Investigator Mark Williams-Thomas has revealed new details about the case of tragic teen Jay Slater – including a final chat he had with a pal the night before he went missing

Jay Slater died while on holiday in Tenerife in June last year(Image: Family Handout/LBT Global/PA)

A friend of tragic teen Jay Slater has revealed the final conversation the pair had before the 19-year-old fell to his death in a remote village while on holiday in Tenerife.

The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared after attending the NRG music festival with friends on the Spanish island in June last year. After a major search operation lasting nearly a month, his remains were discovered in steep, rocky terrain near the remote village of Masca. Now, investigator Mark Williams-Thomas has revealed new details about the case – including a final chat between Jay and a pal Brandon Hodgson, who was partying with the teenager on the night before he went missing.

Jay’s body was found in a steep, rocky terrain in Masca(Image: Instagram)

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The two were messaging and talking on Snapchat video from the Airbnb rental in Masca on the morning that Jay left the secluded building and vanished. Brandon told Mark Williams-Thomas how he called Jay when he decided to walk back to Los Cristianos, where he was originally staying – a distance that would take approximately 10 hours on foot. “He said, ‘I’ve started walking’, he was laughing at first, then he sent me his location,” said Brandon.

“On the phone he said to me ‘I’ve been walking for half an hour’, I told him to go back and he said, ‘I’ve already been walking for half an hour, I’m not going back, I don’t want to go back, I just want to go home.”

Investigator Williams-Thomas also revealed that another of Jay’s pal, Lucy Law, who joined him in Tenerife, told him Jay was “going on a mission” the night before he vanished, and sent a photo carrying knives to a friend the following day.

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Jay Slater with Lucy Law

“On the night before, […] he messaged me saying ‘I’m going on a mission’, then I’ve gone home, tried to find him…,” she said. “Woke up to the call from Brandon in the morning ‘oh my God he’s in the mountains, trying to walk…. He’s said ‘can’t go back there, can’t go back there’ (referring to the Airbnb rental where he had stayed).”

Lucy then spoke to Jay and told him: “Go back to where you came from, do you know anything about where you are?”

She then talked to Josh, who had received the photo of Jay carrying the knives. Lucy said Jay had met Josh on the plane to the holiday island. “He sent the video to Josh,” said Lucy of the footage showing Jay with the knives.

Mark Williams-Thomas has shared new details on the case(Image: Stan Kujawa)

“Took the kitchen knives from the Airbnb and put them down his pants, lifted his top up and shown it to him ‘Just in case anything kicks off’. I’m like…” She added: “It could have just been a coincidence but with him also saying about going on a mission…”

An inquest into Jay’s death was adjourned after his mum Debbie pleaded for more witnesses to come forward. She said: “We want these people to be sat in front of us, because our son went on holiday and didn’t come back, so there’s questions we need to ask.”

A number of witnesses were asked to give evidence at the hearing at Preston Coroner’s Court but have either not been traced or were unable to attend despite extensive efforts, the court was told. The group included Lucy Law, whose stepfather Andy Davis said she had no idea that the inquest was taking place.