Jay Slater update as top detective finds bombshell clue for Spanish police

A former top Metropolitan Police detective and investigator on the Madeleine McCann case has said his team have received “valuable information” on the Jay Slater disappearance.

The 19-year-old from Lancashire has not been seen since June 17 after he went missing in Tenerife, apparently attempting to walk back to the resort where he was staying from a remote mountain region.

The official search and rescue operation on the Spanish island was called off at the end of June, but Jay’s family has been continuing to liaise with local police who have kept the investigation open. 

Top detective Mark Williams-Thomas is in Tenerife joining the search for the missing teenager. He posted an update on his X social media account today, urging people who had contact with Jay “in the last 48 hours before his disappearance” to contact his team. 

He added that of the people his team had spoken to “we are aware that not everything they have told us, will be the truth” because of involvement in “criminal activity”.  

Mr Williams-Thomas said: “As a result of information we’ve received, we now know that Jay took certain actions whilst at the rental because he was clearly worried about his own safety and this was shortly before he decided to leave.

“In the last few days, I have received a significant new piece of information, which I have shared with both the British and Spanish police.”

Jay disappeared in the early hours of June 17 after visiting a holiday rental named Casa Abuela Tina with two British men. Spanish police have said the two men are not part of their investigation. 

Mr Williams-Thomas added that the new information he had provided to police provided “some clarity” as to why Jay “did not want to return to the rental even though his phone was about to go flat”. 

A GoFundMe page set up by Jay’s family had reached over £52,000 at the time of writing.

In an emotional post from his mother Debbie on July 6, she wrote: “We have been overwhelmed by the kindness and support we have received and would like to thank the local hiking group for all of their help planning the routes to find our Jay.

“We have been contacted by a wonderful group of locals who have volunteered to continue the search. While they don’t wish to accept financial help for their search, we will be supporting them with supplies and are so grateful for their willingness to help.”

Jay had attended the NRG music festival with two friends before his disappearance, and his last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the Canary Island – which was about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.