Search for Jay Slater: Missing British teenager may not be 'missing' and police must…

July 1, 2024, 08:22 | Updated: July 1, 2024, 08:38

Jay Slater “may not have disappeared” and police must continue investigating his disappearance, a former British police officer has said.

It has been almost two weeks since the 19-year-old from Lancashire was last seen.

The search for Jay Slater was called off on Sunday after the Civil Guard called for volunteers to join a “massive search” in the Masca region of the island on Saturday.

But today a former Met officer, Graham Wettone, who served in the force for 30 years, said “things just don't add up” in the case.

Mr Wettone, who has extensive experience dealing with missing persons cases, urged Spanish police to accept an offer of assistance from their British counterparts after examining the evidence himself.

He told the MailOnline: “It seems to me, at first glance, that they are only focusing on the mountains, but I hope they are looking at other avenues and that includes crime.”

“I've been following this case closely and discussing it with colleagues and it's certainly a very bizarre case, a lot of things don't add up. »

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Mr Wettone said he would have set up a roadblock to stop people and ask them if they had seen anything, as well as to question witnesses, although this would have been difficult because it would call into question their honesty.

Jay attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends before his disappearance and his last known location was Teno Rural Park in the north of the island, about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.

There has been a mystery surrounding two British men who traveled north towards Masca from the festival with Mr Slater.

They were initially declared “key witnesses” but were later dismissed as “irrelevant.”

The news comes after Jay's parents said they were “heartbroken and devastated” after Spanish police announced their decision to call off the search for the teenager on Sunday.

Despite this, family friend Rachel Hargreaves said Mr Slater's relatives had no plans to leave the island.

Ms Hargreaves, the mother of Mr Slater's best friend Brad Hargreaves, said: “We just keep looking ourselves. »

She said they were continuing to cooperate with TikTok climber Paul Arnott, who helped with the search last week.

She added: “We are looking for anyone with mountain rescue experience and will continue to search the area. »

On Friday, the Guardia Civil launched an appeal for volunteer associations, such as firefighters, and individual volunteers with expertise in rough terrain to take part in a “busqueda masiva”, or mass search, which will take place on Saturday.

A helicopter, drones and a unit of dogs specialized in large-area searches have arrived from Madrid, and the Civil Guard maintains that all hypotheses remain open.