An investigator has spoken to family, friends and key witnesses about the Lancashire teen’s disappearance on the Spanish island – and here we take a look at what we learned

Jay Slater was found after a month-long search after going missing in Tenerife last year(Image: MEN)

One year ago today was the last time Jay Slater was seen alive after travelling to Tenerife with his mates.

He was last seen alive in the wee hours of June 17 before he disappeared, and a gruelling search that went on for nearly a month ended when his body was eventually discovered.

Investigative journalist Mark Williams-Thomas has delved deep into this tragic case through a new podcast series, where he chats to Jay’s relatives, pals and crucial witnesses about the Lancashire lad’s mysterious vanishing act on the Spanish island, bringing fresh details to light.

Jay had flown over to the NRG music festival at Papagayo nightclub in the Playa de las Americas hotspot on June 16.

Afterward, we know he headed back to an AirBnB flat early on, which marks the final sighting of him before the lads from the Spanish Civil Guard mountain rescue team found him lifeless on July 15 not far off from Masca village.

So who caught the last glimpse of Jay?

Mark Williams-Thomas got the chance to have words with Ayub Qassim, the chap who had listed the AirBnB, about their final interaction that fateful morning, reports the Mirror.

Qassim recalled: “He (Jay) said to me ‘Pal I’m off, this woman told me I can get a bus every 10 minutes’, I told him that he’s mad, there’s no bus that’s coming here every 10 minutes, chill out for a bit and I’ll drop you off later on.

“He said, ‘No, no I’ve got to go to Los Cristianos, I need to scram, I need to chip out’. There’s nothing more that I could do.

“I saw him walk off maybe down the steps. I maybe shut the door and said if you need me..”

But Mr Williams-Thomas also revealed that was not the last time Jay was seen alive.

Just moments later Jay spoke to a woman who looked after the Airbnb rental, where he had just spent the night.

The investigator went to speak to the woman and indicated there would have been a language barrier between the pair.

She told Mr Williams-Thomas that she had told Jay where he could catch a bus back to the south of Tenerife and then she saw him walk off up the hill on his own.

“She said 10am to him and showed him where the bus stop is but it is very obvious anyway and she said that she then saw him walk off up the hill,” said Mr Williams-Thomas.

“If he was walking back to Los Cristianos he would have walked off that [the other] way, but for some reason he walked off up the hill.

“She said she didn’t see him after that, he was alone, he wasn’t carrying anything and he definitely wasn’t with anyone else.

“She said at that stage, the two black men, she believed, where inside asleep, I couldn’t understand why she knew that for certain but she said they were inside and she didn’t see him again.”

Jay’s final movements

Ex-detective Mark Williams-Thomas said Jay Slater was “buzzing” and wanted to carry on partying even though his friends left, which led him to make the decision to travel far away from his hotel.

The investigator shed light on the tragic circumstances surrounding Jay’s death in Tenerife, revealing that the mix of alcohol and drugs likely played a part in his ill-fated decision-making.

An autopsy revealed that before his death, Jay had consumed alcohol and drugs, which could have affected his judgement.

He explained: “Jay was still buzzing at 6am from the alcohol and drugs but his friends wanted to go home, so when Qassim told Jay that he could go back to theirs and continue partying he jumped at the chance.”

Further insights from the investigation showed worryingly altered behaviour.

Mark explains: “2.35am – Jay sent a cryptic text to a friend saying ‘they’ve got a marker on me’, the friend replied at 3am with the message ‘you need to go home lad you’re off your barnet’. Jay then replied ‘you think I’m going home you must be disabled’.

“We know that at this stage Jay was very heavily under the influence of drink and drugs and it is highly likely that some paranoia was present because his friends were saying he was not making much sense and being argumentative which was very unlike Jay.”

The probing at the Airbnb where Jay stayed also concluded there was: “Strongly rules out third party involvement (in Jay’s death) from the time he was at the rental.”

It’s believed that Jay’s death was instantaneous, with the young man being discovered in a ravine near the village of Masca almost a month after his disappearance.

At an inquest opened last month, it was heard that Jay succumbed to a head injury.

Home Office pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd stated that it’s possible Jay died “in an instant” following his fall into the ravine, with the impact likely causing immediate loss of consciousness due to its “immediate and devastating effect on Jay’s consciousness”.

He continued, explaining the teen sustained “severe” injuries and confirmed the cause of death as a head injury, which aligned with findings from Spanish pathologists.

Dr Shepherd clarified: “The injuries were so severe I have no doubt he would have been instantly unconscious from the moment of that blow to the head.

“Death could well have been instant the injury was so severe. Jay would undoubtedly be unconscious and unaware.

“It’s most likely death would have occurred instantly or extremely soon afterwards.”

Why did it take a month to find him?

Masca, where Jay’s body was discovered, is known for its rugged and dangerous terrain, with locals referring to it as the “lost village” because it lacked road access until the 1990s.

Situated in the remote Parque Rural de Teno in North Western Tenerife, it has become notorious for requiring more rescues than any other location in the Canary Islands, per the Masca visitors centre’s website.

At the time of the disappearance, a local worker at the visitor centre highlighted the dangers of the Masca region saying@ “There’s a lot of people that usually get lost here, there’s a lot of forest.

“We’ve already had a lot of news of tourists getting on trails they shouldn’t have and getting lost.

“I’ve seen a lot of helicopters flying around the rural park for years.”

Turning to Tenerife’s troubling drug scene, investigator Mark Williams-Thomas shared his experience when attempting to obtain CCTV footage from the Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas, noting the potent smell of drugs.

He was taken aback by the odour of narcotics on the strip and the casual drug offers he received outside.

The investigator expressed his concern: “I went to a club just across the road which is a club that we know Jay went to, and we know Jay was with the two black men, interestingly enough no CCTV inside, you have to question why.

“Less than 30 seconds after getting out of the vehicle I was approached by a number of men offering me drugs, offering me cannabis, cocaine straight away, actually it is rife along the street.

“I’ve never walked down a street where you can smell cannabis to the degree it is here, so prevalent, and there are police driving around, no one cares, no one cares at all.”

Details emerge that Jay’s friends were notably absent from his inquest

Lucy Law initially sounded the alarm about Jay’s disappearance, having befriended him prior to their holiday. Both hailed from Lancashire.

Lucy played a pivotal role in initiating the search efforts and supporting Jay’s family upon their arrival.

However, she was absent from the inquest into Jay’s death the previous month, with her family citing that she was abroad and unaware of the proceedings.

Bradley Hargreaves, another friend from Lancashire, had accompanied Jay to Tenerife and was privy to Jay’s last known location, which Jay had shared with him.

Bradley frequently spoke with the press during the search for Jay but was also out of the country when the inquest took place.

Brandon Hodgson, the third friend from Lancashire to travel with Jay, was among the last individuals to converse with Jay before his disappearance.

According to investigator Mark Williams-Thomas, Brandon, now 20, received a text from Jay stating, “I’ve started walking.”

Brandon is currently cooperating with the police, although he too was abroad during the inquest.

Ayub Qassim, a fellow British national but not a friend from Jay’s hometown, had invited Jay to stay at his rented Airbnb in the Tenerife mountain village of Masca the night preceding Jay’s disappearance.

The 31 year old, also known as “Johnny Vegas” and a convicted drug dealer, allowed Jay to stay overnight but did not attend the inquest into Jay’s death.

Steven “Rocky” Roccas, who was staying with Mr Qassim at the Masca AirBnB, remains a mystery as little is known about him.

Despite efforts by Met Police officers to serve him a witness summons at his London address, he was nowhere to be found and remains missing.

During the inquest, Jay’s heartbroken mum Debbie Duncan made an emotional plea to those involved.

Addressing Preston Coroner’s Court, she said: “I know you have tried to locate them but how can we ever get any understanding we know he died and he had an accident but from him leaving that holiday resort to going up to there we have read their statements and we want these people to be here sat in front of us, we want to ask them questions”.

She continued with a mother’s anguish: “Our son went on holiday and didn’t come back so there are questions we need to ask… please.”