Jay Slater RECAP: Just six turn up to help in search as police issue update on two mystery pals

Jay feared cactus prick 'may poison him', officers claim

Jay Slater was concerned that a cactus that cut his leg would poison him, right before he disappeared without a trace, police said.

The Civil Guard revealed the detail during Saturday's press conference amidst a big drive to host the largest day of searching yet since he disappeared 12 days ago.

Officers said they knew for certain Jay had walked down a ravine due to a detail from his phonecall with friend Lucy Law on the Monday morning. "Another thing that leads us to that conclusion is that when he was on the phone to Lucy, he got caught by a cactus and he was worried that they might be poisonous - she said, don't worry, it won't be poisonous - but for that, he had to have left the main road," authorities said.

"If you were walking along the main road you wouldn't get pricked by a cactus. To do that, you would have had to have left the main road and be half way up the mountain."

New clue in missing Jay Slater case as Tenerife police probe 'stolen Rolex scuffle'

Police in Tenerife are reportedly investigating a new lead linked to Jay's mysterious disappearance.

Officers are reportedly probing claims of a nightclub scuffle over a stolen Rolex in the hours before the teenager vanished. A fight broke out outside Papagayo Beach Club - where Jay was pictured partying - and it involved a man who claimed his Rolex watch had been stolen, it's been claimed.

It is not clear how this incident could be linked to Jay's disappearance, but one friend suggested he could've gone to look for the watch. Police are now reportedly studying CCTV and security camera footage, according to MailOnline.

TikTok star pinpoints three key pieces of evidence Jay Slater search teams are looking for

An experienced climber and TikTok star has told of three key pieces of evidence he is looking for in the search.

Paul Arnott is focusing his attention on a call made by Jay to his friends Lucy Law and Brad Hargreaves after leaving the Airbnb he was staying at in the village of Masca and saying he was going to try walking back to the south of the island - a trek that would take around 11 hours.

Shortly afterwards the battery on Jay’s phone died, but Brad believes he heard him slip during the call which suggests rocky and uneven terrain. Paul said that he has spoken to Brad and that he is now looking for signs in the terrain of someone slipping including “breakages in the plant material” while he has also been shown a picture of Jay’s shoes and has the track on his phone.

Jay was 'undeniably' at mountain search point, phone data reveals

Heartbreaking childhood photos of Jay released as search enters crucial day

Childhood photos of missing teen Jay Slater have emerged as a crucial major search is spearheaded on Day 13.

The teen's family have released heartbreaking childhood photos of Jay in a bid to appeal to the public. Brother Zak Slater, who flew out with mum Debbie Duncan the day after Jay was reported missing, shared an image of Jay aged seven from 2011 as he cheered on his local football team.

“Jay after his first match they won 4-1 against Rose Grove,” wrote Zak. It comes as the family confirmed this week they were withdrawing funds from a GoFundMe page set up by Lucy Law to help with the search.

Major update issued on men last seen with Jay

The Spanish cop leading the mountain search for missing Jay Slater has declared that the two British men who put him up the night before he disappeared are "of no relevance" to the police investigation.

Cipriano Martin, head of the Civil Guard’s Greim mountain rescue unit, spoke as the search for the 19-year-old entered its twelfth day with a large-scale search by police, fire officers and other mountain experts.

He said: "Those men have been spoken to and they don’t have any relevance whatsoever for the case." Asked whether Jay's family will take part in today's search, he said: “All week they’ve been participating because we’ve seen them and they’ve seen us in several places. They’ve been actively participating.”

'Massive' Jay Slater search party promoted by Tenerife police ends up with six volunteers

Just six volunteers, including a British TikToker, have joined today's search operation for missing teenager Jay Slater following an appeal for help by Spanish police, The Mirror can reveal.

It was hoped that a renewed effort to locate the 19-year-old from Lancashire would provide answers to the mystery of what happened to Jay who disappeared on June 17 in the northwest of Tenerife.

Despite the publicity about the search, there has been little uptake in the local media and only six volunteers turned up to help with nearly 30 professional searches, including police, fire and mountain rescue officers, as the operation enters its 12th day.

Asked about the underwhelming turnout, Cipriano Martin, head of the Civil Guard’s Greim mountain rescue unit, said: "Well, we’ve been searching for lots of days and with the search today, we’re talking about 30 people.”

Case is 'crossing the line between concern and entertainment'

People have expressed their fears surrounding the online sleuths speculating over Jay's disappearance.

As dark and often baseless theories are peddled, many members of the public have shared their views on the frenzy, which has compared to the likes of the search for Nicola Bulley last year and Gabby Petito in the US in 2021.

People heading to the island to search have already faced criticism. One woman who travelled from the UK with her partner told The Times she drove twice round the area "to get some answers".

In a thread on Reddit discussing the Jay Slater case, one user posted: "Everyone's looking for that one clue. The Gabby Petito story (videos of the area) did lead to captured videos of the van, leading to them being able to narrow down the search area. Like a lot of these cases now, the (Jay Slater Facebook) page is definitely crossing the line between concern and entertainment."

Former Northumbria Police chief Sue Sim urged people not to speculate online. She told a Sky podcast: “The worst thing people can do sitting at home in their armchairs is to speculate as to what might have happened. There has been no suggestion of crime happening in this instance and at this time."

New probe into reports of scuffle over stolen Rolex

Reports that a scuffle took place over a stoeln Rolex watch outside the club where Jay partied on the Sunday night are being looked into.

MailOnline reports a fight broked out outside Papagayo Beach Club in Playa de las Americas the night before Jay disappeared, where the teen had been with friends. It involved an Eastern European man who claimed his watch had been stolen.

It's not clear whether the altercation is in fact related to Jay's disappearance, but police are reportedly going back over CCTV to examine what happened in closer detail.

TikTok star joins search in Tenerife as he hones in on ravine

An experienced British climber and TikTok star is focusing in on a ravine in Tenerife after joining the search effort to locate Jay.
Paul Arnott, a 29-year-old climber from Flitwick in Bedfordshire, has been concentrating on the Masca ravine, in the Teno Rural Park, which is in the northwest of the island. It is near to where 19-year-old Jay was last seen by the owner of an Airbnb he had been staying at on June 17.

Crucially for Paul, Jay's friend Brad believes he heard him slip on the call which suggests he was on rocky and uneven terrain. Paul, whose TikTok account is called @downtherapids and has more than 260,000 followers, cancelled a charity event in Scotland to join the search as he feels that with his mountaineering experience he would be able to get to locations that even the rescue teams would struggle with their drones and dogs.

He has been documenting his progress on social media that has included looking for marks in the terrain which would suggest that Jay had slipped or fallen.

Spanish Army reservist says search is "a matter of luck" and could take "years"

A Spanish military officer has said it could take "years" to find Jay as he joins the search.

Juan Garcia is one of the volunteers coming forward in the renewed search for the teen in the rugged mountainous area around where he was last located 12 days ago. Speaking to the media, he said "it could happen to any one of us".

"It's normal that you will miss someone because it's a matter of luck. Maybe you have hundreds of people [searching the area] then someone come and suddenly, if you think like when you are walking, and then discover the thing [that you are looking for]."

Mr Garcia, who has been involved in searches before, said it wasn't unheard of for people to be found by chance sometimes one or two years after they disappeared in the wilderness due to its vast nature. After a month, searches become "harder and harder", he said.

Full diary of search including every fact we know - and 5 things we don't

Authorities in Tenerife are preparing to hold "a massive search" for missing teenager Jay Slater today - nearly two weeks after he vanished.

Police appealed for volunteer associations, such as firefighters, and individual volunteers who were experts in rugged terrain to assist in a "busqueda masiva". However, the operation has already seen helicopters, drones and sniffer dogs deployed across mountainous areas of the Canary Islands.

As the desperate search entered its 12th day on Friday, the Mirror recaps the full timeline of Jay's disappearance, highlighting what we already know, as well as the countless questions that have surfaced since the teenager's last known contact on June 17.

Huge search for Jay to get underway after call for volunteers

Cracked down efforts will get underway today as we reach 12 days since Jay was last heard from, after calls were put out yesterday for expert volunteers.

On Friday, the Guardia Civil appealed for volunteer associations, such as firefighters, and individual volunteers who were experts in rugged terrain to assist in a "busqueda masiva", or massive search, to take place on Saturday. The Spanish police force said the search, beginning at 9am in the village of Masca, near to his last-known location, would be co-ordinated to take in a steep rocky area, including ravines, trails and paths.

Jay Slater search teams focus on dangerous terrain with jagged rocks for teen

The search for missing Brit teen Jay Slater has today focused on a dangerous patch of land covered in jagged rocks.

The remote area looks deserted for miles apart from a brick house in the centre of the arid landscape and a number of palm trees dotting the hillside.

Police were searching the rugged Los Carrizales Valley in Tenerife today, which looks almost completely devoid of water from a video taken today. The valley is thought to be the last location where the 19-year-old's phone was shared its location after he went missing.

Ex-Met police officer claims Jay Slater cops have made one critical error

Peter Bleksley has also pinpointed a crucial issue with the cops' search for a missing British teenager and appears they weren't budging from the theory that the 19-year-old wandered into difficult terrain in Tenerife and got lost. He says being so focused on one possibility will not be helping the hunt.

He isn't the only person to ask questions about the police's decision-making. Lucy Mae Law, 18, has demanded British authorities join the search for her best friend and she has been critical of the hunt to find the apprentice bricklayer, slamming Spanish cops for rejecting an offer from UK officers to help find him.

Ex-Met police officer claims Jay Slater cops have made one critical error

Mr Bleksley also says Guardia Civil are 'sticking to one theory'

New search footage released today shows teams scouring the jagged mountainside of Los Carrizales Valley. The terrain is covered in bushes with steep and sharp rocks jutting out of the ground. Over the past week and a half, teams have narrowed and expanded their searches around the area where Jay's phone last pinged. While searches continue, an ex-Met cop has said that Spanish police have a key error in their investigation.

Speaking to the Daily Express, Former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley said: "[Guardia Civil] believe he's wandered into very tricky terrain with ravines, gullies, caves and cacti as sharp as razors. They are sticking to that theory. We've seen nothing to indicate they are considering other options at this stage... They have to keep all options open."

Former detective shuts down major theory in Jay Slater hunt

A former detective has put to bed a major theory regarding missing teenager Jay Slater, calling it “uninformed drivel”.

Peter Bleksley shut down the theory that it was an oversight for Spanish Police to not give a piece of Slater’s clothing to the sniffer dogs.

He told GB News: “Scent disappears very quickly. By the time the Guardia Civil deployed dogs, giving them a sniff of an item of Jay’s clothing would have been pointless."

'I run a Jay Slater Facebook group - cruel trolls have impersonated my dead mum'

Police are continuing their hunt to find missing British teenager Jay Slater - and are being helped by his desperate family and friends.

Rachel Hargreaves, the mum of Jay's friend Bradley, who travelled to Tenerife with the teen for the NRG festival, has flown out to the Canary Island to support distraught mum Debbie Duncan. Amid the search for the apprentice bricklayer, who has not been seen since June 17, Rachel has helped run an online Facebook group that the family set up.

But the page, which now has more than 590,000 members, has seen Rachel targetted by online trolls - with one cruelly impersonating her late mother. Ms Hargreaves, a chef from Accrington in Lancashire, said she received a friend request on the social media platform from a fake account, using the name and photo of her mother who died eight months ago.

'I run a Jay Slater Facebook group - cruel trolls have impersonated my dead mum'

Tenerife expert explains how missing teen could survive mountain route

An expert has shared how Jay Slater could still be alive if he found access to water along a treacherous hiking trail in Tenerife.

Brian Harrison, a British ex-pat living in Tenerife, believes Jay, 19, could have taken the Masca Gorge Trail, a popular hiking route. The surveying expert, 57, says the route, known locally as Barranco de Masca, can be extremely perilous if hikers diverge from the path. But he added that the area also has dozens of narrow aqueducts and waterfalls meaning Jay could have found access to water.

He said: "Logic suggests that if Jay did get lost, maybe he was heading down towards the ocean. It's feasible he has taken the Masca Gorge Trail and has fallen and injured himself. There are some sheer drops along the route, there is danger. If he's fallen it is feasibly possible that he’s got some water from somewhere, meaning he could still be alive, it's a possibility."

Mr Harrison, who is also the Secretary General of the Tenerife Ecological Association, added: "The area has lots of aqueducts that farmers use to feed their goats and there's a waterfall down there.”

Tenerife expert explains how missing teen could survive mountain route

Round-up as Jay Slater's mother posts information on the fundraiser

Jay Slater’s mother has announced she is withdrawing some of the money raised in the fundraiser that was launched to help find her missing son.

Debbie Duncan, 55, said the funds will go towards the search efforts in an update posted on the GoFundMe page on Thursday morning, as she vowed the teenager’s loved ones will not lose hope and will bring him home.

She wrote: “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.

Hope emerges as 'if Jay Slater fell, he might be injured but still alive'

Ex-pat Brian Harrison, who lives in Tenerife, believes Jay, 19, could have taken the Masca Gorge Trail, a popular hiking route.

The surveying expert, 57, says the route, known locally as Barranco de Masca, can be extremely perilous if hikers diverge from the path.

But he added that the area also has dozens of narrow aqueducts and waterfalls meaning Jay could have found access to water.

He said: "Logic suggests that if Jay did get lost, maybe he was heading down towards the ocean. It's feasible he has taken the Masca Gorge Trail and has fallen and injured himself. There are some sheer drops along the route, there is danger.

"If he's fallen it is feasibly possible that he’s got some water from somewhere, meaning he could still be alive, it's a possibility."

Mr Harrison, who is also the Secretary General of the Tenerife Ecological Association, added: "The area has lots of aqueducts that farmers use to feed their goats and there's a waterfall down there.”

Terrain in the nature reserve is 'a steep, rocky area'

A spokesperson described the terrain in the nature reserve as "a steep, rocky area, full of unevenness and with a multitude of ravines, trails and paths" as they warned only members of the public with expertise in such conditions should join. It comes as locals have warned that cases of missing persons happen 'often' in the area.

Here, the Mirror takes a look at the recent cases of people vanishing in Tenerife, the latest missing persons statistics, and what experts say.

They include the case of missing man Marc Francis, who was last seen in southwest Tenerife.

Inside Tenerife 'curse' - missing persons cases and grim Jay Slater warning from locals

Donations flooded in after GoFundMe appeal

Donations flooded in after GoFundMe appeal "Get Jay Slater home" was set up by Lucy Law, his friend and the last person to speak to him, and by Friday more than £40,000 had been raised.

In an update on Thursday, Ms Duncan said: "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.

"Additionally, since our stay in Tenerife needs to be extended, we will also use the funds to cover accommodation and food expenses."

Amazon slammed for cashing in books peddling Jay Slater conspiracy theories

Amazon has been slammed for cashing in on the sale of books peddling wild conspiracy theories about missing Jay Slater.

Sellers used AI technology to pen the books just days after the 19-year-old vanished in Tenerife. One even claims he’s dead. Amazon receives a proportion of the sale of each of the books - available as paperbacks or digital downloads for a Kindle.

Today, Chantal Korcz of the charity Missing People slammed our findings and urged publishers to “avoid speculation.” She added: “The disappearance of Jay Slater calls for our united support. Let’s be mindful of our words and actions, which includes not pre-empting the outcome of the ongoing search for Jay, that this listing on Amazon may imply.”

Amazon slammed for cashing in books peddling Jay Slater conspiracy theories

Round-up - Another Brit has been found during the Jay Slater search

Police searching for missing hiker Jay Slater have rescued a Scottish hiker from the same Tenerife national park in Spain.

The 51-year-old hiker from Scotland was rescued on Friday during a search for Mr Slater, 19, who went missing a week ago, police said on Tuesday.

The Scot was found “tired and disoriented” having gone into a “difficult” area not suitable for travel.

What tourists does Playa de Las Americas typically attract?

Jay Slater reportedly spent Sunday June 16 at the last of the rave and then clubbing in the Playa de Las Americas area.

Veronica’s Strip there is popular with young British holidaymakers, particularly teenagers after completing their A-Level exams - the case at the moment.

It is lined with garish neon signs, booming music and ridiculously cheap drink deals.

Bur Jay disappeared some 22 miles away after leaving the area with two men, said to also be British and who have returned to the UK.

Round-up of the latest as search for Jay Slater enters 12th day

Searches for the apprentice bricklayer have entered a 12th day.

Jay attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends before his disappearance and his last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the island - which was about an 11 hour walk from his accommodation.

Today, Jay's friend Brad Hargreaves told ITV's This Morning he had been on a video call with him before his disappearance when he heard him go off the road.

He said: "He was on the phone walking down a road and he'd gone over a little bit - not a big drop - but a tiny little drop and he was going down, and he said 'I'll ring ya back, I'll ring ya back' because I think someone else was ringing him."

He confirmed he could see his friend's feet "sliding" down the hill and could hear he was walking on gravel. But, Brad said he and his friend were both laughing at that point.

He added: "He didn't seem concerned on the phone until we knew how far away he was." He told the programme he still had hope for Jay and was "praying" for him to come home. Earlier this week, his mother Debbie Duncan, who travelled to the island following his disappearance.

'It could take months before Jay Slater is discovered'

It could take months before any sign of Jay Slateris found, locals in Tenerife said last night.

Officers from Spain's Guardia Civil have spent over a week searching the area surrounding the last-known location of the apprentice bricklayer. He was last seen in a remote area close to the Mirador La Cruz de Hilda cafe, which was an epic 11-hour walk from the accommodation in the south of the island. Jay went missing last Monday after attending a three-day rave.

In addition to the crack squad of officers from Madrid, search parties of friends and family are also involved in the search. An army of internet sleuths and conspiracy theorists are also chipping in.

Speaking outside a cafe in Masca, locals told The Independent how similar disappearances have happened in the area before. One local woman, identified only by her first name, Anita, said: “We often have hikers go missing, every summer it is the same. Police come for a week and search and then they go – sometimes it can take months for a body to be found as the mountains are too difficult to search."

Expert volunteers sought after in Jay Slater hunt

Police searching for missing teenager Jay Slater in Tenerife are appealing for expert volunteers to help with a "massive search" on Saturday.

The 19-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared following an attempt to walk back to his accommodation on June 17. On Friday, the Guardia Civil appealed for volunteer associations, such as firefighters, and individual volunteers who were experts in rugged terrain to assist in a "busqueda masiva", or massive search, to take place on Saturday.

The Spanish police force said the search, which will begin at 9am in the village of Masca, near to his last-known location, would be coordinated to take in a steep rocky area, including ravines, trails and paths. Anyone able to assist is asked to contact the Guardia Civil before 8pm today.

Rumours of a body being found are fake - despite circulation on social media

Fake rumours of a body being found in the hunt for Jay Slater had spread like wildfire across Facebook, TikTok and other social media sites as thousands of users share disinformation.

A mocked up Facebook post from one of the Slater’s family inner circle was shared with the message: “Jay’s body has been found.

"Our hearts are with his family in these evil times, we’ve heard from locals it was the job of the Morrocans [sic].”