Spain Jay Slater, 19, missing on holiday in Tenerife, 17 June 2024 #3

[Officer Dibble]

'Kiss goodbye to your boy, you're never going to see him again, he owes me a lot of money.'

That message, as reported by Jay’s mum on day 2 or 3, is what first alerted the world that something other than “got lost on the way home” was going on. I know it’s massively snowballed since then, to ridiculous heights, but this has never been a typical missing hiker case.

Then if you add in the early on mention of he was nervous about going on this trip abroad, it all starts to possibly add up.

 

[suzyjackson]

i mean, sort of could have been predicted with his history and other suspicious things in the early days. this is not a hiking enthusiast who went for an ill advised walk in difficult terrain.

I don't think anyone thought he'd developed a sudden need to go for a walk in the mountains did they

Anyone not connected who thought any of the bizzare elements would happen would be a proper clairvoyent imo

 

[Officer Dibble]

It's highly probable that a guy walking around thar area of Tenerife wearing a genuine Rolex is involved in some capacity with organised crime. The fact that the theft wasn't reported to the Police would support that. The watch could have been legitimately owned by the individual it was stolen from, but generally members of organised crime fraternities don't go to the Police when they've become the victim of a crime. They deal with it internally.
One of the two occupants of the AirBnB (who can't be named here due to forum rules, but has been named in MSM) has a criminal background, and if his Social Media history is anything to go by, is a bit of an arrogant loudmouth who fancies himself as a 'real gangster.
I suspect that the two AirBnB occupants were the ones orchestrating the watch theft. Bear in mind that Jay is only 19, suggestible (JMO but his pre-tenerife history paints him as a follower rather than a leader) and likely starstruck by the criminal backgrounds of these two men. It wouldn't take much to convince him to play a minor role in a watch theft, especially after a few drinks and the promise of a cut of the profits.

Watch gets stolen, and the two men hightail it along with Jay to their AirBnB.
Along the way, buzzing from the heist, Jay sends a Snapchat boasting about how they just robbed some foreign bloke of a £12K Rolex.
Back at the AirBnB, talk of the Rolex continues on Snapchat. Still drunk and buzzing from the theft, Jay mentions that the two men have passed out and that he could literally walk out the door with the Rolex and keep it for himself.
Somebody on his Snapchat thinks that's a great idea and dares him to do it.
Jay pockets the watch, leaves the AirBnB and meets Ofelia who tells him he'll need to wait for the next bus.
That's no good to Jay, who needs to be gone before the two men wake up and notice the Rolex (and Jay) are gone.
Jay figures he needs to get away from the Villa sharpish and decides that if they went looking for him, they'd head south back towards the Beach to his Hotel.
Jay decides heading North is the safest bet until he loses the heat.
Two guys wake up. No Jay. No watch.
They head outside and meet Ofelia who tells them that Jay went north.
They get in the car and head up into the hills to catch him.
Jay is on the phone to Brad, possibly buzzing about the fact that he actually stole the watch, at which point he sees the hire car making its way up the hill. Bollocks. Time to hide.
Tells Brad he needs to go and hangs up before moving off road into the brush.
After a few minutes of moving around staying well away from the road, the adrenaline wears off and he realises he doesn't know where he is.

Starting to panic about the fact that he's lost, dehydrated and being chased by two guys that (to him, at least) resemble Tony Montana and Whitey Bulger, he calls Lucy (who knows the island best) to ask for help.
He tells Lucy about what he's done with the watch. Lucy, who knows these guys as 'associates' immediately panics over what Jay has got himself into and after likely telling him to 'drop a pin before your battery runs out and stay there', gets off the phone and immediately calls the police to report him lost, hoping that they can get to him before Tony Montana and Whitey Bulger can.

The next part is anyone's guess. Tony and Whitey either catch up to Jay, or Jay gets further into the brush and ends up succumbing to shock/dehydration/heat.

After alerting the Police, Lucy gets in contact with Jay's social circle to find out what everyone knows, and advises Jay's mum of the situation - including the watch theft - prompting Jay's mum to assume that the two men have captured her son and pleading for him to be let go.

Lucy gets to the AirBnB. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO JAY?!"
The two guys, suprised that she's appeared there, explain that Jay stole the watch, but swear to her that they were not able to find him.

The Police visit the AirBnB. The watch has not been reported missing, so the Police have no knowledge of any watch theft.
"Yes, Officer. Jay was here last night, but when we woke up in the morning he was gone. We went looking for him, but he was nowhere to be seen".
There's no suggestion of foul play, or of any crime at all having been committed. The men's statements are taken and they're free to leave.

The more I think about this, the more it makes perfect sense. Particularly Jay's decision to go North as opposed to South, and the fact that Ofelia remarked that he was 'walking fast'. Bearing in mind that according to his stepfather, he was not fond of walking at all. This isn't the kind of guy that goes on a hike because it's a nice day out. He had to have a reason for going that direction. I think the reason was losing the two men.

How you describe it, it all fits in. Especially the fast walking in the heat. JMO

 

[crespo29]

I accept that there has been a stolen watch but I think that there is something more involved, something involving supplying drugs at a rave. The watch theft being a complication in the story.

 

[LadyL]

If his friends believe him that he stole a watch, why did they tell him to go back to the rental???

 

[Inthedetails]

If his friends believe him that he stole a watch, why did they tell him to go back to the rental???

I assume because they thought he could get water, cellphone charge, and better directions. In a matter of life and death, they advised him toward known shelter and provisions, imo.

jmo

 

[jackal67]

How did you hear LLs parents own an apartment in tenerife

Read it somewhere on SM a few days ago .Can't recall where as have read so much !!

 

[Kor_Phaeron]

If his friends believe him that he stole a watch, why did they tell him to go back to the rental???

"Jay, you have to go back with the watch and apologise. Tell them you were being an idiot. If they find you first, they'll hurt you."

Assuming he  was told to go back. JMO.

 

[Onetwothree]

It's highly probable that a guy walking around thar area of Tenerife wearing a genuine Rolex is involved in some capacity with organised crime. The fact that the theft wasn't reported to the Police would support that. The watch could have been legitimately owned by the individual it was stolen from, but generally members of organised crime fraternities don't go to the Police when they've become the victim of a crime. They deal with it internally.

Or they know nothing will get done and calling the police would be useless. Depending on how the watch was stolen, there is a high chance that the police won't be able to help in any realistic way.

 

[Coconutty]

All along we’ve said that we only have his friends word as to what was actually said in the calls/facetime. Also that it seemed likely that he didn’t want to be spotted walking on the road hence the jumping over the rocks to go off road.

The watch details were shared very early on on various socials, it’s interesting that they appear to be true now.

I would bet his mum knew about the watch from very early on, making her claims that she thought he’d been kidnapped make much more sense now.

I do think his remains will be found one day on the mountains but it wouldn’t be a shock if the police revisit the night/ morning he disappeared and arrests were made either.

JMO

 

[jackal67]

Obviously I don't know anything about you but I'm going to assume you are older, more law abiding and less into the drugs scene than the three people involved and thus are applying what you think you would or wouldn't do. Nothing about that is surprising IMO

Did you follow Corrie McKeague's disappearence? The number of times people posted that he wasn't in the bin because no one would go in a bin in white trousers was ridiculous

Oh I am certain the reason Jay was there was a dodgy one but my thoughts are why didnt anyone else think it was odd that Jay went with them in the first place. I wonder what the 2 men said to the Police about Jay being there?

 

[su5ie]

Speaking to The Telegraph on Wednesday, he said: “My only question is, and this is where you start the investigation from, why did two grown men take a young boy to a valley to a bed and breakfast? I can’t understand that.”

“Why? You need to ask them why and then start from there. Spanish police must know. It is frustrating. It’s a language barrier and you can’t get mad at Spanish police because they don’t like it.”

Mr Slater Snr spoke to The Telegraph after spending two hours searching the natural park in north-west Tenerife where his son vanished. He was joined by his other son, Zak, 24, and Mr Slater’s uncle, who did not want to be named.

Searching at the hottest point of the day, the trio followed a mountain path down the barren valley and looked inside two abandoned shacks, which sit just a few hundred yards from where Mr Slater’s phone was last traced.
View attachment 515185
Mr Slater Snr, dressed in a black T-shirt and blue shorts, cut his legs and arms as he looked for his son. He said he was doing a “Columbo bit”, referencing the US TV detective.

Pointing to a large mountain peak in the distance, he said: “If someone told me ‘he’s up that hill and you’ll find him’, I’d climb that f---ing hill and find him.

He added: “If I had mountain boots and some ropes I would go for it, but I can’t do it in Adidas Sambas.

“All I’m doing is a Columbo bit myself. I mean, he might be on here, you never know. But as a dad, I don’t want him to be.

“You just don’t disappear. He’s a young boy. He’s fit. He’s fitter than us all put together. He’s played football all his life. He’s fit as a flea. You just don’t disappear.”

Father of missing Jay Slater questions why two men took the teenager to their cottage

Police must know the answer but they’re not telling us anything, he says

www.telegraph.co.uk

God love his family all the same they are going through hell his poor dad ,uncle and brother having to go it alone on the search for jay the thought of the sight that would befall them if they did find Jay's body in the open sure you would never unsee that sight ,while it is admiral that he is continuing without professional people whom have become desensitised to this kind of discovery I would have preferred a sars team to find him and for the family to have memories of jay as their smiling son not a horrendously decayed body an image no one wants imprinted on their eyes of the loved one they have lost maybe a small mercy would be for him to be found by a stranger

 

[LadyL]

My theory

He stole the watch and went back to the Airbnb with the 2 men because he was cool with them and they were leaving the area at the same time.

Whoever he stole the watch from gets word that Jay is with these 2 men in the Airbnb, and reaches out to the men. They admit that he's currently at their place or just left, because they have no desire to lie or cover-up for a friend of a friend / someone they just met and create an unnecessary beef. Out of kindness, they let Jay know that these people are coming for him and he should leave. Jay panics when he realises that there's no bus so in order to not be found, has to go off-road. They either don't find him or find him and stab him.

Lucy jumps into action straight away because she knows that people are after him and the situation is dire.

again, why would they tell him to go back there then???

 

[LadyL]

I'm sorry, but what inconsistencies? It's a great thing to state when critiquing an investigation, but as far as I can see there are no inconsistencies at all. The only 3 people who spoke to Jay that morning, that we are aware of put him outside the AirBnB. Two of the people (his friends) put him off the road and the owner sees him on the road, heading north. So, as the police have deduced, he went off-road, got lost and has been injured/succumb to the elements. Fairly clear cut. The noise about watches and thefts has been gleaned from SM and therefore should be totally ignored until proven otherwise! Oh, and the police spoke to the men at the AirBnB and were clearly of the mind they did not have anything to do with all this...

Edited typos.

voice of reason

 

[Kor_Phaeron]

All along we’ve said that we only have his friends word as to what was actually said in the calls/facetime. Also that it seemed likely that he didn’t want to be spotted walking on the road hence the jumping over the rocks to go off road.

The watch details were shared very early on on various socials, it’s interesting that they appear to be true now.

I would bet his mum knew about the watch from very early on, making her claims that she thought he’d been kidnapped make much more sense now.

I do think his remains will be found one day on the mountains but it wouldn’t be a shock if the police revisit the night/ morning he disappeared and arrests were made either.

JMO

The silence from the Tenerife Three has been deafening for most of this case. LL has all but vanished, Brad gave one interview which I've always thought seemed a bit coerced, and Brandon disappeared immediately and changed his name on social media.

I understand the pressures that young people would be under in a case such as this, particularly with the Facepalmbook crazies. But it still feels strange that they've made barely a peep. I said early on that if LL is not involved in drugs, then it's likely her travel expenses are covered by her potentially wealthy parents. Could it be that the three have been given legal advice to remain silent and out of the public eye? JMO.

 

[Officer Dibble]

May have already been said but I think J and the other 2 men (all) stole the watch.
J wasn't too bothered about discussing it on SnapChat in the car on the way back.
If he'd have stolen it himself he'd have kept it quiet from them IMO.
Maybe they were going to split the proceeds but J took off with it after they'd gone to bed in the morning. Explains why he walking fast up the road and that he was 'scared' and why he couldn't 'go back'.
He may have thought that they might follow him but when he went off road he might have thought he was safe from them, he was relaxed and laughing when he spoke to Brad.
What happened next is anyone's guess, he either got lost and perished, or they found him.

MOO

I still think he might have tried to hide something off road

 

[Coconutty]

I do hope that now it’s been revealed he potentially has an expensive watch on him that loads of people don’t suddenly decide they’re capable of searching a mountain. Last thing the Civil guard need is a bunch of randoms with a metal detector rocking up.

 

[Officer Dibble]

So what about the sighting of possibly him watching football later on. Is he still on the island but not lost? Just asking the question. JMO

 

[Kor_Phaeron]

Oh I am certain the reason Jay was there was a dodgy one but my thoughts are why didnt anyone else think it was odd that Jay went with them in the first place. I wonder what the 2 men said to the Police about Jay being there?

I doubt that the Guardia's opinion of British tourists has changed for the better in the past 24 years. If it was anything like it was back when I visited in 2000, I'd imagine they would have just shrugged their shoulders and cared little of why Jay was there (or why he was missing for that matter).

I should add, that this isn't a criticism of the Guardia Civil as much as it's a criticism of how a huge portion of the British Public act when they visit the Mediterranean.

 

[LadyL]

people still thinking he ‘got lost’ then?

yep