In order to solve the disappearance case of Jay Slater, a former British cop has insisted that Tenerife detectives follow two essential steps.
According to the Civil Guard, they concluded their search for Jay over the weekend, following two weeks of rigorous ground search efforts. The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire disappeared mysteriously on Monday, June 17, while holidaying with friends in the Canary Islands.
The teenager had visited an Airbnb located at Masca, a village situated around 40 minutes’ drive from his holiday resort, accompanying two fellow Britons he befriended during his vacation. He made a phone call to his friend, Lucy Law, on the morning of his disappearance stating his intention to walk back – an endeavour which could take up to 11 hours by foot.
Following the call, his phone promptly lost its battery life and there has been no sighting or contact with Jay since. An extensive search operation involved sniffer dogs and helicopters canvassing the rural terrain around the location where his phone signal was last active.
However, the search was called off after two unsuccessful weeks, leading many to question what the subsequent steps should be. The Civil Guard’s representative confirmed: “The search operation has now finished although the case remains open”, reports the Mirror.
Charlie Hedges MBE, a renowned expert in missing persons cases, has offered some advice to Spanish police on the next steps in their investigation. The author, who has penned a book about his experiences with Thames Valley Police and the National Crime Agency, urged detectives not to let Jay’s case go cold and suggested two crucial points.
Investigate all possibilities
Charlie advised Spanish investigators to consider every possible reason for Jay’s disappearance, including potential foul play. “They should be keeping their minds open and examining all lines of inquiries,” he told The Sun.
The Civil Guard has previously stated that they are considering all scenarios regarding Jay’s fate, including questioning the last two men seen with him. Cipriano Martin, who led the mountain search, confirmed last week that detectives had spoken to and dismissed these two individuals.
British detective Mark Williams-Thomas, who travelled to Tenerife to assist the family, expressed his belief last week that Jay may have suffered a “natural harm”, but did not exclude the possibility of third-party involvement. The TV detective stated: “A strong working hypothesis remains that Jay has come to natural harm in the terrain as he took the rugged course back down the hill from the point of his location drop , where I am confident now that he was at 8.50am last Monday morning.”
Mark suggested in a press conference held last Wednesday that there are “two scenarios”. He asserted: “He has either come to harm by his own accident, up in the hills somewhere, but not directly by the rental. Or, there is a third party involvement. I cannot rule that out at the moment.”
Go back and search other locations
After two weeks, the intensive search for Jay involving mountain rescue crews and volunteers over rugged terrains, ravines and caves failed to yield any relevant leads, as admitted by a Civil Guard source.
While Charlie has conceded that the police in Tenerife can’t keep searching indefinitely, he insisted on the importance of continuous checks on the area to keep the case alive. Expressing his concerns, he stated: “I had been wondering for a few days whether we were approaching [the search being called off],” He added: “There is only so much you can search.”
“But it may be appropriate to go back and search some areas based on the information they’re seeking at the moment.”
This follows Brad Hargreaves’ claim that he heard Jay “slip on rocks” over their final phone call and Lucy Law’s disclosure that Jay mentioned cutting his leg on a cactus, hinting that he was walking off-trail at the time.
The Civil Guard affirmed its commitment to continue the investigation with any new information or tips received.
