Jay Slater police investigating wild conspiracy theories into lacking Brit
Spanish police leading the search for missing Brit Jay Slater are actively looking into conspiracy theories about his disappearance, a source has said.
The search for Lancashire lad Jay, 19, has entered its ninth day. He was reported missing on June 17 after he called his friend Lucy Mae, telling her he was lost in a rural area of the island with only 1% battery left on his phone.
His last known location was half a mile north of Masca village but as the search effort has rumbled on, online speculation that Jay has been kidnapped or is in hiding has grown, according to The Telegraph.
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And a source close to Spain’s Guardia Civil told the publication that conspiracy theories are being actively investigated.
(Image: Stan Kujawa)
They said: “Yes, of course it (conspiracy theories) is being investigated. From the beginning they have been considering all possibilities.”
Yesterday, Jay’s family released a grainy CCTV image suggesting he might have been spotted in Tenerife’s Santiago del Teide hours after he was said to have gone missing.
The Guardia Civil has not confirmed the sighting but told The Telegraph that “nothing has been ruled out”.
It comes as five unrelated Brits have made the journey to the Spanish island in search of Slater, whilst making online content about it.
(Image: tiktok/@DOWNTHERAPIDS)
One of them, TikTokker Paul Arnott, 29, paid £400 for a flight from Fort William in Scotland to Tenerife on Saturday, June 22.
“A lot of people play on the fact it’s people with social media profiles coming out here to search, we’re only here because we care about Jay,” Arnott said.
However, amatuer detectives and their wild theories are saturating the conversation around the missing teen – quite like during the search for Nicola Bulley last year.
(Image: PA)
Detectives investigating the 45-year-old’s disappearance said at the time that they were “inundated with false information, accusations and rumours”, which were “distracting” them from their work.
Former Metropolitan Police DCI Simon Harding warned that the distraction would re-occur in another case “because true crime is so popular”.
Meanwhile, Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan has said she felt “let down” by wild theories comparing her to Karen Matthews, who faked the kidnapping of her daughter Shannon Matthews in 2008.
People have been sceptical as to what the £34k raised on a GoFundMe page will be used for.
(Image: ITV News)
“I am really saddened by all your comments. You seem to be so bothered about this GoFundMe page,” she said on Monday.
“I really hope I am not taking my son home in a body bag. I really cannot believe the British public are not supporting me in trying to find Jay.
“This may happen to any of you one day. Very let down by you all.”
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