Jay Slater search CALLED OFF 14 days after teen vanished as pal sparks new twist claiming he met mystery men DAYS before
POLICE have called off their search for missing Brit teen Jay Slater after 14 days.
The mammoth hunt to find the 19-year-old – involving sniffer dogs, drones, a helicopter, dozens of volunteers and mountain rescue experts – has been brought to an end.
Tenerife cops said officers would continue to investigate the case if any major tip-offs or information comes in.
Confirmation of the dramatic development came less than 24 hours after a “last push” operation was launched.
It comes as…
- Search for teen hits ‘make or break’ stage
- Jay Slater’s pal sparked more confusion claiming teen met mystery men
- Brother Zak and dad Warren join the search – with Jay’s father hitting back at trolls criticising family
- Brit climber scours Tenerife ravine for clues after pal ‘heard him slip’
- Crews fear he won’t be found alive if he vanished in mountains
- Cops investigate new lead after ‘theft of Rolex’ hours before teen vanished
- Expert says Jay may have fallen into a gorge
- Ghoulish Brits treat his disappearance as a tourist attraction
- The GoFundMe page for his family hits £40,000
- Jay vanishes after a night out
Around 30 cops, firefighters and Civil Protection all took to the mountains in Masca – along with a handful of volunteers.
The hunt, which centred around Jay’s last known location, failed to find any trace of the 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire.
A Civil Guard spokeswoman said today: “The search operation has now finished although the case remains open.”
A well-placed source added: “The daily operation which has been going on in and around Masca close to where Jay was last seen has been brought to an end.
“If any information comes in that merits a new search though it will be acted upon.
“My understanding is Jay’s parents have been informed of what obviously is a major development.
“Nothing of any relevance was found during yesterday’s large-scale search.”
Jay was last seen by a local resident in Masca in north-west Tenerife just after 8am on June 17.
He was said to have been walking northwards along the road out of the village after stopping to ask her for directions.
His phone last pinged near to a look-out point where search teams gathered yesterday to begin the last day of the operation.
Friend Lucy Law said Jay had called her shortly after he was last seen to say he was thirsty and had no water.
He complained that he had one per cent battery left on his phone and had been injured by a cactus.
The Civil Guard says there is also a “parallel” investigation by police investigators which is continuing.
The hunt for missing Jay was said to have hit “make or break” point over the weekend with it finally coming to an end after two weeks.
Cops were given several leads by witnesses with them all coming up short.
Officials in Tenerife announced only yesterday that they were opening up questioning over the theft of a Rolex watch just hours before Jay disappeared.
Taxi drivers and bar staff who were working near the Papagayo Beach Club on June 17 were set to be quizzed by investigators after a fight reportedly erupted on the strip.
Jay was seen partying in the busy venue shortly before it closed.
It is unclear exactly how Jay’s disappearance might be linked to the incident.
A source in Tenerife told The Sun: “Any lead right now which could throw up information as to where Jay is will be looked at.”
On Saturday afternoon, the two mystery Brits who partied with Jay on the night of his disappearance were dubbed “not relevant” by investigators.
The twist came just days after a private investigator called the men “key witnesses” in the case.
Cipriano Martin, head of the Civil Guard’s Greim mountain rescue unit, said: “Those men have been spoken to and they don’t have any relevance whatsoever for the case.”
Initial reports claimed Jay had only met the men the night before he vanished but pal Brad Hargreaves has now said the Brit duo had become familiar faces in the days leading up to his disappearance.
Brad spoke with ITV‘s This Morning about the two mystery men who have since returned to the UK.
The pair are believed to have met Jay up to three days earlier than initially expected, Brad told reporter Isla Traquair.
In a TikTok video, Isla spoke about the two men, recalling what Brad had told her.
The TV crime reporter said: “The two men that he went to go and stay with, they had met them three days before. They hung out with them, they made friends on holiday.
“It wasn’t two random people he’d met that night. They’d established a friendship and Brad said they seemed like really cool guys.”
Brad was on holiday with Jay and their other friend Lucy Law for the three-day New Rave Generation music festival.
Lucy, who first reported the teen as missing, is yet to speak on the mystery duo.
JAY CLUES
The young Brit vanished after a night out at the NRG festival at Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas on June 17.
He was last seen travelling with the two mystery men in the north of the island in the Rural de Teno park.
The morning after he made a final frantic phone call to pal Lucy Law to tell her he was stranded in the “middle of nowhere”.
Panicked Jay, facing an 11-hour walk back to their hotel, told her he needed water and only had one per cent of battery left on his phone.
His other friend Brad Hargreaves revealed a second call in which Jay told him he had veered off the main path – leading to speculation he may have slid down rocks.
Brad said he could hear the missing teen slipping on rocks during a final video call.
The disappearance sparked a desperate round-the-clock search with his heartbroken mum and family jetting out to the island to join the hunt.
Rescue crews focused their efforts around the 2,000ft Masca ravine close to Jay’s last known location – the desolate Teno Nature Reserve.
On Thursday, they shifted their focus to caves near Los Carrizales – around an hour and a half on foot from the Airbnb Jay went to with the two men.
Police sources say it would be “very unlikely Jay has survived” if he got lost in the mountains.
Apprentice bricklayer Jay had flown out to Tenerife with friends Lucy and Brad for the New Rave Generation (NRG) festival, which ended on Sunday.
His final Snapchat picture was an out-of-focus image of a hand holding cigarettes in Buenavista del Norte, which sits within Rural de Teno park, at around 7.30am on Monday.
It was taken at the location he went to with the two men he met at the club – with haunting pictures showing the inside of the Airbnb.
His last known location was the Teno Rural Park on the northwest of the island – a popular hiking spot for tourists.
It is claimed he was spotted “walking alone” by locals before his disappearance.
Timeline of Jay Slater’s disappearance
SUNDAY JUNE 16 – MONDAY 17
Jay goes to a rave at the 2024 NRG music festival in Tenerife, around Arona on the south of the island
8.35pm – Jay posts a smiling Snapchat video of him laughing with friends
He leaves the rave with two men he met that day and is driven back to their accommodation across the island
MONDAY 17
7.30am – Jay posts a Snapchat of a hand holding a cigarette in the area where the accommodation was – near the rural de Teno Park on the north of the island
8.30am – Jay calls his friend Lucy Law and tells her he missed a bus, had one per cent of battery left on his phone and was stuck in the “middle of nowhere”
9am – A missing persons report is filed and the search for Jay begins
TUESDAY 18
2am – Police knock on the door of Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan’s home and tell her to catch the first flight out to Tenerife
7am – She flies out from Manchester Airport alongside her son Zak to help with the search
Debbie is sent a Snapchat message saying “Kiss goodbye to your boy, you’re never going to see him again, he owes me a lot of money.”
WEDNESDAY 19
12.30pm – Police move the search to the south of the island briefly after a false sighting
Cops search his hotel room for clues as his mum says there was “nothing untoward there”
Debbie gives a heart-wrenching interview where she shares fears he has been “taken” and says “I just want my baby back”
THURSDAY 20
Cops begin day four of the massive search for Jay
FRIDAY 21
Lancashire cops offer to help with the search but Tenerife authorities say they are “satisfied that they have the resources they need”
Search turns to 22,000ft ravine in Masca – part of an area dubbed “the badlands” by locals
SATURDAY 22
The sixth day of the search begins with sniffer dogs, cops, mountain rescue and firefighters again taking to the hills in northern Tenerife
Possible new sighting of Jay places him near a church with two men at 6pm on Monday – although unconfirmed by police
Jay’s dad Warren and brother Zak visit the search site in Tenerife
SUNDAY 23
Cops focus their search around small outbuildings in de Teno park near where Jay’s phone last pinged
Jay’s mum Debbie says trolls are comparing her to Karen Matthews
The GoFundMe set up by Jay’s friend Lucy surpasses £30,000 after just three days
Exclusive Sun footage shows Jay appearing to fall and stumble back up at a rave before he vanished
MONDAY 24
Search for Jay enters eighth day
Police expand search area north to parts of Buenavista del Norte
Jay’s dad says his family are in ‘a living hell’
TUESDAY 25
Brit hiker found by Jay search teams says he ‘didn’t need to be saved’
Madeleine McCann cop lands in Tenerife to join search
Tenerife cops call in reinforcements from Madrid – including specialist sniffer dogs
WEDNESDAY 26
Locals claim they have spotted Jay watching Euros
Investigator reveals descriptions of two men Jay partied with
Cops scour exact spot where ‘mystery grainy figure’ was seen
THURSDAY 27
Detectives ‘fear it’s unlikely Jay will be found alive if in mountains’
Search hones in on series of caves in desolate park
Family ‘turn to help of TikTok sleuth’
FRIDAY 28
GoFundMe goes £10,000 over target as it hits £40,000
Tenerife cops announce huge search for Jay & appeal for volunteers
SATURDAY 29
Cops launch a massive new search for Jay as they call on volunteers to help out
Investigators rule out two mystery Brits seen with Jay before his disappearance
SUNDAY 30
Search for Jay Slater called off