Timeline: Everything we know about the disappearance of British teenager Jay Slater in Tenerife

Jay Slater disappeared in Tenerife after attending a music festival. Credit: PA Images

On 17 June 2024 one young holiday maker on his first trip without his family vanished on Tenerife without a trace. But just what happened? ITV Granada Reports' Andy Bonner took a look at the disappearance of Jay Slater which has intrigued millions across the world.


A body has been found in the search for missing Briton Jay Slater, who vanished on the Spanish holiday island of Tenerife.

The body was found along with Jay's clothes and possessions, near his last known mobile phone location.

Here is a timeline of Jay's disappearance.

  • Sunday, 16 June - the last sighting of Jay Slater:

The 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, had travelled to attend the NRG Tenerife Weekender music festival with his friends.

He was in the Papagayo nightclub in the tourist resort of Playa de las Americas in the south of the island.

Jay Slater uploaded a photo to snapchat with his location. Credit: Snapchat
  • Monday, 17 June - Jay reported missing

In the early hours of Monday he was reportedly seen getting in a silver car with with people he had met over the course of the night and staying in an apartment in north Tenerife.

7.30am - Jay posts a picture on Snapchat from the doorway of the property he stayed at overnight, tagged as being in Rural de Teno park.

8.30am - He calls his friend, Lucy Law, telling her he had attempted to walk back to his accommodation after missing his bus – a journey that would take more than 10 hours.

In the frantic last phone call, Jay said he had “cut his leg” on a cactus and had “no idea where he was”.

Ms Law said her friend told her he was “lost in the mountains, he wasn’t aware of his surroundings, he desperately needed a drink and his phone was on 1%”.

Jay’s phone runs out of battery shortly after with his last known location being in Rural de Teno park.

9.04am - He is reported missing.

Tuesday, 18 June - Search to find Jay begins

Local police and mountain rescue teams comb the area in the Rural de Teno Park near the village of Masca, close to a route which is popular with hikers.

His friend Lucy criticised Spanish police for their "lack of urgency" when she first reported Jay missing.

His family fly out to Tenerife to join the search.

  • Wednesday, 19 June - Jay's mother makes desperate plea

The search is temporarily moved to the Los Cristianos area in the south of the island due to a potential lead, but this is quickly discounted and the search returns north.

Mr Slater’s mother, Debbie Duncan, said she feared her son had “been taken against his will”.

She told ITV News: "It's over 48 hours now since he last had any contact with anybody. He's out there somewhere or somebody knows where he is. We just need to find my baby."

  • Thursday, 20 June - Search continues

The search returns to Rural de Teno park, around the village of Masca.

Emergency workers met in various locations throughout the day, combing bushes, overgrown terrain, hillsides and rivers but failed to find the missing teenager.

  • Friday, 21 June - Airbnb neighbour saw him walking along mountain path

Spanish police reject an offer of support from Lancashire Constabulary as the hunt continues.

Police, firefighters and search and rescue personnel combed a vast area of land in and around the village of Masca.

Search and rescue personnel carefully looked through dead palm trees covering a river at the bottom of the hillside near to an Airbnb property Jay had reportedly been driven to.

The neighbour of the property told reporters she saw Jay walk up the road past her property but did not see him again after that - describing the situation as worrying.

It also emerged a Scottish hiker was rescued by teams out looking for Jay in the mountains.

  • Saturday, 22 June - Mother issues direct plea to missing son

Jay’s mother issues a direct plea to her missing son on the sixth day of the hunt, saying: “We just need you home.”

Debbie also revealed there may have been a new sighting of Jay walking down the road with two men "looking worse for wear".

Rescue teams are scouring a 2,000ft-deep ravine in the remote, desert-like Teno Nature Reserve in a bid to find Jay, 19, on the sixth day of searching.

The search parties seemed noticeably smaller compared to other days – with only a handful of emergency workers visible in the village of Masca and the surrounding areas.

A firefighter looks over the village of Masca where the search for missing British teenager Jay Slater continues. Credit: PA Images
  • Sunday, 23 June - One week since Jay Slater disappeared

Search teams narrowed their efforts on small buildings close to where Jay’s phone last pinged.

Officers from the Guardia Civil in the Canary Island could be seen circling two structures at the bottom of a ravine in Rural de Teno Park.

Efforts appeared to be solely focused on the one area after days of searches in the village of Masca and the surrounding landscape.

  • Monday, 24 June - Fundraiser to "get Jay home" hits target

The search for Jay enters an eighth day.

Jay's mother says her family continues to cover the costs of staying in Tenerife despite a fundraiser, set up by the last person to speak to Jay Slater, hitting its target of £30,000.

This image is being looked into as a possible sighting of missing Jay Slater
  • Wednesday 26 June - A possible image of Jay is being looked at by police as a lead

The Mayor of Santiago del Tiede, where there was a possible sighting of Jay, says police on the island are now investigating it as a potential lead.

This image was captured by a webcam in the town, with the Spanish Guardia Civil asking for footage from the camera as part of their investigations.

Meanwhile a British investigator says abuse of Jay Slater's family by online trolls 'needs to stop'.

Former police officer Mark Williams Thomas, who says he has spoken with the family, and listened to messages aimed at them, said all that include threats have been passed to the police.

  • Thursday 27 June - Jay's mum gives an update on how money raised will be used

Jay's mother Debbie Duncan says money raised by the public will be used to support the rescue effort and fly out loved ones "for support", his mother has said.

Debbie Duncan said the family are working with GoFundMe to withdraw some of the £40,000 raised after the website put the funds on hold.

She said it would also be used to support mountain rescue teams, and to cover her own accommodation and food costs.

  • Friday 28 June - Police issue plea for volunteers

Police issue a plea for volunteers to help join a "massive search".

The Guardia Civil appealed for volunteer associations, such as firefighters, and individual volunteers who were experts in rugged terrain to assist in a “busqueda masiva”, or massive search, to take place on Saturday.

The Spanish police force said the search, which will begin at 9am in the village of Masca, near to his last-known location, would be coordinated to take in a steep rocky area, including ravines, trails and paths.

  • Saturday 29 June - 'Massive search' takes place

Members of the public and tourists with strong walking and climbing experience assisted local police and rescue organisations comb through the tough terrain where Jay disappeared.

  • Sunday 30 June - Official search for Jay is called off

Two weeks after Jay went missing Spanish authorities call off the official search for the teenager.

A spokesperson for police in Tenerife police: "The search is now over but the investigation remains open."

Jay's loved ones say they will stay on the island "until Jay is found".

Family friend Rachel Hargreaves told ITV Granada Reports that leaving "isn't even an option", adding "the investigation is still ongoing and we will carry on searching and working with the volunteers who have been searching tirelessly".

  • Tuesday 2 July - Spanish authorities say 'no current evidence of criminality'

The Civil Guard indicates there is nothing from their investigations at this stage which would suggest Jay was the victim of a crime.

Family and friends say "they are not giving up hope" and urge police to continue their search.

  • Wednesday 3 July - Jay's mum Debbie Duncan describes 'pain and agony' she is in

Ms Duncan says “words cannot describe the pain and agony we are experiencing” after searches failed to trace the missing 19-year-old.

In the statement issued through the British overseas missing persons charity LBT Global she adds she is "aware" of speculation and conspiracy theories around Jay's disappearance, describing them as "vile".

  • Monday 15 July - A body is found

Spain's Civil Guard’s mountain rescue team confirmed human remains had been found in the Masca area in Tenerife, close to the site of his last mobile phone location.

LBT Global, an overseas crisis support organisation, confirmed the body was found with Slater's possessions and clothes.

A spokesman said: "After 29 constant days of searching the body of the young man has been found in the Masca area.

"The discovery has been possible thanks to the tireless and discreet search carried out by the Civil Guard over these 29 days.

"Everything is pointing to the body being that of the young British man who disappeared on 17 June, pending full identification.

"Initial inquiries are pointing to him having suffered an accident/fall in the area where he was found."

  • Tuesday 16 July - Spanish court officially confirms the body as Jay's as friends and family pay tribute

Jay's mother Debbie says their "hearts are broken" following confirmation the body found in Tenerife is the missing teenager.

The body was found along with Jay's possessions near to where his phone was last used in what what was described as an 'inaccessible area'.

A Spanish Court said Jay had suffered multiple injuries consistent with a fall.

Friends and people from the local community who knew the family release dozens of blue balloons into the sky as an emotional vigil is held in his home town of Oswaldtwistle.


On 17 June 2024 one young holiday maker on his first trip without his family vanished on Tenerife without a trace. But just what happened? ITV Granada Reports' Andy Bonner takes a look at the disappearance of Jay Slater which has intrigued millions across the world.