The disappearance of Jay Slater has sparked a slew of conspiracy theories and vicious trolling of his family.
The desperate search for the 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer continues today – a week after he went missing in Tenerife last Monday.
His family are all on the Spanish island as mountain rescuers with dogs and drones search for him as donations by generous Britons to a fundraising page set up by his best friend to support the search has already passed £32,000.
Specialist search teams have been concentrating on an area at the bottom of a ravine in Rural de Teno Park – the area where his phone was last tracked to before it ran out of battery.
But trolls, amateur sleuths and psychics have sparked a carnival of hysteria and chaos surrounding the investigation by spreading wild and even malicious theories about his disappearance on social media – including the sick idea that he has faked his disappearance to pocket the GoFundMe cash.
Conspiracy theorist David Icke has now waded in making unfounded claims on Facebook about people traffickers and a ‘bonkers’ cover up claim about it being linked to the power cut at Manchester Airport yesterday, while others have levelled unsubstantiated allegations about possible mafia involvement.
There are also theories about a white car seen in a picture and on Google Streetview – and ridiculous suggestions including he has run away to join ISIS.
These cruel posts have also caused Jay’s family significant heartache on top of their anxiety and grief as the search continues – with his mother today confronting members of a Facebook conspiracy theory group and telling them she feels ‘very let down’ by their sniping. Vile social media trolls have even compared her to Karen Matthews.
As some amateur detectives flew into Tenerife to join the search, his employer also hit out at the trolls after they were bombarded with messages and said: ‘The picture being painted of Jay is just not true. We stand by him’.
Spanish Police are searching small buildings near Mr Slater’s last identified location in the mountainous terrain of a national park near the village of Masca.
But at least five British nationals, including one calling himself an ‘explorer’, have spent hundreds of pounds on making the trip to Tenerife despite having no link to Jay.
One has been trying to speak to mountain rescue teams currently leading the desperate search in an area referred to as ‘malpais’ by locals, which translates as ‘badland’.
Paul Arnott, 29, who runs the Down the Rapids TikTok account and describes himself as an ‘explorer’, spent £400 on travelling to the island on Saturday from Fort William, in Scotland.
He told The Telegraph: ‘I’ve been trying to contact mountain rescue all day but I haven’t been able to get through to anyone.’
He added: ‘The idea is ideally to communicate with mountain rescue and the police and if I can’t get a response then I’ll do my own thing in hits area and try and work out where’s not been searched.’ Mr Arnott said he would want someone to come out and help if the same thing had happened to him.
Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and other platforms are packed with memes from The Inbetweeners series and movies making light of his disappearance.
Internet sleuths have trawled his social media posts for clues that might offer an explanation for Jay’s disappearance, including unlikely theories about him being murdered or kidnapped.
Others have spent hours on Google trying to dig out details on his work life, background and childhood.
Some have spent time looking at satellite images of Tenerife to try to track his final movements, especially as new CCTV images of Jay from the hours after he vanished continue to emerge.
On Friday, Lancashire Police, who were in charge of the controversial search for Nicola Bulley, said it had ‘made an offer of support’ to the force in Tenerife but this was declined as local officers said they were ‘satisfied that they have the resources they need’.
Ms Bulley’s search also became chaotic after amateur sleuths catering to followers on TikTok and other social media sites turned up trying to solve the case. One expert told that there is a danger that Jay’s case could go the same way.
Mr Slater’s disappearance has become a phenomenon on social media – with thousands of users speculating about the circumstances of his disappearance.
Detective turned journalist Mark Williams-Thomas has offered his expertise as the hunt for the missing 19-year-old who vanished after leaving a Tenerife nightclub enters its second week.
Police are working on the theory that he has got lost after attending a three-day high energy music festival, with the teenager later being seen walking away from Playa de las Americas.
He had called his best friend Lucy Law, who was on holiday with him, that he ‘didn’t know where he was’, was thirsty and only had 1% battery left on his phone.
Jay Slater’s mother Debbie Duncan has repeatedly hit out at trolls mocking her missing son and raised her own concerns that it is distracting from the hunt for her missing boy.
She posted on a Facebook page where thousands of people have been giving their own theories behind his disappearance.
On that ‘Jay Slater theories’ page, users are posting every few minutes, some asking people to show more respect to his family and not lose sight of the fact a 19-year-old boy is missing.
But others continue to play amateur detective and asking questions they believe have not been properly answered about the case, and calling for more ‘transparency’ from his family, friends and the police.
‘I really am saddened by all your comments. You seem to be so bothered about this GoFundMe page. I really hope I am not taking my son home in a body bag’, Debbie said.
‘The [GoFundMe] funds are not released and won’t be if not needed.
‘I really cannot believe the British public are not supporting me in trying to find Jay. This may happen to any of you one day. Very let down by you all.’
Yesterday his employer in Lancashire spoke out to dismiss rumours online about him. PH Build, which employs Mr Slater as an apprentice bricklayer, had to delete a post asking for information after it was hijacked by those spouting theories about him.
They said in a statement: ‘Our Jay is still missing.
‘We have decided to remove our last post due to all the negative comments and conspiracy theories.
‘Jay has been with us since he left school and is liked by all. He’s a valued member of our team and we stand by him.
‘The picture being painted of him is just not true. The fact is he’s a 19-year-old lad missing in a foreign country. He needs to be back home where he belongs. Come on Jay we are all praying for you.’
Jay vanished after a three-day music festival on the Spanish island.
Today another grainy image of a man fitting Jay’s description emerged.
Yesterday, footage emerged of Mr Slater dancing at a nightclub after-party hours before he disappeared.
The club, Papagayo, is located at the end of the notorious Veronica’s Strip, on the Playa de las Americas.
The party finished at 5am and an hour later Mr Slater is said to have been in the company of two unknown British men at their £40-a-night Airbnb accommodation, 19 miles away in the village of Masca.
The last confirmed sighting of Mr Slater, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, was at 8.15am that day as he walked through Masca.
The detective-turned-TV investigator who helped expose Jimmy Savile’s crimes and probed the disappearance of Nicola Bulley yesterday offered to help find British teenager Jay Slater.
Mark Williams-Thomas said he ‘reached out’ to Debbie Duncan, the mother of the 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer who went missing last Monday in Tenerife.
In a post on X, Mr Williams-Thomas said: ‘I have this morning reached out to missing Jay Slater’s mum offering the help of my team to get her answers as to what has happened to her son.’
He said there had been ‘lots of speculation’, adding: ‘If they give me total access and with feet on the ground I will very quickly be able to say if his disappearance is him alone or if it has third party involvement.’
Mr Williams-Thomas was previously lead investigator on ITV1 documentary Exposure: The Other Side Of Jimmy Savile, which revealed how the late BBC presenter systematically preyed upon young and vulnerable girls.
He also offered help last year when mother-of-two Ms Bulley, 45, went missing while walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire. Her body was later discovered and a coroner ruled that she had accidentally drowned. The intervention by Mr Williams-Thomas comes after Mr Slater’s friend said Spanish police ‘were not doing a good job’.
Lucy Law, 18, was the last person to speak to Mr Slater when he called her at around 8am on Monday morning.
She said he told her he was ‘lost in the mountains with no water’ and had a very low phone battery. His phone’s last signal was in the Rural de Teno national park.
Ms Law, who attended the music festival with Mr Slater, said he told her he was not aware of his surroundings, and desperately needed a drink.
The walk from his last known location to his accommodation would have taken about 11 hours on foot. Police are searching in the national park, an area referred to as ‘malpais’ by locals, which translates as ‘badland’.
Ms Law said: ‘We are having to do this all by ourselves as Spanish police are not doing a good enough job. They don’t even speak English. It’s been a very slow process here so we need the British police to come out and help them.’
Mr Slater’s father Warren Slater, 58, and brother Zak, 24, have now visited the spot where the teenager’s phone was last located. A tearful Mr Slater said: ‘He’s my son. I just want him back.’
Police have said they are keeping an open mind on the situation and have used helicopters, drones and sniffer dogs in their search.