The baffling disappearance of 19-year-old Brit Jay Slater in Tenerife has got the web’s armchair detectives on a frenzied hunt, but a top criminologist has issued a stark warning about their true intentions.
The internet has been ablaze with wild conspiracy theories over the past fortnight, with some keyboard warriors spinning tales of mafia and ISIS links to Jay’s case, while others have cruelly mocked his family’s plight by branding his disappearance a massive ‘con’.
Rumours have run rampant across social media, with trolls even drawing vile comparisons between Jay’s distraught mum, Debbie Duncan, and notorious Karen Matthews, who was convicted of kidnapping her own daughter. In response to these hurtful claims, a shattered Debbie, aged 55, expressed her anguish, saying: “I just can’t face it.”
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(Image: Supplied)
As if dealing with her son’s mysterious vanishing wasn’t enough, Debbie had to confront heartless comments on Jay’s GoFundMe page, which was set up by his mate Lucy Mae Law to support the search efforts. Addressing the online hate, Debbie lamented: “I really am saddened by all your comments”, and shared her harrowing fear that she might have to bring her boy “home in a body bag,” reports the Mirror.
The Civil Guard officially called off their search yesterday after nearly two weeks of searching. With just a four-hour flight between the UK and the Spanish island, obsessive followers have taken their snooping abroad.
(Image: Alex Iszatt)
Dozens of visitors have travelled to Rural de Teno National Park to try and solve his case and the road outside the Airbnb has reportedly been flooded with jeep ‘safari tours’. While many believe they have good intentions, they are really “only doing it for themselves”, criminologist and crime scene investigator Alex Iszatt warns.
Alex explained that sleuths can take it too far – and may already have as their unqualified visits could hamper the case altogether. She told the Mirror: “Theories surrounding the personal life of Jay Slater have made him both a victim and a villain. A lost teen on holiday with friends, having a good time, disappears – not in a far-off country, but in Brits’ favourite resort Tenerife, and not too long after Michael Mosely went for a walk and never returned.”
(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
“It’s not too far away for TikTokers to go and find out for themselves what happened to Jay. But these sleuths aren’t just looking for the teen – they are looking for ‘the truth’ – bringing up his past court case, his supposed behaviour at home, and alleged drug taking. They want the credit for telling the world who Jay really is – and they believe they know more than the police and the media and, by going out to Tenerife, they will get evidence that proves it.”
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