- Jay confessed to stealing Rolex
- Disappeared after admitting theft
- Investigated by former detective
According to a former detective, Jay Slater acknowledged to pals that he stole a £12,000 Rolex watch and attempted to sell it just hours before disappearing.
Mark Williams-Thomas, who is investigating the 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer’s disappearance in a remote mountainous section of Tenerife, provided an update on X on Wednesday morning.
The detective, who was also investigating Nicola Bulley’s disappearance, claimed Jay’s buddies confirmed that the missing raver had sent them a Snapchat in the early hours of June 17, admitting to taking the fancy timepiece.
Mr Williams-Thomas stated that Jay was driving a Seat Leon rental car to the leased Casa Abuela Tina Airbnb near the village of Masca with two older British males shortly after 6 am when he made the shocking Rolex assertion.
Today, MailOnline published the first image of one of those guys, Ayub Abdul, who booked the £40-per-night holiday rental online.
Although the former police detective has been unable to confirm that a claimed theft occurred, he claims Jay’s friends have convinced him that the missing adolescent would not make it up.
Mr Williams-Thomas stated that he was releasing the additional information to ‘clarify and clear up the utter falsehoods’ generated by conspiracy theories.
Mr Williams-Thomas recalled how Jay departed the famed Veronicas strip, where he had been partying with pals on the final night of the three-day NRG event at Tenerife’s Playa de las Americas resort just before 6 am.
During the hour-long voyage, Mr Williams-Thomas claims Jay uploaded a Snapchat indicating he had stolen the Rolex from an unnamed person. MailOnline has contacted Jay’s family on the claims.
Police had earlier stated that they were investigating a scuffle outside Papagayo Beach Club, where Jay was spotted partying the night he disappeared.
A fight is thought to have broken out after the venue closed, involving an Eastern European male who supposedly had his costly Rolex stolen.
One of Jay’s friends, who had gone to Tenerife to assist with the search, told authorities that the claimed encounter may have contributed to his disappearance.
Mr Williams-Thomas stated that he could not validate Jay’s claim on Snapchat regarding claimed theft.
He added: ‘However, Jay’s buddies indicated he would not make this up, and the watch was the subject of later talk between the friends.’
The TV detective stated that Jay communicated with friends over social media while at the Casa Abuela Tina residence.
This includes a Snapchat photo he sent to pals of himself on the stairs of the cottage around 7.30 am, clutching a cigarette.
Jay was last spotted at 8 am when he attempted to return to his vacation accommodations.
He asked the Airbnb owner when the next bus to Los Cristianos would arrive, but when she responded 10 am, he started on foot for an 11-hour hike.
The Airbnb host said she later observed Jay heading uphill in the big, hilly terrain.
Mr Williams-Thomas said Jay texted and called at least three friends while walking back, telling them he was lost.
Jay’s friend, Lucy Law, reported he contacted her immediately after he was last seen, saying he was thirsty, had no water, and only had 1% power on his phone.
Another acquaintance, Brad Hargreaves, said he spoke with Jay that morning and believed he had gone off the main road and maybe tumbled over rocks.
In a video update posted today, Mark stated that two persons urged him to return to the property.
‘He stated he couldn’t do it since he’d already been walking for 30 minutes and was now off the road on a trail with loose stones.’
Jay reported his location to friends at 8:49 a.m. and 8:8.50 a.m., revealing that he was on a hiking track in the rough Rural de Teno park. He has been waiting to be seen or heard from since.
Mr Williams-Thomas claimed Jay fled the holiday property because he was scared.
He stated: ‘We have received information indicating that Jay left the rental property and would not return, despite the fact that this would have been the most prudent course of action, and also where he could have charged his phone, had some water, and spoken with friends.
‘We continue to look into this.’
Jay and the two men he was with spoke with authorities on the island before flying back to the United Kingdom. Spanish police have stated that they are irrelevant to the probe.
Mr Williams-Thomas, who flew to Tenerife last week to assist, has been conducting his inquiry since Spanish authorities halted the search on Sunday. He stated that his team believes there is no third-party participation.
He stated: “We have, however, ruled out a hostage or kidnapping situation because no credible ransom demand has been made.”
‘At this point, we do not indicate that a third party was criminally involved in Jay’s disappearance.
He stated he still had other avenues of inquiry and was ‘keeping an open mind’.
A Spanish judge announced on Monday that there is ‘no present proof of wrongdoing’.
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Many people, including Jay’s mother, Debbie Duncan, believed he was abducted against his will.
Cops on Tenerife called off the enormous search on Sunday, dealing a major blow to Jay’s family. However, on Tuesday, two plain-clothes police officers returned to the Airbnb.
They searched Airbnb for about two hours.
Jay’s mother, Debbie, sent an update last night: “Jay is a normal guy in his third year of an apprenticeship, and he is a very popular young man with a large circle of friends.”
‘We are a very close family and are saddened by his loss. Words cannot express the anguish we are feeling.
‘He is our beautiful baby with his entire life ahead of him, and we want to find him.
‘We have no information concerning his whereabouts.
Debbie and Jay’s father, Warren, and brother, Zak, have remained in Tenerife as they urgently seek answers.
