Following the news that the search for Jay Slater has been called off in the area he was last known to have been, a missing persons expert has revealed the two things Spanish authorities must do next.
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The 19-year-old UK teenager was reported missing more than two weeks ago on June 17 while on vacation on the Spanish island of Tenerife.
Jay had been visiting the island as part of the NRG Music Festival with friends, when he disappeared the morning after a rave.
In the early hours of June 17, Jay opted not to head back to his shared accommodation with friends Lucy Mae Law and Brad Hargreaves, instead visiting an Airbnb rented by two British men he had met several days prior.
After leaving their Airbnb at around 8:00AM in the morning, Jay called both Lucy Mae and Brad to let them know he was going to attempt the 10+ hour walk back to their apartment.
However, Jay disappeared without a trace while walking through the mountainous region of Rural de Teno Park, where his cell phone was last tracked.
His friend, Brad said that he had heard Jay walking "off-road" during their last video call, and Lucy Mae revealed that the teen had told her that he was thirsty and his phone battery was critically low.
On Sunday (June 30), the Spanish Civil Guard revealed that the search for Jay around the Rural de Teno Park area had come to an end, but that the case remains open.
Despite the disheartening update, Jay's loved ones have vowed to "continue to search" for the teenager.
Now, Charlie Hedges - a former Thames Valley Police officer and one of the UK's foremost experts on missing persons - has shared two things that he believes the Spanish authorities need to prioritize next.
Speaking to The Sun, Hedges says that investigators should not be ruling out any theories at this point in time.
Asked about whether or not the Civil Guard should be keeping an open mind about any criminality involved in Jay's disappearance, Hedges said: "They should be keeping their minds open and examining all lines of inquiries.
"Police seem to have put a fair amount of resources into it.
"I had been wondering for a few days whether we were approaching that point. There is only so much you can search."
Secondly, Hedges believes that Spanish authorities need to consider re-searching areas that rescue teams have already covered.
"It may be appropriate to go back and search some areas based on the information they're seeking at the moment," Hedges said. "There is a judgment for when it is the right time to call off the search."
Over the weekend, ITV Isla Traquair reporter took to Instagram to clarify further details on Jay's final hours following an interview with the teenager's best friend, Brad.
In her video, Traquair shared details about what Jay was wearing in his last Snapchat, how he knew the two men prior to his disappearance, and what Brad saw during their final call.
What was Jay Slater wearing in his last Snapchat?
At around 7:30AM on the morning of June 17, Jay shared a photo on Snapchat showing him holding a cigarette outside of the Airbnb - highlighted by its distinctive steps.
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The photo sparked confusion as many people couldn't figure out what the colorful fabric was that Jay appeared to be wearing.
It was previously reported that Jay had been wearing a gray and green t-shirt like the one in the image below:
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He was also seen wearing this t-shirt in TikTok videos that were shared from the NRG music festival.
Traquair has now explained that Jay actually had a colorful blanket wrapped around him in his last Snapchat. She said: “Now we know - and this is from his friend Brad who had a phone call with him and he actually showed him - it was the blanket, [the two men] had made up a bed for him in this Airbnb that he was sleeping in.”
Brad Heard Jay 'Slip' After Climbing Over Rocks
Traquair also went into detail about Brad's comments from their interview regarding their final video call.
Brad had revealed that the two friends shared a Snapchat video call after Jay had decided the leave the Airbnb and make his way back to their shared accommodation.
"[Jay] was on the phone walking down a road and he’d gone over a little bit - not a big drop - but a tiny little drop and he was going down, and he said ‘I’ll ring ya back, I’ll ring ya back’ because I think someone else was ringing him," Brad told ITV's Traquair. "If he was thinking like me, he would have gone back up and started walking on the path again.
Sharing more information about the roads in the area, Traquair said in her video: “When [Jay] was out walking, he steps over — there’s big stones, painted stones, that border the mountain road. It is an extremely dangerous mountain road.”
“[Jay] is seen by his friend [Brad] stepping over this white stones. And that’s when he starts going downhill," she added.
Brad told Traquair in their television interview: "That's how I knew he went off the road because, you know when you walk on gravel, or whatever it is, you can... you know what I mean, stones."
At the time, neither of the teens were overly concerned as Jay assured Brad that he was okay. Brad added: "We were both, like, laughing about it. He said: 'look where I am,'" he said.
However, Brad did ask Jay to turn on his location.
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