Former Madeline McCann investigator Mark Williams-Thomas - who has flown out to Tenerife to aid the search for Jay Slater - has made some bombshell claims regarding the missing teen's disappearance.
Williams-Thomas - who became a prominent figure in the media during the Madeline McCann and Nicola Bulley disappearances - flew out to the Spanish Island last month in an effort to meet with Jay's family and help find the missing teenager.
Jay - from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire - was reported missing by friends after disappearing on the morning of June 17.
He had been visiting Tenerife to attend the NRG music festival, along with friends Lucy Mae Law and Brad Hargreaves.
However, on the evening of June 16, Jay opted to stay out and continue partying while his friends returned to their shared accommodation. Jay had stayed out with two men he had met on the island a few days prior.
In the early hours of June 17, Jay took a car back to the two men's rented Airbnb in the town of Masca, located in the mountainous Rural de Teno Park.
At 7:30AM, he shared a photo to Snapchat of himself holding a cigarette outside of the Airbnb. He had a blanket wrapped around him, with ITV journalist Isla Traquair revealing that Brad had told her that the two men had made up a bed for Jay to get some rest.
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However, around an hour later, Brad received a video call from Jay - who had left the Airbnb and started walking back to their accommodation, a journey that would have taken him more than 10 hours. During their call, Brad said Jay had gone "off the road" after apparently climbing over the large stones that border the mountainous roadways.
Jay also phoned Lucy Mae, and told her that he was thirsty, and that his phone was on 1% battery.
After the friends grew concerned about Jay attempting to get back by foot and his cell phone dying, they reported him missing to the Spanish Civil Guard shortly after 9:00AM that morning.
It has now been more than two weeks since Jay's disappearance, and there have been no signs of the teenager. On June 30, the Civil Guard announced that they were calling off the search in the Rural de Teno Park area.
With Jay's family vowing to "continue to search" for him, former detective Mark Williams-Thomas has now made a bombshell claim regarding the disappearance of the teenager.
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One of the biggest mysteries surrounding Jays disappearance is why he chose to attempt to walk back, rather than wait two hours for the bus or just stay at the Airbnb. But Williams-Thomas claims Jay was involved in an alleged watch theft.
As reported by The Sun, Williams-Thomas referred to reports that a fight had broken out in the early hours of June 17 at the Papagayo Beach Club - the venue for the NRG music event. Reports claimed that a "burly" European man had complained about having his watch stolen.
Now, Williams-Thomas alleges that Jay had shared a Snapchat saying that he had "taken" a Rolex watch worth £12,000. The post was allegedly shared while Jay was in a car with the two men returning to their Airbnb.
"Friends of Jay said he would not make this up and the watch was subject of later conversation between the friends," Williams-Thomas said in a video update shared to X, per The Sun.
Williams-Thomas says, that after talking to Jay's friends, they say he would not return to the Airbnb - despite them telling him to do so.
"We have received information that would suggest that Jay left the rental property feeling scared and he would not return to the rental, even though that would have been the most sensible course of action, and also where he could have charged his phone, got some water and made contact with friends," Williams-Thomas.
The investigator adds that Jay's last tracked location on his phone was a hiking trail off the road in the Rural de Teno Park.
Williams-Thomas adds: "We have, however, ruled out hostage or kidnapping situation because no credible ransom demand has been made.
"We've no evidence at this stage to say there was a third party criminal involvement in Jay's disappearance."
Over the weekend, Spanish authorities confirmed that the two men who rented the Airbnb have been ruled out of the investigation and deemed "not relevant" to the investigation.
Williams-Thomas concluded his video update to ask for landowners in the area where Jay disappeared to check any buildings for Jay.
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