Jay Slater's dad fumes as he demands answers over men who partied with his son before disappearance: 'We're in the dark'

Spanish investigators/Jay Slater
Spanish police called off their official search for Slater last week
PA
James Saunders

By James Saunders


Published: 04/07/2024

- 19:47

A troupe of the 19-year-old's family and friends have travelled to Tenerife to try and find Jay

The hunt for missing Briton Jay Slater has taken a new dramatic turn after the teen's father has put Spanish investigators on blast.

Warren Slater forms part of a troupe of the 19-year-old's family and friends who have travelled to Tenerife to try and find Jay - but now, he has demanded answers on why police didn't pursue a specific lead.


Slater, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, disappeared after setting off to walk back to his accommodation on the holiday island on June 17.

He had travelled to an Airbnb in the village of Masca rented by two "grown men" - but the pair were later ruled "not relevant" to the case, according to reports.

Jay Slater

Jay Slater went missing in Tenerife on June 17

PA

Warren 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? Why? You need to ask them why and then start from there," Jay's dad asked, speaking to the Sun.

The father's plea follows a reveal from TV investigator Mark Williams-Thomas that the 19-year-old left the £40-per-night rental property feeling "scared".

Williams-Thomas said Slater did not want to return to the Airbnb - despite desperately needing water and his phone being on the brink of running out of battery.

MORE ON THE SEARCH FOR JAY SLATER:

Spanish investigators/Jay Slater

Spanish police called off their official search for Slater last week

PA

The apprentice bricklayer's dad claimed Spanish police - who tend to be more reticent with giving out updates than their British counterparts, according to Gerard Couzens - were not telling the Slaters enough about their ongoing investigation.

Warren said: "I've gone past the sadness bit... I'm angry, if that makes any sense. I'm angry that nothing's happened."

He added that he thought it impossible that his son would "just disappear", citing Jay's fitness and youth as reasons he could have made it out of the Rural de Teno park of his own accord.

But Jay's father - who is in Tenerife alongside the teen's brother and uncle - isn't the only family member to have spoken out about how they feel.

Jay Slater/Debbie DuncanDebbie Duncan said "words cannot describe the pain and agony we are experiencing"PA/ITN
Debbie Duncan and Jay SlaterMissing Jay Slater with mum Debbie DuncanPA

In the wake of last week's news that Spanish authorities had officially brought their search for Slater to an end, Jay's mother Debbie Duncan released a heartbreaking statement detailing the family's ongoing "pain and anger".

Duncan said: "We are a very close family and are absolutely devastated about his disappearance.

"Words cannot describe the pain and agony we are experiencing.

"He is our beautiful boy with his whole life ahead of him and we just want to find him."

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