Tenerife local neighbours share reason they believe Jay Slater is not at search site
Local neighbours of Jay Slater's Airbnb in Tenerife have shared why they believe he isn't at the search site.
It's nearing four weeks since news broke of Jay Slater's disappearance after he visited the Spanish island of Tenerife for the New Rave Generation festival.
The 19-year-old bricklayer travelled 30km north of Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas to a remote Airbnb called Casa Abuela Tina to stay with people he had just met, in the early hours of 17 June.
He was invited to the Airbnb by two men, including Ayub Qassim, who said that he'd let Slater stay with him at the Airbnb in north-west Tenerife.
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However, according to Qassim, Slater left the property on foot in the morning after 'refusing a lift', heading even further north to the Rural Parc de Teno, which is his last known location.
Emergency services spent almost two weeks searching the area where his phone last sent a signal, but the official search was called off on 30 June after finding no leads.
However, The Guardia Civil revealed this week that there were a few inquiries that were ongoing.
His mother has recently provided an update on the situation, saying that her son's disappearance 'still remains a mystery', though the family's search efforts will continue.
In the area around the Airbnb that Slater stayed at, which is on the outskirts of a village called Masca, there are some homes, including some that are high up, with views of the search area from above.
Couple Irene and Manolo live in the area, and revealed to Manchester Evening News why they think Slater was not in the area.
Irene explained: "[Manolo] thinks that Jay isn’t here, because many people have looked for him - loads of police units.
"If he was here, the crows would have spotted him.
"Because as soon as they spot a dead animal like a goat or something, the crows are on top of it."
Manolo further said: "If by the second or third day, if he was - supposedly, God willing not - dead, the crows would have found him straight away. But we haven’t seen them around here."
The couple had also previously explained that they'd feared that 'something strange' had taken place to make the teen leave on foot instead of getting a bus, as there had been a bus stop right outside the Airbnb.
Jay Slater's disappearance: timeline of key moments
Sunday 16 June
Jay attends the New Rave Generation music festival with friends at Papagayo nightclub in the tourist resort of Playa de las Americas in the south of the island.
Monday 17 June
In the early hours of Monday, Jay goes to stay in an apartment in the north of the island with people he had met over the course of the night.
7.30am
Jay posts a picture on Snapchat from the doorway of the property he stayed at overnight, tagged as being in Rural de Teno park.
8.30am
He calls his friend, Lucy Law, telling her he had attempted to walk back to his accommodation after missing his bus – a journey that would take more than ten hours.
He said he had 'cut his leg' on a cactus and had 'no idea where he was'.
He also said his phone was on one percent battery. His last known location is Rural de Teno park.
9.04am
He is reported missing.
Tuesday 18 June
After friends spend the previous day searching to no avail, local police and mountain rescue teams scour Rural de Teno park for Jay.
His family fly out to Tenerife to join the search.
Wednesday 19 June
The search is temporarily moved to the Los Cristianos area in the south of the island due to a potential lead, but this amounts to nothing and the search returns north.
Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan says she fears her son had 'been taken against his will'.
Sunday 23 June
TV detective Mark Williams-Thomas offers his team's expertise in the search for Jay. He writes on X: "If [Jay's family] give me total access and with feet on the ground I will very quickly be able to say if his disappearance is him alone or if it has third party involvement."
Sunday 30 June
The Tenerife Civil Guard announce they are ending the search for Jay after 13 days, but the investigation remains open and they will follow up any new leads. Jay's family vow to continue the search themselves.
Topics: Jay Slater, UK News, World News
Joshua Nair