Jay Slater sleuths are ‘crossing the road between concern and leisure’

The Jay Slater case has taken social media by storm with so-called internet sleuths peddling their dark conspiracy theories.

The ongoing search for the missing teenager has been overshadowed by countless influencers having their say on what might have happened to the 19-year-old. A similar frenzy was whipped up in the case of Nicola Bulley and missing adventurer, Gabby Petito, as many used the tragedies as a way to gain more followers.

But while it can be helpful to spread the word and garner support when a person goes missing, such a morbid fascination can hamper investigations and make matters worse for the family.

READ MORE: Local admits it’s ‘easy’ to get lost in danger zone where missing Jay Slater was last seen

Click for more of the latest news from across the world from the Daily Star.

In a thread on Reddit discussing the Jay Slater case, one user posted: “Everyone’s looking for that one clue. The Gabby Petito story (videos of the area) did lead to captured videos of the van, leading to them being able to narrow down the search area.

“Like a lot of these cases now, the (Jay Slater Facebook) page is definitely crossing the line between concern and entertainment.”

Here we take a look how:

Jay Slater

The hunt for missing teenager Jay Slater in Tenerife conjured up reams of internet rumours that appear to have gripped the nation.

The 19-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancs, vanished without a trace after attending the New Rave Generation music festival on the Spanish island on June 16.

He left the rave with two strangers and was last heard from the day after when he tried to trek back to the south of the island. He rang his friend Lucy Mae Law to tell her his phone battery was down to 1% and that he needed water.

The case has attracted nationwide attention with dozens of wild theories springing up from so-called “armchair detectives” on social media.

Theories flying around include that he is “stuck to a cactus,” was “waiting on the wrong side of the road for a bus,” or has befriended an animal in the bush and is living like Tarzan.

Just a handful of days after Jay was confirmed missing in Tenerife a Facebook page was created called ‘JAY SLATER MISSING – ONLY OFFICIAL GROUP’ which has has over 550,000 members.

Meanwhile cruel trolls have targeted Jay’s family believing there is more to the story and questioning the motive of the GoFundMe page which has raked in over £40k.

Earlier this week, a new CCTV image showed a possible sighting of the apprentice bricklayer in the village of Santiago del Teid – nearly four miles away from where he was last seen, although the area’s mayor later he denied that he was there. Another theory is that he’s been kidnapped.

Amid the search, Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan, 55 said: “I really hope I am not taking my son home in a body bag.”

Nicola Bulley

Nicola Bulley, the mum-of-two who went missing in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, last year was disrupted by TikTok “idiots.”

Lancashire Police had to issue a dispersal order at the time of the search due to groups of “amateur sleuths” filming in the area. One TikToker even filmed Nicola’s body being pulled from the river.

Nicola’s family addressed the conspiracies surrounding her death following the inquest that concluded she died after accidentally falling into the river.

The family said in a statement: “We encourage people to look at the facts, the evidence which has been heard during the inquest, and the conclusion reached by the coroner, to ignore any amateur views and opinions, and be mindful of the impact words bring.”

Metropolitan Police detective chief inspector Simon Harding reckons Nicola’s case is indicative of the “damage that can be done” when officers release too much information to the public.

He told Sky News: “But it will happen again because true crime is so popular. Police have to look at their messaging and control crime scenes to stop this new phenomenon of armchair sleuths thinking they can solve a murder when 30-odd detectives can’t.”

Social media expert Matt Navarra added: “Conspiracy theories, missing persons and crime are a hotbed of engagement because they tick all the boxes – mystery, a story, real-life, is there something else going on, what’s the conspiracy behind it? It’s like a drama in real life that they can be part of.”

Gabby Petito

Adventure seeker, Gabby Petito embarked on a cross-country road trip in her Ford Transit van along with her fiancé Brian Laundrie on July 2, 2021.

Everything seemed perfect and the couple quickly attracted a large following, documenting their journey on social media and sharing their travels across the vast national parks.

But when the 22-year-old from Florida went missing, it quickly became a case that gripped the world and set in motion an army of internet sleuths.

They analysed every social media post and last text messages with conspiracy theorists claiming she had tried to send hidden distress signals. Police bodycam captured in the days before Gabby was reported missing shows officers stop the pair who had been seen having an argument.

Body language experts and relationship boffins were quick to wade in with their theories.

It wasn’t until a Nomad family caught wind of the case and trawled through their dashcam footage that they found themselves passing Gabby’s van.

Sleuths slowed down the footage with some claiming they could see what looked like a person digging in a nearby field, which later turned out to be false.

Two months later, Gabby’s body was found wrapped in a blanket near Grand Teton National Park in northwestern Wyoming.

Her death was ruled homicide by manual strangulation.

The following month, Brian’s body was found in a Florida nature reserve. He’d shot himself leaving behind a notebook in which he confessed to killing Gabby, but said it was a mercy killing after she slipped and hurt herself in a stream.

In a recent three-part ITVX documentary called The Disappearance of Gabby Petito, Gabby’s mum Nicole said the social media storm helped narrow down the search for her daughter.

But she admitted that while some internet sleuths had good intentions, others were “very self-serving.”

For the latest news stories from Daily Star sign up for our newsletter.