Jay Slater: Last known movements of British teen missing in Tenerife - and mother's fear about what has happened (2024)

British teenager Jay Slater has been missing on the Spanish island of Tenerife since Monday morning.

His mother, a team of mountain rescuers and police are searching for the 19-year-old after he disappeared while holidaying with friends.

In his last phone call to a friend, he said he was lost, in need of water and nearly out of phone battery as he attempted an 11-hour walk back to his accommodation.

Mr Slater, an apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle near Blackburn in Lancashire, was last seen by his friends at the NRG festival on Sunday.

Here is what we know so far about his last known movements and the search to find him.

A timeline of his last known movements

Sunday afternoon - Mr Slater attends the NRG festival in south Tenerife with a group of friends. Afterwards, he goes to the northwestern mountain village of Masca with two people he met at the festival.

Monday, around 8am - Ofelia Medina Hernandez, the last known person to speak to Mr Slater, tells him the bus is due at 10am when he asks. He sets off walking and she says she later drives past him "walking fast".

Monday, 8.15am - He calls his friend Lucy Law saying he was lost as he attempted to walk from Masca to his accommodation in Los Cristianos in the south.

Monday, 8.50am - His last live location showed as the Rural de Teno park - a mountainous area popular with hikers.

Monday, 9.04am - He is reported missing.

Jay Slater: Last known movements of British teen missing in Tenerife - and mother's fear about what has happened (1)

Last phone call - on 1% battery

The last person to speak to Mr Slater was his friend Lucy Law, who says he called her on Monday morning to say he was lost, in need of water, and only had 1% charge on his phone.

During the short phone call, he told her he had missed a bus trying to get back to his holiday accommodation so was attempting to walk instead - a journey that would take 11 hours.

She told the Manchester Evening News someone Mr Slater had met on his night out had driven him back to their apartment in a hire car without him realising how far away it was.

"He's ended up out in the middle of nowhere. Jay was obviously thinking he would be able to get home from there," she told the newspaper.

Jay Slater: Last known movements of British teen missing in Tenerife - and mother's fear about what has happened (2)

Mr Slater rang her to say he "didn't know where he was", that he "needed a drink" and had "cut his leg on a cactus", she told the UK Tonight programme on Sky News.

He was without food and water, she added, and had been in a T-shirt and shorts. "It's very warm in the day and very cold at night," she said.

Ms Law said before his phone cut out, he said he had missed a bus trying to get back to his holiday accommodation so was attempting to walk instead - a journey that would take 11 hours.

Questions about why Mr Slater attempted journey on foot

Ms Law said she "managed to find the house" where Mr Slater was last seen.

Two people at the house told her Mr Slater had gone out for a cigarette before going back in and saying he wanted to go home, she added.

"They told me he'd spoken to the next door neighbours and they'd told him there was a bus every 10 minutes back down to Los Cristianos," she said.

"The bus stop was right next to the house. So obviously if he'd gone to get the bus he wouldn't have got lost because it [the stop] was visible from the front door."

The owner of the property where he was last seen, who gave her name as Ophelia, told reporters she saw Mr Slater walk up the road past her property but did not see him again after that - describing the situation as worrying.

Jay Slater: Last known movements of British teen missing in Tenerife - and mother's fear about what has happened (3)

The search for Mr Slater

Helicopters, rescue dogs and drones have spent days scouring overgrown terrain, hillsides and rivers.

Police, firefighters and search and rescue teams combed a vast area of land in and around the village of Masca on Friday.

Teams also paid close attention to a river called Barranco Madre del Agua at the bottom of a ravine, where emergency workers carefully picked their way through fallen dead palm trees.

They later moved to other areas, focusing a lot of their resources in an area near Rural de Teno park.

Mr Slater's family has set up a Facebook group to help review aerial images, CCTV, and social media footage in an effort to find him.

A missing person's poster says Mr Slater was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, shorts, trainers, and carrying a black bag.

Read more:
Photos show Tenerife property where teen was last seen
'Living nightmare' hunt for missing British teen

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Jay Slater: Last known movements of British teen missing in Tenerife - and mother's fear about what has happened (4) 0:59

What are the authorities saying?

The Spanish Civil Guard told UK media it was "doing everything possible" to find Mr Slater.

"A specialist mountain rescue and intervention group called the Greim have been mobilised."

Lancashire Constabulary said it has offered to support Spanish police "if they need any additional resources", but the offer was rejected.

The force added: "They have confirmed that at this time they are satisfied that they have the resources they need, but that offer remains open and they will contact us should that position change."

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said in a statement: "We are supporting the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities."

Jay Slater: Last known movements of British teen missing in Tenerife - and mother's fear about what has happened (5)

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What Mr Slater's family have said

Mr Slater's mother Debbie Duncan flew out to Tenerife on Tuesday.

She said: "It's just traumatic and it doesn't feel real. It's just awful, it's horrendous.

"I think he's been taken against his will with what's been said, but it's in the hands of the police."

She said of her son: "He's just a great person who everyone wanted to be with. He's good looking, he's a popular boy."

She added that the police leading the search had been "very good".

Jay Slater: Last known movements of British teen missing in Tenerife - and mother's fear about what has happened (9)

Jay Slater: Last known movements of British teen missing in Tenerife - and mother's fear about what has happened (10)

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Coronation Street star Vicky Entwistle, best known for her role as Janice Battersby on the soap, is the goddaughter of Mr Slater's grandmother.

She posted on X on Tuesday: "My God Mother's Grandson has gone missing. His mother has flown out 7pm. To join the police search. Hope to God they find him. Please [pray] for him."

Mr Slater's stepfather Andy Watson told The Sun his stepson is "no mug" and "very streetwise", but that he may have lost his bearings while it was dark.

Jay Slater: Last known movements of British teen missing in Tenerife - and mother's fear about what has happened (2024)

FAQs

Where in Tenerife did Jay go missing? ›

After spending an evening with friends at the New Rave Generation festival in the Papagayo nightclub in the south of the island, Mr Slater travelled to the remote Masca village with two British men during the early hours of the morning.

Is there a GoFundMe page for Jay Slater? ›

The Official GoFundMe page was set up by Jay's friend Lucy. In the description, she details the circumstances around his disappearance and the “frantic” phone call she had with him the morning he went missing.

Who is Jay Slater's mother? ›

Mr Slater's mother, Debbie Duncan, praised his investigative work. She told The Telegraph: “I have every faith in them [the police] down on the ground and the amazing searches they are carrying out along with more amazing guys up there.

How old is Jay Slater? ›

The 19-year-old has been missing for 12 days - and his loved ones say they are "living the worst nightmare".

Where did Jay go missing? ›

After leaving the NRG music festival at Papagayo night club, the apprentice bricklayer got in a car with two men he had met to drive to the national park in north-west Tenerife. In a statement, NRG described Mr Slater's disappearance as a "devastating situation" that "has deeply affected us all".

What episode does Jay get kidnapped? ›

Intelligence pursues a heroin kingpin who has a member of the team kidnapped.

What's going on with Jay Slater? ›

Missing Jay Slater: Top cop's three theories on what happened in Tenerife. A former senior officer at the Metropolitan Police has said he believes Jay Slater has either plunged into a ravine, deliberately disappeared or has even been kidnapped. Jay, 19, has been missing in Tenerife since last Monday (June 17).

Who gets the money from the GoFundMe? ›

Decide whose bank will receive the funds

Your own bank account, select Personal bank account. An organization's bank account, select Business bank account (Learn more about transferring funds to a business account.) Someone else's bank account, select Someone else's bank account. This is called a beneficiary.

What is the hidden cost of GoFundMe? ›

There's no fee to start or manage your fundraiser. However, to help us operate safely and securely, one small transaction fee (2.9% + $0.30, which includes debit and credit charges) is deducted per donation. For more information about fees in your country, check out our pricing page.

What happened to Sean Slater's dad? ›

Sean and Stacey Slater's father is Brian Slater, who has never actually been seen on the soap, except in photographs. This is because Brian died at the hands of his son Sean back when Sean was just a teenager, and before the troubled youth had ever appeared on EastEnders.

Who is Hope Slater's dad? ›

Hope Fowler is the daughter of Stacey Slater and Martin Fowler, and half-sister of Lily Slater and Arthur Fowler.

Who is Stacey Slater's daughter? ›

Lily Slater (previously Branning and Fowler) is a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders and is portrayed by Lillia Turner. Lily's first appearance in the serial is in episode 4023, originally broadcast on 23 June 2010, in which her birth is depicted.

Where did Jay go missing in Tenerife? ›

Where did he go missing? Mr Slater's last known location is a mountainous path in Rural de Teno Park, which was determined by a ping from his phone. The national park is in the north-west of Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, off West Africa.

Where did Jay Slater live? ›

Jay Slater: Mark Williams-Thomas gives update on search

The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared while attempting to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus.

Where did Jay Hong go? ›

In the more recent chapters, hoping to find Daniel (whose second body was kidnapped by Workers), Jay went back to Sophia, his father's bodyguard, to complete his training, which he dropped out of priorly due to the harshness of the training. He then joined the Allied crew, for the same reason.

Does Mia still have feelings for Jay? ›

It seems as if Jay also had feelings for Mia but he never acted upon them. When Minu made his move, Jay was shown observing with a frown. He valued his friendship with Minu more than he did his feelings for Mia so he never confronted Mia about how he felt. She still is fond of Jay and they have become good friends.

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