Jay Slater missing: Former British detective joins family in search of missing teenager – World News

Former British detective Mark Williams-Thomas is in Tenerife to help the family of missing teenager Jay Slater.

The experienced investigator, who has investigated a series of high-profile missing persons cases, was yesterday seen carrying out inquiries at the holiday let where the 19-year-old apprentice mason was last seen on Monday last. Approached outside the property, Mr Williams-Thomas told the Mirror: “I don't want to speak in detail at the moment, but I have spent time with the family and my aim now is to establish a clear timeline of the last 24 years just hours before Jay's disappearance.

“My goal first and foremost is to make sure I am there to support the family and work with the Spanish authorities to get answers.” Mr Williams-Thomas, 54, began his investigation yesterday as the search and rescue operation to find Jay entered its ninth day and police reinforcements, including sniffer dogs, arrived from Madrid.

A Tenerife police spokesperson said: “The Civil Guard is continuing the search operation for the young Briton. Several dog trainers and their expert dogs transferred from Madrid joined the search. These dogs are specially trained to search large areas of land for people. Police and firefighters also continue to comb three separate ravines, including one where Jay's phone is believed to have last rang shortly after he disappeared on Monday June 17.

And the spokesperson also confirmed that new areas north of the Masca Gorge, where Jay's phone is believed to have last rang, are now being searched, including trails and forestry tracks. Mr Williams-Thomas had contacted Debbie Duncan, the heartbroken mother of Jay, 55, on Sunday to offer assistance, free of charge, in a bid to help them find out what happened to their son.

Speaking before the family accepted his help, Mr Williams-Thomas said he believed he could get answers for Jay's family in just three days. And he also pledged to “find” the two Brits Jay allegedly stayed with in a holiday rental the night before he disappeared. He had said: “Having my feet on the ground and looking at the scenario and the circumstances, I know I will get to the bottom of this in three days.

“I would be able to quickly establish whether or not there are any suspicious circumstances – but I would need full access to everything and to speak to any witnesses involved. If the family works with me, I would will get answers. It's crucial for the family. It's difficult for them to deal with foreign police who handle things differently. But I would need their full cooperation, I would need to talk to everyone. the witnesses involved since he was in prison on the island. Some people will be more interesting people than others.

Mr Williams-Thomas, whose past cases include the disappearance of Nicola Bulley, worked as a family liaison officer and detective before becoming one of British television's leading detectives. He was the lead investigator on the ITV Exposure documentary, The Other Side of Jimmy Savile, which revealed how the late BBC presenter systematically and disturbingly preyed on vulnerable young girls.

His involvement comes days after Jay's family shared a photo of a possible new sighting of him and his father asked for help to bring him home. The grainy image was captured by a webcam at 6pm on Monday last week – 10 hours after the 19-year-old's last confirmed location, six kilometers upriver in the mountain village of Masca.

Jay's mother Debbie, the school's finance manager, said last night: “It's been a week now and it's been horrible. I've barely slept and I'm at the end of my rope. The Spanish police are good work and we are being updated by the consulate, so we trust them.

“I know people in the UK have also come forward, they were at the festival and they've given details of what they know, but I haven't been told about it. Jay's very good friends from me also came and put up posters. They are good kids and, like me, they just want him to come home.

Jay was partying at the New Rave Generation festival in southwest Tenerife before disappearing last Monday. He had left the event with two Britons to return to their vacation rental, located more than 20 miles from the Los Cristianos apartment where he was staying with his best friend Lucy Law, 18, and another friend.

Last Monday morning, he called Lucy to tell her he was in the middle of nowhere, trying to get home with no water and 1% phone battery. It appears that his cell phone broke 20 minutes later, at 8:50 a.m. Speaking on Sunday, Mr Williams-Thomas added: “It's been a week now – I need to get on the ground and get them answers. It's about finding Jay. I'm coming with credibility, I'll work with them and the Spanish police, and I'll get them the answers they need. We need to establish what these two guys' involvement is. [he stayed with], why did he go back to Airbnb and then why just leave? The chances of him going astray are possible, but is there more to it?”