not make this up and the watch was subject of later conversation between the friends." In a video posted on X, he said: "As part of this investigation we have sought to speak with all of the people Jay had contact with whilst in Tenerife. The result of this digging has opened up an established criminal network with links to drugs, violent crime and theft. At this stage I cannot expand any further on what we now know.
Judge Philip Parry at the time told the court that the group had 'behaved disgracefully' during the 'violent disorder' adding: "You should all eight be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves but I am not at all convinced you are. I hope for the sake of all your families, the public and the people who have offered you jobs and apprenticeships and the sort that you all grow up. Every one of you deserves to be sent to youth detention.
Jay's mum Debbie Duncan also told LancsLive early on in the search about how he was once ambushed and beaten up by gang members when he was 12 years-old. The three men jumped out of a car and targeted Jay and his friend before witnesses intervened. Mr Hargreaves appeared to dismiss a theory that has been widely spread on social media that Tenerife's drug scene could have played a role in Jay's disappearance.
A journalist covering Jay's case in Tenerife, who had spoken to Spanish police and sleuths on the ground investigating his disappearance, has now highlighted a new theory that could explain why the teen's phone last pinged in a dangerous mountainous area. After having a conversation with an ex-British Army officer, reporter Nick Pisa believes Jay's phone may have been thrown, the Mirror reports.
On June 23, she explained that no money had been withdrawn from the fundraiser and that friends and family had so far funded the trip to Tenerife themselves. After that, Debbie shared that the money would be used 'to support the mountain rescue teams' and volunteers, and to 'cover accommodation and food expenses' as the family had to extend their stay in Tenerife, as well as fly other members of the family out to help search.
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