The disappearance of Jay Slater- Body found

July 16, 2024

A 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle- a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England, disappeared in Tenerife over four weeks ago, and authorities in Spain say they have called off the search.

Slater went missing on the night of Sunday June 16, after attending a music festival in the tourist resort of Playa de las Americas in South Tenerife. He was with friends that night and made new friends during the event and it was his first vacation without his family.

Later that night, into the early hours of June 17, he accompanied his new friends to an apartment in Maska, a rural village in the Macizo de Teno mountains with a population of 90. The village sits at an altitude of 650 meters and is located in Teno Rural Park.

Media outlets report that he went with two men, one of whom has been named in reports as a fellow Briton, 31-year-old Ayub Qassim.

Qassim was interviewed by The Mirror newspaper, who report that he was "jailed nine years ago for being the mastermind who led the operation to flood Wales with Class A drugs (heroin and crack cocaine)."

Qassim later told the Mirror that he knew Slater, saying: "I let the geezer stay at mine because he had nowhere else to go, his friends had all left him. I know Jay, through friends, I'm not going to bring someone back to mine if I don't know them." He added: "I'm doing the geezer a favour and now my face is all over the news. It's a bit mental. I haven't even done anything. If I'd fallen out with him would he even come to mine?"

A post on his Snapchat account stamped with his location posted at around 7:30am showed the entrance to the apartment.

Around an hour later Slater placed a distressed call to his friend, Lucy Law, telling her he was injured after cutting his leg on a cactus while wandering around, was alone, thirsty, and had no idea where he was. He told her that he had missed the bus back, and intended to walk back to his hotel, which would have taken him over ten hours to do on foot.

A local café owner later told police that she had seen Slater, and that he enquired about bus times. When he was told the next bus wouldn’t be until around 10am, she watched him leave the village on foot.

Lucy said that she had left the festival earlier than Jay, and went back to her accommodation. Jay, she said, wanted to stay out longer, and went to a nightclub in Playa de las Americas, described as an upscale resort known for its nightlife.

Law later told The Independent: “He’s ended up out in the middle of nowhere. 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.”

Slater also called another friend, Brad Hargreaves, who said that the background noises on the call indicated that Slater had strayed off the beaten-path and sounded as though he was walking and sliding on gravel.

His phone was at 1% battery and inevitably powered off soon after.

He was reported missing at around 9am that same morning and his friends went out searching for him at his last known location in the rural areas of de Teno park where the missing teenager’s cell phone had last pinged. Authorities initially searched other areas before returning to de Teno Park, where they searched near a ravine and some buildings in the area.

According to a detective on the case, Former Detective Mark Williams -Thomas- Slater and his friends had spent time in the men's company over a two-day period. Although unconfirmed, he said talk of Slater stealing a Rolex watch worth over £10,000 was a topic of conversation between the friend group. These factors lead to speculation and conspiracy theories being batted around by the public, who shared their views on social media.

Slater’s mother said of the online attention:

“We would also like to say that we are aware of the awful comments and conspiracy theories that are filling social media. These theories are hindering the people trying to help us in their investigations here in Tenerife and are vile to see as a family.”

A GoFundMe was set up to help Slater's family with the search, and raised over £56,000.

On July 15, 2024, searchers discovered human remains.

Although the remains have not been officially identified, according to media reports, Jay Slater’s clothing and personal effects were found on the body.

At the time of writing, authorities believe his death may have been accidental. They say the body was found in a "steep, inaccessible" area, and that the victim likely slipped and fell.

An autopsy is scheduled to be performed to officially confirm the identity and cause of death.

A representative for the Civil Guard said of the discovery: "All indications suggest that it could be the young British man who had been missing for 29 days, who may have died due to an accidental fall in the rough and inaccessible area where he was found."

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