Ghoulish Brits treat Jay Slater disappearance as TOURIST attraction & take grim 4×4 ‘safari’ trips where teen vanished
MINDLESS amateur sleuths are taking “safari” jeeps to the area Jay Slater disappeared from.
Shameless British visitors in Tenerife are treating the area as a warped tourist attraction as they swarm the Airbnb the teen went to before he vanished.
Jay, 19, went to a rave before going to holiday rental Casa Abuela Tina in the unforgiving Teno mountains in the early hours of June 17.
He went there with two men he had met that night who had rented the property in northwest Tenerife.
The apprentice bricklayer, from Lancashire, shared a final Snapchat from their Airbnb of a hand holding a cigarette at 7.30am.
After missing the bus, Jay tried to make his way back to his holiday accommodation – an 11-hour walk away.
But at around 8.50am he made a final frantic call to friend Lucy, telling her he was lost in the “middle of nowhere” with no water and had just one per cent battery on his phone.
Now ghoulish Brits are flocking to the two-bedroom Casa Abuela Tina as conspiracy theorists become obsessed with the case.
A photo shows several hire cars parked up outside.
Dozens of wannabe sleuths have travelled to the desolate Rural de Teno National Park in the 12 days since Jay’s disappearance as they attempt to investigate the case themselves.
Former cop Charlie Hedges told The Sun about the risks of online sleuths and amateur detectives trying to crack the case.
He urged the public not to take it upon themselves to help the search as he noted despite their best intentions they may end up causing more trouble.
But one such tourist who has taken a grim 4×4 “safari” trip to the Airbnb admits she has been there more than once.
Shannon Shiels, who lives in Birmingham and Spain, told The Times: “This is our second time here.
“I asked to drive this route because I just wanted to see it one more time. I want to get some answers.”
The spa manager said the area “gives her the chills”.
The owner of the Airbnb where the men stayed said she has given all the information she had to the police.
Ofelia Hernandez, who owns the holiday let, revealed they were friendly, booked several days at the cottage, and spent a lot of time inside the property.
She said she saw Jay walking off on his own uphill in the vast mountainous area near Masca.
It comes as…
- Jay’s best friend said he heard teen’s feet slipping on final vid call
- Tenerife cops appeal for volunteers for large-scale search
- Deluge of tip-offs flooding in for Jay appeal
- Search for Jay hones in on series of caves
- GoFundMe page for his family hits £40,000
- Crews fear he won’t be found alive if he vanished in mountains
- Tenerife worst place to go missing, expert warned before Jay went missing
- Ex-top cop who tracked down Raoul Moat reveals search theory
- Jay was attacked by gang when he was just 12
- New pics of Jay emerge at a pool party two days before he vanished
- Cops quiz locals who ‘saw Jay watching Euros’
- Investigator reveals descriptions of two men who partied with teen
- Crews scour exact spot where mystery ‘grainy figure’ was seen
Ophelia told MEN: “It’s dangerous walking around here, it’s easy to lose yourself. He walked up the road when I saw him for the last time.
“He was alone. He was walking normally, though he was fast.”
It comes as Jay’s friends this week blasted trolls and conspiracy theorists and warned: “He’s not just a pawn for your fame”.
Many are using Google maps to scour the Rural de Teno park to hunt for clues before plastering their wild thoughts over social media.
Meanwhile, some TikTok influencers have taken it upon themselves to fly to the island to film themselves hunting for Jay for bizarre vanity projects.
Armed with their cameras and hiking boots, they have recorded themselves trekking through the mountainous scrubland Jay was last known to be in.
Jay’s pal Megan Blair called out trolls and warned them to stop spreading ridiculous claims.
She said: “Can everyone stop believing everything they see on TikTok, the stories aren’t true and just things people are making up.
“I honestly think it’s disgusting, there are people going live with the caption “finding Jay”.
“If you are helping to find Jay then do it without using him as a way to gain followers.
“He isn’t just a pawn in your way to get fame. This is somebody’s son and friend and there are people who are genuinely worried.”
It comes as Tenerife cops have now pleaded for volunteers to take part in a large-scale search for Jay – despite rejecting help from British police.
Authorities on the island last week insisted they had the resources they needed for the hunt.
Now almost two weeks into the search Tenerife police have appealed for volunteers to help scour the mountainous terrain on the island where Jay was last known to be.
Officials say the huge sweeping search will take place tomorrow in Masca from 9am.
Police confirmed they are not looking for “general” unexperienced members of the public to join the search.
Instead, they are requesting the help of those who are experts in dealing with rocky terrain as well as professional volunteers such as firefighters.
Their cry for help comes despite them turning down help from their British counterparts as they insisted they had all the resources required.
Police in Tenerife said today: “The Guardia Civil prepares and coordinates a large search to find the young British man missing in the village of Masca.
“The collaboration of all those Volunteer Associations is requested: Civil Protection, Firefighters, etc., and even private volunteers who are experts in the abrupt search terrain.
“The massive search will be carried out on Saturday, 29 June from 9am.”
Jay’s distraught mum Debbie Duncan last week slammed police on the island for not letting cops from Lancashire Police fly out to help search for her son.
She said: “I know the Spanish police mean well, but the problem we are having is the language barrier, we just don’t seem to be getting told. I’m sure they are doing their best.
“They told me they had used dogs and drones and then they said Lancashire police had offered their resources but they turned it down, but I think that would have really helped.
“I would feel happier if our people were over helping. It’s just so difficult not knowing where he is, the area and the terrain is rough, but the police were saying that now there are too many people up there and it could interfere with their investigation.”
Rescue crews have been focussing much of their search on a 2,000ft ravine in the desolate Rural de Teno park.
They have now shifted their focus to caves near Los Carrizales – around an hour and a half on foot from the Airbnb Jay went to with two men.
Los Carrizales is a small hamlet not far from Masca in the Teno mountains.
But police sources have warned that it is “very unlikely Jay has survived if he got lost in the mountains”.
Yet authorities have said there are no plans to put a stop to the search yet, despite no signs of Jay.
Timeline of Jay Slater’s disappearance
SUNDAY JUNE 16 – MONDAY 17
Jay goes to a rave at the 2024 NRG music festival in Tenerife, around Arona on the south of the island
8.35pm – Jay posts a smiling Snapchat video of him laughing with friends
He leaves the rave with two men he met that day and is driven back to their accommodation across the island
MONDAY 17
7.30am – Jay posts a Snapchat of a hand holding a cigarette in the area where the accommodation was – near the rural de Teno Park on the north of the island
8.30am – Jay calls his friend Lucy Law and tells her he missed a bus, had one per cent of battery left on his phone and was stuck in the “middle of nowhere”
9am – A missing persons report is filed and the search for Jay begins
TUESDAY 18
2am – Police knock on the door of Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan’s home and tell her to catch the first flight out to Tenerife
7am – She flies out from Manchester Airport alongside her son Zak to help with the search
Debbie is sent a Snapchat message saying “Kiss goodbye to your boy, you’re never going to see him again, he owes me a lot of money.”
WEDNESDAY 19
12.30pm – Police move the search to the south of the island briefly after a false sighting
Cops search his hotel room for clues as his mum says there was “nothing untoward there”
Debbie gives a heart-wrenching interview where she shares fears he has been “taken” and says “I just want my baby back”
THURSDAY 20
Cops begin day four of the massive search for Jay
FRIDAY 21
Lancashire cops offer to help with the search but Tenerife authorities say they are “satisfied that they have the resources they need”
Search turns to 22,000ft ravine in Masca – part of an area dubbed “the badlands” by locals
SATURDAY 22
The sixth day of the search begins with sniffer dogs, cops, mountain rescue and firefighters again taking to the hills in northern Tenerife
Possible new sighting of Jay places him near a church with two men at 6pm on Monday – although unconfirmed by police
Jay’s dad Warren and brother Zak visit the search site in Tenerife
SUNDAY 23
Cops focus their search around small outbuildings in de Teno park near where Jay’s phone last pinged
Jay’s mum Debbie says trolls are comparing her to Karen Matthews
The GoFundMe set up by Jay’s friend Lucy surpasses £30,000 after just three days
Exclusive Sun footage shows Jay appearing to fall and stumble back up at a rave before he vanished
MONDAY 24
Search for Jay enters eighth day
Police expand search area north to parts of Buenavista del Norte
Jay’s dad says his family are in ‘a living hell’
TUESDAY 25
Brit hiker found by Jay search teams says he ‘didn’t need to be saved’
Madeleine McCann cop lands in Tenerife to join search
Tenerife cops call in reinforcements from Madrid – including specialist sniffer dogs
WEDNESDAY 26
Locals claim they have spotted Jay watching Euros
Investigator reveals descriptions of two men Jay partied with
Cops scour exact spot where ‘mystery grainy figure’ was seen
THURSDAY 27
Detectives ‘fear it’s unlikely Jay will be found alive if in mountains’
Search hones in on series of caves in desolate park
Family ‘turn to help of TikTok sleuth’
FRIDAY 28
GoFundMe goes £10,000 over target as it hits £40,000
Tenerife cops announce huge search for Jay & appeal for volunteers