Jay Slater missing: Tenerife police call off search as family vows to continue looking for teen

A man who had his “skull split open” in a machete attack carried out by a gang including Jay Slater has broken his silence on the desperate search for the teenager who vanished in Tenerife.

The missing 19-year-old was part of a group of eight people who attacked Tom Hilton, then 17, with a machete, golf clubs and an axe in Rishton, Lancashire, in 2021.

The apprentice bricklayer, from Oswaldtwistle, was handed an 18-month community order with 25 days of rehabilitation activities and 150 hours of unpaid work for his role in the violent disorder.

The mother of a young man who went missing in Bristol has called for renewed attention on her son’s case amid the disappearance of Jay Slater.

Jack O’Sullivan, 23, was last seen more than 17 weeks ago after walking home from a night out with friends on 2 March, in a case mirroring that of Mr Slater, 19, who vanished in the early hours after partying in Tenerife.

Family and friends are attempting to keep Mr O’Sullivan’s story in the public eye by launching their own website, fundraising, and changing their Facebook profile pictures to his missing poster.

Fake rumours of a body being found in the hunt for Jay Slater had spread like wildfire across Facebook, TikTok and other social media sites as thousands of users share disinformation.

A mocked up Facebook post from one of the Slater’s family inner circle was shared with the message: “Jay’s body has been found. Our hearts are with his family in these evil times, we’ve heard from locals it was the job of the Morrocans [sic].”

The mother of Jay’s best friend Rachel Louise Harg, who also set up the GoFundMe page to go towards search efforts, was forced to amplify the cruel prank as she distanced herself from it, insisting the official update group: “This isn’t me.”

The Independent’s Holly Evans reports from Tenerife:

The family of missing Jay Slater are sick with worry about their son – but are still holding out hope he may be found alive after disappearing in Tenerife.

But the story of an Irish tourist who also vanished on the Spanish island last year to be found alive a few days later suggests all may not be lost in the missing person search for Mr Slater.

Reports from last year tell of how Ryan Cooney, who was aged 28 at the time, was last seen leaving his hotel Paraiso del Sol apartments in Playa de las Americas on 9 November 2023.

Lined with garish neon signs, booming music and ridiculously cheap drink deals, Veronica’s Strip in Tenerife could be seen as a British teenager’s heaven or a nightmare.

Young Britons appear to be the main clientele along the popular street in Playa de Las Americas, with hundreds gathering this week to celebrate the end of their A-Level results.

It was here that Jay Slater spent his Sunday evening clubbing, before disappearing 37km away in the mountain region of Rural de Teno national park, with few clues leading as to why the teenager would travel such a distance.

The Independent’s Holly Evans reports from Tenerife:

One of Jay Slater’s closest friends has revealed details of a phone call which took place shortly before he disappeared in the mountains of Tenerife.

An emotional Brad Hargreaves said that he heard the teenager sliding on gravel and that he had encouraged him to order a taxi, after they realised he had travelled miles away from their accommodation.

The duo had attended the New Rave Generation festival in Papagayo’s nightclub in the southern tourist hotspot of Playa de Las Americas, with Mr Slater returning to an AirBnb with two older men in in the small village of Masca.