Former British detective joins family of missing Jay Slater in desperate search

25 June 2024 , 18:08

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TV investigator Mark Williams-Thomas

Former British Detective Mark Williams-Thomas is in Tenerife helping the family of missing teenager Jay Slater.

The experienced investigator, who has probed a string of high-profile missing persons cases, was yesterday seen carrying out inquiries at the holiday rental where the 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer was last seen last Monday. Approached outside the property, Mr Williams-Thomas told the Mirror: "I don't want to talk in detail at the moment, but I've spent time with the family and my focus now is to build a clear timeline of the last 24 hours before Jay disappeared.

"My focus is very much to ensure that I'm here to support the family and work with the Spanish authorities to get answers." Mr Williams-Thomas, 54, began his investigation yesterday, as the search and rescue operation to find Jay entered its ninth day and police reinforcements, including sniffer dogs, arrived from Madrid.

Jay Slater is still missing in Tenerife (Supplied)

A spokesman for the police in Tenerife said: “The Civil Guard is continuing with the search operation for the young British man. Several dog trainers and their expert dogs who have transferred from Madrid have joined the search. These dogs are specifically trained in searching for people over large swathes of land.” Police and fire officers are also continuing to comb three separate ravines – including one where it is believed Jay’s phone last “pinged” shortly after he disappeared on Monday, June 17.

Mark Williams-Thomas outside the holiday rental where Jay Slater was last seen (Stan Kujawa)

And the spokesman also confirmed new areas to the north of the Masca Gorge, where Jay’s phone was last thought to have pinged, are now being searched, including forest trails and tracks. Mr Williams-Thomas had reached out to Jay's heartbroken mother Debbie Duncan, 55, on Sunday offering his help, free-of-charge, in a bid to help them find out what has happened to their son.

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The Airbnb close to Masca in Tenerife where Jay Slater stayed the night before he went missing (MEN Media)

Speaking before the family accepted his help, Mr Williams-Thomas had said he believes he can get answers for Jay's family within just three days. And he also vowed to "track down" the two British men that Jay is said to have stayed with at a holiday rental the night before he vanished. He had said: "Having feet on the ground and looking at the scenario and circumstances, I know I will get to the bottom of this in three days.

Mr Williams-Thomas had said he believes he can get answers for Jay's family within just three days

"I would quickly be able to establish whether or not there are suspicious circumstances - but I'd need total access to everything and to speak to all the witnesses involved. If the family work with me, I will get them answers. It is crucial for the family. It is difficult for them, dealing with foreign police who handle it differently. But I'd need their full co-operation, I'd need to speak to every witness involved; those that he's been with since he's been on the island. Some people will be more persons of interest than others."

Mr Williams-Thomas, whose past cases include Nicola Bulley's disappearance, worked as a family liaison officer and detective before becoming one of Britain's leading TV sleuths. He was the lead investigator on the ITV Exposure documentary, The Other Side of Jimmy Savile, which revealed how the late BBC presenter systematically and disturbingly preyed upon young and vulnerable girls.

Spanish police with tracking dogs search in the Masca area (Stan Kujawa)

His involvement comes days after Jay's family shared a photo of a possible new sighting of him and his dad pleaded for help to bring him home. The grainy image was captured by a webcam at 6pm on Monday last week – 10 hours after the 19-year-old’s last confirmed location four miles uphill in the mountain village of Masca.

Jay's mum Debbie, a school finance officer, last night said: "It's been a week now and it's been awful. I've barely slept and I'm at my wits' end. The Spanish police are doing a good job and we are getting updated from the consulate so we just put our faith in them. I know people in the UK have come forward as well who were at the festival and they are giving details of what they know, but I'm not being told about that. Jay's very good friends from home have also been over and have put up posters. They are good kids and like me just want him home."

Mr Williams-Thomas worked as a family liaison officer and detective before becoming one of Britain's leading TV sleuths (Stan Kujawa)

Jay had been partying at the New Rave Generation festival in the southwest of Tenerife before he vanished last Monday. He had left the event with two British men to go back to their holiday rental, which was more than 20 miles from the apartment in Los Cristianos where he was staying with his best pal Lucy Law, 18, and another friend.

Last Monday morning he called Lucy to say he was in the middle of nowhere, trying to get home with no water and 1% phone battery. It is understood his mobile died 20 minutes later, at 8.50am. Speaking on Sunday, Mr Williams-Thomas had added: "It's a week on now - I need to get on the ground and get them answers. It's about finding Jay. I come with credibility, will work with them and Spanish police, and get them the answers they need. We need to establish what the involvement is with these two guys [he stayed with], why he went back to the Airbnb and then why just leave? The chances of him wandering off are possible, but is there more to this?".

Patrick Hill