Jay Slater's mum breaks down in tears in court after being asked about friends that 'can't be found'

The mother of Jay Slater broke down at the inquest into her son's death today (21 May) as she made a desperate plea to his pals who aren't present for the proceedings.

Debbie Duncan spearheaded the search for the 19-year-old bricklayer when he vanished in Tenerife last year after attending the New Rave Generation music festival with his friends.

He travelled back to an Airbnb in the remote Masca region with people he had met while partying, before fatefully heading off the next morning to try and make his way back to his mates.

Jay's friend, Lucy Law, explained at the time that he had made a frantic phone call to her at around 8.50am on 17 June, 2024, saying that he 'didn't know where he was', had one percent battery and needed a drink.

After an exhaustive month-long search, the teen's remains were tragically discovered in a ravine located in Rural Parc de Teno.

An inquest into Jay's death is now taking place at Preston Coroner’s Court and his family - who still have a host of unanswered questions - will have been hoping they could gain some more closure.

Jay's mother Debbie became emotional as she made a plea to the court today (Family Handout)

However, three prominent witnesses who could hold key information regarding what happened prior to Jay's disappearance and death 'cannot be located', the coroner said.

Lucy Law and Brad Hargreaves, who were both holidaying in Tenerife with Jay, are both out of the country, according to reports.

"We can't find them," the coroner, Dr James Adeley, said, as per the Manchester Evening News. "They have denied who they are and we have had police looking for them but we can't find them."

The inquest heard that police had tried to serve a witness summons to Law, but cops haven't been able to track her down and it is understood that she is currently in Tenerife.

Hargreaves is said to be on a holiday which was booked last October, the court was told.

Police have also been unable to locate Ayub Qassim, the man who rented the Airbnb which Jay went back to following the festival, to appear as a witness.

The inquest was told that the coroner 'has had the Met Police out looking for' Qassim, but he has still not been found.

Witnesses who could hold key information could not be tracked down for the inquest, the coroner said (PA/Family Handout)

In a desperate plea to the court, Jay's mum Debbie urged the coroner to pull out all the stops to get them into the room.

Breaking down in tears, she was asked what the family would like to do given the witnesses' lack of presence.

In response, Debbie said: "I know you have tried to locate them, but how can we ever get any understanding?

"We know he died and he had an accident, but from him leaving that holiday resort to going up to there...we have read their statements and we want these people to be here sat in front of us, we want to ask them questions.

"Our son went on holiday and didn’t come back so there are questions we need to ask...please."

The inquest into Jay's death has now been adjourned at the request of his loved ones, who want to get the missing witnesses into court to give evidence before it concludes.

The coroner agreed to the request, although a date for a further hearing into the matter has not yet been set.