JAY Slater may not have “disappeared” and police must find out if a third party was involved in his disappearance, says a former British police officer.
The search for the 19-year-old was called off by officers today as Graham Wettone, who has been with the Met for 30 years, said “things just don’t add up”.
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Jay Slater went missing on June 17 in Tenerife
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Former police officer Graham Wettone said police must investigate whether there was third party involvementCredit: Twitter@kayburley
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Jay’s parents Debbie and Warren were in Tenerife trying to find answers
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Jay went missing in Tenerife on the morning of June 17 after attending a dance music festival, and helicopters, drones and dogs have since been scouring the island for clues.
Wettone – who has extensive experience working on missing person cases – examined the evidence and called on Spanish police to accept their British colleagues’ offer of help.
Speaking to MailOnline, he explained that he thought Spanish police should “take another look” after two weeks of searches with “nothing found”.
He said: “It seems to me they’re just focused on the mountain, but I hope they’re looking at other avenues, and they include crime.”
Wettone also said he would set up a road block to stop people and ask them if they saw anything.
The ex-policeman added: “I’ve been following this case closely and discussing it with colleagues and it’s certainly very bizarre, a lot of things just don’t add up.”
Wettone explained how he will challenge witnesses despite it being a difficult task because it calls into question their honesty.
Police previously said the two mystery Brits who dated Jay were “key witnesses” in the case, but soon after declared them “irrelevant”.
Despite the search for the missing teenager ending today, Jay’s distraught family said they will continue to look for him.
The Sun understands Jay’s loved ones have not given up hope of finding him as a family friend insisted “nothing has changed”.
A moment at the top A British climber searches Tenerife Gorge for signs of Jay Slater who slipped down the mountain after a friend ‘heard him slip’_1
The decision to call off the search has left Jay’s parents “heartbroken and devastated”, a family source told The Sun today.
They said Debbie’s parents Warren and brother Zak – who are still in Tenerife – were left with a “sense of confusion”.
Speaking before the end of the search, Jay’s mum Debbie, 55, described being “out of breath” after her son’s disappearance, while his father Warren said his family were in “living hell”.
After going to a rave that ended in the early hours of June 17, apprentice bricklayer Jay headed to Masca with two Brits he met that night.
He shared the last Snapchat from their Airbnb with his hand holding a cigarette at 7.30am.
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The Spanish Civil Guard today announced the end of the search
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Drones were used as part of the search
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Officers believe Jay could be in the mountainous area of Tenerife near Masca
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Jay pictured with his mum Debbie
Jay then tried to get back to his holiday accommodation – an 11 hour walk away.
But at around 8.50am he made a desperate call to his friend Lucy saying he was lost in the “middle of nowhere” and only had one per cent of battery on his phone.
Jay also said he cut his leg on a cactus and needed water.
It is not clear whether the call to Brad was separate from the one to Lucy.
Timeline of Jay Slater’s disappearance
Ellie Doughty, foreign news reporter
SUNDAY, JUNE 16 – MONDAY, JUNE 17
Jay is going to rave at the 2024 NRG music festival in Tenerife, around Arona in the south of the island
20.35 – Jay posts a smiling Snapchat video of himself laughing with friends
He leaves the rave with two men he met that day and is taken back to their accommodation on the other side of the island
MONDAY 17
7.30am – Jay posts a Snapchat of his hand holding a cigarette in the area where he was staying – near Rural Park de Teno in the north of the island
8.30am – Jay calls his friend Lucy Law and tells her he’s missed the bus, has 1% battery left on his phone and is stuck in the “middle of nowhere”.
9am – A missing persons report is filed and the search for Jay begins
TUESDAY 18
2am – The police knock on the door of Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan’s home and tell her to catch the first flight to Tenerife
7am – She flies from Manchester Airport along with her son Zak to help with the search
Debbie was sent a Snapchat message that read: “Kiss your boy goodbye, you’ll never see him again, he owes me a lot of money.”
WEDNESDAY 19
12:30 – After a false sighting, the police briefly move the search to the south of the island
Cops search his hotel room for clues as his mum says ‘there was nothing wrong’
Debbie gives heart-wrenching interview in which she talks about fears he was “kidnapped” and says “I just want my baby back”
THURSDAY 20
Officers begin the fourth day of a massive manhunt for Jay
FRIDAY 21
Lancashire police are offering to help in the search, but Tenerife authorities say they are “pleased to have the resources they need”.
The search moves to the 22,000-foot gorge in Masca – part of the area locals call “the wasteland”.
SATURDAY 22
The sixth day of the search begins as sniffer dogs, police officers, mountain rescue services and firefighters once again take to the hills of northern Tenerife
A possible new sighting of Jay placed him near a church with two men at 6pm on Monday – although police have not confirmed
Jay’s dad Warren and brother Zak visit the search site in Tenerife
SUNDAY 23
Officers are focusing their search on small outbuildings in Parc de Teno near where Jay’s phone last pinged
Jay’s mum Debbie says trolls are comparing her to Karen Matthews
A GoFundMe set up by Jay’s friend Lucy has surpassed £30,000 after just three days
Exclusive Sun footage shows Jay falling and stumbling back to the rave before disappearing
MONDAY 24
The search for Jay enters its eighth day
Police are expanding the search area north to parts of Buenavista del Norte
Jay’s dad says his family is in ‘living hell’
TUESDAY 25
British hiker found by Jay’s search teams says he ‘shouldn’t have been rescued’
Policewoman Madeleine McCann lands in Tenerife to join the search
Tenerife police are calling in reinforcements from Madrid – including specialist sniffer dogs
WEDNESDAY 26
Locals claim to have seen Jay watching the Euros
The investigator uncovers descriptions of the two men Jay dated
Cops search the exact spot where the ‘mysterious grainy figure’ was seen
THURSDAY 27
Detectives ‘fear it is unlikely Jay will be found alive if he is in the mountains’
The quest deals with a series of caves in a desolate park
The family turned to the TikTok detective for help
FRIDAY 28
The GoFundMe exceeds its goal by £10,000 as it reaches £40,000
Tenerife police announce a massive manhunt for Jay and are calling for volunteers
SATURDAY 29
Officers launch a major new search for Jay as they call on volunteers to help
Investigators are ruling out two mystery Brits seen with Jay before his disappearance
SUNDAY 30
The search for Jay Slater has been called off
Spooky photos have revealed the interior of the Tenerife Airbnb where Jay Slater stayed before he disappeared.
Police in Tenerife said officers would continue to investigate the case if any major tips or information came in.
Attempts to find Jay have often been overshadowed by vile internet trolls and callous conspiracy theorists.
A family source from the UK said: “Jay’s family can’t help but think the trolls have won and they have succeeded.
“There were so many people posting horrible messages which only made the family suffer even more.”
Confirmation of the decision to call off the search for Jay came less than 24 hours after a “last-ditch” search was launched.
Five questions still unanswered about Jay Slater’s disappearance
Written by James Halpin
Rolex missing after ‘fight’
Police launched a new investigation Saturday morning into the theft of a Rolex watch just hours before Jay went missing.
It’s unclear how Jay’s disappearance might be connected, but one of Jay’s friends told detectives that the alleged theft may have led to Jay wandering off on his own to try to find the watch.
The Rolex went missing when a fight broke out at the club where Jay was partying, and investigators questioned taxi drivers and bar staff who were on the strip.
Police clear duo
Two mystery Brits who were partying with Jay Slater on the night he disappeared have been branded “irrelevant” by investigators.
Detective Mark Williams-Thomas said the men had stayed with Jay at an Airbnb in Tenerife before he disappeared.
Both are said to be in their late 30s or early 40s and from Luton, Bedfordshire, with one nicknamed “Johnny Vegas”.
The men were only asked to speak to officers briefly before being allowed to fly home to the UK.
Only six volunteers for a ‘massive’ search
Yesterday, Tenerife police launched what they called a “massive” new search with the help of specialist volunteers to find the 19-year-old Briton.
However, only six volunteers reportedly showed up, according to Tiktoker Paul Arnott (29), who flew in to help in the search.
Jay’s father Warren and older brother Zak were seen at the scene of the search.
The area being searched is a 2,000-foot gorge that has a steep footpath that descends to the sea.
Mysterious last phone calls
Jay’s last phone call to his friend Lucy Law was shrouded in mystery and opened up several questions.
The 18-year-old woman told reporters that Jay called her in a panic at around 8.30am on Monday 17 June.
She recalled him saying he couldn’t catch the bus and would walk back to his apartment.
Jay told her that his phone was almost out of power, that he cut his leg on a prickly cactus, and that he really needed a drink.
Ping phone
Search teams narrowed their efforts to a small group of buildings near where Jay’s phone last pinged, but found nothing last week.
Jay went on a 45-minute car journey with two men to an Airbnb near Masco in Rural de Teno, a national park in the north of the island.
He posted a Snapchat picture of the £40-a-night dig around 7.30am, in which he appeared to be holding a cigarette and walking down stone steps.
After deciding to leave the cabin, Jay called Lucy before his cell phone went dead at 8:50 a.m. near the park’s hiking trail.
About 30 policemen, firefighters and rescuers went to the mountains in Masca on Saturday – along with a few volunteers.
But the search, centered around Jay’s last known location, failed to turn up any trace of the teenager from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire.
A spokeswoman for the Civil Guard said today: “The search operation has now ended although the case remains open.”
A well-placed source added: “The daily operation in and around Masca near where Jay was last seen has come to an end.
“If any information comes in that merits a new search, though it will be acted upon.
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Posters for missing persons have been placed in Tenerife
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A ‘massive’ search for Jay began on Saturday with officials and volunteers searching for the missing teenager in the mountains
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Special search dogs were also engaged in the search
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education