Detective searching for Jay Slater says two key witnesses are 'back in the UK'

A private investigator searching for Jay Slater said he wants to speak to two "key" people who would have last seen the missing teenager.

Mark William Thomas is a former Met Police detective who helped in the search for Nicola Bulley. The former police offer has flown to Tenerife to help Jay Slater's family find answers as the 19-year-old has been missing since June 17.

According to our sister site, Mirror Online, Mr Thomas has been speaking to Jay's family and told reporters they "are still holding out hope" he will be found. The former police officer said: "The family have provided me with an in-depth insight into what has happened in the hours leading up to his disappearance.

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"I have, to date, not been able to speak to a large group of witnesses. But there are two key people to date that I have not spoken to. These are the two men that took Jay back to the holiday rental in the hills.

"Those two men have spoken to the police and they are now back in the UK." A major emergency service operation has been going on for 10 days now to try and locate the 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire.

The owner of the Airbnb accommodation in the north west of Tenerife was the last person confirmed to have seen him as he walked away after enquiring what time the next bus leaves so he could head back to the south of the island around 8am. He later contacted his friend Lucy Law, who he was on holiday with, to say that he was attempting to walk back which was a trek of about 10 hours and his phone battery was about to die.

A massive search operation was initiated around the village of Masca with rescue teams scouring the vast, treacherous terrain with mountains and ravines while equally challenging is the extreme weather conditions.

Jay's mum Debbie Duncan has said she has “not slept” since the 19-year-old disappeared. Asked how she was coping she continued: “We’re not. I’m not coping very well at all. I’ve not slept, I’m exhausted. It’s been awful. I can’t give up on him, I just can’t.”

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