Jay Slater’s distraught family are being targeted with fake ‘ransom demands’ as they continue to search for the missing British teenager on the island of Tenerife, an investigator has revealed.
TV detective Mark Williams-Thomas, who also probed the disappearance of Nicola Bulley, has revealed how the family are grappling with ‘vile threats’ and demands for money after they raised fears that Jay may have been kidnapped.
Apprentice bricklayer Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, near Blackburn in Lancashire, vanished after the last night of the three-day NRG festival in the Playa de las Americas resort town.
He was last seen near the rugged Rural de Teno Park on June 17 after going back to an Airbnb with two men in the remote area of Masca and a huge search involving dogs, drones and a helicopter has failed to find any trace.
On Sunday, the Spanish police officially ended its search for the 19-year-old, but insisted the investigation ‘remains open’. Jay’s mother, Debbie Duncan, has urged police not to ‘give up on Jay’, according to a family source.
Mr Williams-Thomas, who flew out to Tenerife last week to help with the search wrote on X: ‘So much fake content has been created in the Jay Slater case – mocked up chat, messages, pic. It’s a very different world we live in today with social media and online detectives.
‘Overwhelming response from people has been very positive people just wanting to help, even though most have no direct info, just what they have read, seen or think. Also a number of people making vile threats and ransom demands (all checked out and have no credibility).’
In the early stages of the search, Debbie said she thought Jay had been ‘taken against his will’, while the last person he spoke to – Lucy Mae Law – also echoed kidnapping fears.
Jay Slater, 19, is pictured with his mother Debbie Duncan who flew out to Tenerife with other family members
TV detective Mark Williams-Thomas has said that there have been fake ransom demands made
This was the final official search for Jay Slater on Saturday before Spanish police ended the hunt
Spanish police called off the hunt for the missing 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer, 14 days after Jay went missing
The teen’s disappearance has left some young British holidaymakers feeling unsafe and being more cautious on Tenerife. These two Brits said their group had all shared their locations with each other
Mr Williams-Thomas, who also exposed Jimmy Savile’s evil crimes and worked on the Madeline McCann case, has said he has ‘been able to speak to important witnesses’ and has a ‘very detailed picture of Jay’s movements’ in the lead up to his disappearance.
Jay was last seen at around 8am on June 17 by the owner of an Airbnb he had gone back to with two men after a rave. The Spanish police have described the men as ‘irrelevant’ to the investigation.
Jay had asked the owner when the next bus to Los Cristianos was and when she said 10am, he decided to set off back to his accommodation on foot for what would have been an 11-hour walk. Search efforts has been focused on a group of small buildings close to where his phone last pinged in the Masca mountains.
The teen’s disappearance has left some young British holidaymakers feeling unsafe and being more cautious on Tenerife.
‘I was a little bit more scared coming here and we definitely made sure we had each other’s locations before we came which we wouldn’t have done before all this happened,’ one told Sky News.
Another said: ‘I think not less safe but maybe more cautious, more aware. We’ve all got our locations on… when we booked this holiday we probably wouldn’t have even considered the safety measures.’
It comes as Jay’s mother Debbie yesterday urged police to keep going with their investigation.
Heartbroken mother Debbie, father Warren, and brother Zak are understood to have spoken with Spanish cops over the phone to make ‘sure the police aren’t giving up on Jay’, according to a family source.
Police had called for an army of volunteers to help on Saturday but only six turned up. Jay’s father and brother (pictured at back) also joined
The mountainside near Masca where the search parties gathered for two weeks was quiet on the hillside on Sunday as Spanish police called off the search
They have been in constant contact with the police after being left ‘blindsided’ by Sunday’s decision to call off the hunt for the missing 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer after 14 days scouring the mountains in Tenerife.
Amateur sleuths who have taken over the search for Jay in the police’s absence claimed they have discovered a new clue which could help explain what happened to him.
TikTok sleuth and amateur mountaineer Paul Arnott, who has been assisting Jay’s family since the police wound down their investigation, told MailOnline a pair of sunglasses similar to the ones Jay was last seen wearing had been found close to where his mobile phone last pinged.
A family source told The Mirror: ‘The family want to be sure the police aren’t giving up on Jay. They are in constant contact with them about the case.’
The sunglasses were handed in to the family, which were found by Chris Pennington, 43, originally from Chester and a former British Army reservist who served in Iraq with the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry.
He said he found the sunglasses and believes the area where Jay’s phone last pinged suggested someone had thrown it in there.
Mr Pennington who now lives in Tenerife, told MailOnline: ‘I’ve done a bit of hiking and mountaineering and wanted to help out the family.
‘They are desperate to find their lad and with my background I thought I could do my bit.
‘I parked up near the viewpoint near where the phone last pinged and found them on the ground near some bushes and in the area where they have been searching.
‘I don’t know if they are Jay’s but as a duty of care I picked them up and told the Guardia Civil about them.
‘They told me not to touch them if possible and wrap them in paper not plastic and I did and handed them in.
‘They also took my DNA and fingerprints as well. It must be awful for the family with the search sacking back and they haven’t had any news for two weeks weeks.
‘I walked a bit further towards where they said his phone pinged but it was a challenge to get through, it was impossible.
The pair of sunglasses found by Chris Pennington, 43, originally from Chester and a former British Army reservist who served in Iraq with the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry
A sleuth claimed a pair of sunglasses has been found on a remote Tenerife mountain that could belong to missing raver Jay Slater
The video, which has since been deleted, shows a pair of broken black sunglasses lying on the ground near to the Mirador viewing point, in the area where his phone was last tracked in the Rural de Teno Park near the village of Masca
Jay’s desperate family have called in the help of one TikTok sleuth – Paul Arnott (pictured). He has blasted a police search on his TikTok account as a ‘PR exercise’
The 29-year-old, who runs the TikTok account Down the Rapids and describes himself as an ‘explorer’, has been searching for Jay since Saturday. He has posted more than 70 videos since, racking up millions of views
‘You would have needed a machete to get through all that undergrowth so this phone pinged from there it’s because someone threw it in there.
‘The sunglasses were about 50 metres from the road near a tunnel I wanted to search. I saw them glinting in the sun and picked them up.’
Mr Arnott, an adventurer and mountaineer from Flitwick, Bedfordshire, cancelled a charity fundraiser to fly out to Tenerife last week and join the search and rescue operation.
The self-described explorer, who has been sharing clips on TikTok of his own search operation, has been backed by Jay’s family, who he claims are ‘really proud’ of his efforts.
After Spanish officials called off the search, he told MailOnline: ‘The police say they have searched everywhere but I’m not happy with that.
‘If they had searched everywhere they would have found him, but they haven’t and I’m convinced he is on that mountain.
‘I’ve been along ridges and gullies they haven’t been down and now I intend to look at two other ravines.
‘They say they have searched everywhere but in my opinion that haven’t and that’s why I am carrying on.’
Mr Arnott also revealed he had refused help from Jay’s family and said: ‘They are so amazing and lovely. They just want to find Jay and I want to help them.
‘They keep offering to pay for my food and accommodation, but I keep telling them no. I don’t want anything and I don’t want anything from the Go Fund Me site.
Jay’s father Warren along with with Jay’s mother Debbie and a number of his friends have flown to the Spanish island
Warren Slater (right), 58, and his son Zak (left), 24, pictured alongside volunteers at the remote mountain spot outside the village of Masca where Jay’s mobile phone last pinged
‘What I would be interested in doing is setting up my own fund to pay for a team from Scotland mountain rescue to come out here.’
Speaking on ITV’s This Morning, he said: ‘There has been a lot of people around however I’ve only seen four people actually searching.
‘The rest of the people are standing on the side of the road, blocking off paths, trying to stop news reporters going into certain areas.
‘The four people that are searching are doing a good job of searching the paths.
‘They’ve gone off-grid a little bit from what I can see but everyone else is just standing about.’
Meanwhile, a family friend told The Times that the Slaters were ‘in the dark’ about the next steps of the investigation.
It emerged that Spanish authorities say there is ‘no current evidence of criminality’ in the Jay Slater case.
The female investigating judge who is being kept informed of developments has been told the Civil Guard sees nothing at this stage pointing to Jay being the victim of a crime.
As is standard procedure in Spain, the police force is reporting to a court which has opened a routine judicial investigation and has declined to comment on what it is doing behind the scenes as part of a ‘parallel probe’ which has continued despite the ending of the visible mountain search.
Mr Williams-Thomas, who worked on the Nicola Bulley case, urged the family to use the £45,000 raised in GoFundMe donations to hire ‘experts’ to help find him.
He said: ‘Although the police search in the mountains and around Masca has concluded, the police investigation into Jay Slater’s disappearance remains ongoing.
‘In regard to our investigation we have been able to speak to important witnesses and now have a very detailed picture of Jays movements over 16 & 17th along with important background information .
‘We still have a number of outstanding actions, but have given the family a preliminary breakdown of findings.
‘In light of the police search ending, I have suggested the family should use the GoFundMe money to continue the search using experts in searching. I would appeal again, if you have any ‘direct information’ having spoken to Jay or anyone that was with him over night 16/17th and have not yet been in contact please do so .’
A judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity as is normal in Spain, said: ‘There is no evidence of criminality at this stage in this case.
‘That’s not to say things won’t change because the case remains open and investigations are ongoing. But right now that’s the situation.’
Another said: ‘This missing persons’ case has been judicialised as is normal in Spain and it’s been lodged at Court of Instruction Number One in Icod de los Vinos.
‘The Civil Guard don’t have to tell the judge about everything officers are doing but will be keeping her updated on case progress and of course update her on any significant developments.’
In line with the revelation that the Jay Slater probe is being treated at the moment as a missing person inquiry and not a crime, officials confirmed investigating judge Maria Goya has not declared it ‘secret’ to protect the judicial proceedings.
An order called in Spanish a ‘secreto de sumario’ is often slapped on a criminal probe in its infancy, preventing even defence lawyers and prosecuting attorneys from accessing case files.
Such orders also prevent public officials from revealing details of any case files with breaches punishable by heavy fines.
Judges who make their investigations secret when cases are still in their infancy act out of a desire to avoid them being compromised by minimising the risk of leaks.
The judicial source said: ‘The Jay Slater case that has been opened at the Icod de los Vinos court is not under any secrecy order.’