Moderators begs on-line sleuths to not submit conspiracies on Jay Slater

Moderators of a Facebook search group have had to beg online sleuths to stop posting conspiracy theories about the missing teenager.

‘Jay Slater Missing’ now has 476,200 followers and while the majority are working to support the family in this ‘living nightmare’, a few are posting wild speculative theories on the whereabouts of the 19-year-old. 

Some speculated that Jay has been kidnapped while others suggested he is simply hiding, another user accused the Spanish police of keeping discoveries ‘secret’. 

Now in an attempt to quell the trolls and the misinformation, one of the moderator of the group has had to step in claiming it is ‘cruel’, ‘soul destroying’ and ‘torture’ for the family.

British police have offered to help in the hunt for missing teenager Jay Slater but their offer has been declined by Spanish counterparts.

The apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was last heard from on Monday after an attempt to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus. 

Ophelia Medina Hernandez is believe to be the last person to see him, when he asked her what time the next bus to Los Cristianos, where his accommodation was, on Monday morning. 

She told him it would be in two hours time, and rather then wait it is believe he set off to walk. 

Speaking to the Times she said: ‘People don’t get lost here. There are paths everywhere. People round here don’t get lost. And he was going along the road. But after that I don’t know where he went. But he was going along the road when I saw him for the last time. He was walking normally but a bit quickly.’

Spanish police are scouring a secluded mountain pass in Masca which is the last known location of the 19-year-old after he made a phone call to his friend Lucy, 18, at around 8am that morning. 

The force has now declined an offer from Lancashire police to send support to help find the missing teen. 

In a statement released late on Friday the UK police force said it had ‘made an offer of support to the Guardia Civil’ but this was declined after local cops said they were ‘satisfied that they have the resources they need’. 

Search teams on the island have been pictured using sniffer dogs and drones to aid their search which entered its fifth day on Friday.  

Lancashire Police released a statement regarding Jay’s disappearance earlier today, saying it had offered to provide additional support to officers on the island. 

‘First and foremost, our thoughts are with Jay’s family at this time. 

‘They must be going through the most distressing ordeal not knowing what has happened to their loved one.

‘We have specialist officers who are continuing to support Jay’s family.

‘Whilst this case falls outside the jurisdiction of UK policing, we have made an offer of support to the Guardia Civil to see if they need any additional resources. 

‘They have confirmed that at this time they are satisfied that they have the resources they need, but that offer remains open and they will contact us should that position change. 

‘Once again, our thoughts remain with Jay’s family and friends at this distressing time.’

It comes as Lucy today blasted the local Spanish police for ‘not doing a good enough job’ in finding the missing Brit. 

‘We are having to do this all by ourselves as Spanish police are not doing a good enough job. They don’t even speak English. It’s been a very slow process here so we need the British police to come out and help them,’ she told The Times. 

Meanwhile the owner of holiday rental, Casa Abuela Tina – where Mr Slater is understood to have stayed with two acquaintances – today voiced her worries about the teen after spotting him walking alone down the hills on Monday.

She said: ‘It’s dangerous walking around here, it’s easy to lose yourself. He walked up the road when I saw him for the last time.

‘He was alone. He was walking normally, though he was fast.’

Ophelia shared that Jay has also asked about catching the bus from the area before making the journey on foot – which was the only route. 

She aired her concerns about the teenager, but in the height of the media frenzy she stated: ‘We are not to blame.’

The property, which is listed online as a holiday home, is believed to  have been rented by two men Jay was with the night before whilst attending the NRG festival.

It is believed the main area of focus in the search for Mr Slater has been around the Parque Rural de Teno, with his family and mother Debbie, have flying out to the Spanish island to assist officers.

The Civil Guard confirmed to the Manchester Evening News on Friday there had been ‘no developments’ in the search for the 19-year-old. 

In a post on the Facebook page ‘Jay Slater Missing’, the administrator of the group Rachel Louise Harg said family and friends of Mr Slater were in a ‘living nightmare’.

She said: ‘There isn’t an update for anyone unfortunately.

‘Struggling to find words at this time but all I can say is we are looking still and everyone is doing all they can.

‘We are drained beyond words – I just can’t say no more, I wish I could. I wish this would end now, this living nightmare.

‘Searches are ongoing and we remain positive.

‘Thanks to you all supporting and helping we can’t thank you any more, much love.’

His friend Lucy has called for the British police to assist with the investigation and slammed the local efforts.

She said she wants to ‘bring him home to his family’.

‘That is all that we want, all that we need,’ she told the BBC.

On Friday, search and rescue personnel joined officers from the island’s Guardia Civil near the village of Masca where they appeared to focus on a specific area of overgrown terrain.

Some officers used binoculars to survey the landscape before heading towards the bottom of the hillside.

On Thursday, a helicopter flew over Rural de Teno park in the south of the Spanish island as search teams followed various footpaths in the area.

Footage released by the Guardia Civil on Thursday showed the views from the helicopter as it scoured the hillside.

The video, posted to the force’s X account, showed officers searching in bushes and overgrown terrain with dogs.

The walk from Mr Slater’s last known location to his accommodation would have taken about 11 hours on foot.

The search area was quiet on Friday, with only a handful of police cars stationed at Rural de Teno park.

Mr Slater’s friend Lucy, who attended the NRG music festival with Mr Slater, said he called her at about 8.30am on Monday and 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%’.

Mr Slater’s mother, Debbie Duncan, who flew to Tenerife on Tuesday, said searching for her son was ‘an absolute living nightmare’.

Ms Duncan told ITV News: ‘He’s the life and soul, he’s a beautiful boy.’

Mr Slater was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with shorts and trainers and a black bag.

A fundraiser set up by Mr Slater’s friend Lucy to ‘get Jay Slater home’ has since received more than £23,500 in donations.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman said: ‘We are supporting the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.’

Today, the search is continuing for the fifth day to find the teenager, 19, who disappeared in Tenerife.

Friends and family members have flown over to the Canary Islands to join in with the search for Jay who has not been seen or heard from since Monday.

His last known location was in the mountainous area of Teno Rural Park, some 10 hours’ walk away from his accommodation in the southern part of the island.

A GoFundMe which was set up yesterday has raised £23,723 as of this morning.

Police using a helicopter, sniffer dogs and a drone, as well as mountain rescue units have been scouring countryside close to an Airbnb he went to with two British men.

The isolated farmhouse was an hour’s drive from the popular hotspot of Playa des Los Americas in southern Tenerife, in the village of Masca, 19 miles away.

Speaking from the family home in Oswaldtwistle, Jay’s stepfather Andy Watson said the teen was reluctant to go on holiday.

He said that Jay’s friends had ‘talked him into going’ and his mother Debbie added he ‘wasn’t really that keen’.

She told ITV that looking back, she wished she hadn’t ‘encouraged him’.