Ex-police officer claims missing Jay Slater 'could be somewhere else' as he says 'things don't add up'

A former police officer has claimed that missing Jay Slater 'could be somewhere else' and things 'don't add up'. Retired Scotland Yard officer Graham Wettone said the case of the missing 19-year-old is 'very bizarre'.

The apprentice bricklayer was on holiday with friends in Tenerife when he went missing on June 17. A search launched by Guardia Civil has since been called off.

Jay had been at the three-day NRG festival in the popular resort of Playa de las Americas when he is said to have travelled with two men to the north of the Spanish island. It is understood he stayed at a remote Airbnb with the men.

READ MORE: 'Racist' radiographer created 'toxic' environment to make others 'scared of him'

Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the BirminghamLive newsletter here.

Police reportedly questioned the men, believed to be British, before they flew back to the UK. Guardia Civil has since insisted its case into Jay's disappearance is still open.

Mr Wettone - who was a member of the Met Police for 30 years - said police in Tenerife should have accepted an offer of help from Lancashire Constabulary. Police should 'start again' and speak to all witnesses as 'many of them may not be telling the truth', the former officer claimed.

Speaking to MailOnline, he said: 'I've been following this case closely and discussing it with colleagues and it's certainly a very bizarre one, lots of things just don't add up." He added: "There are so many inconsistencies in what I am seeing and reading.

"I think the Spanish police need to take a step back and think "why did he go missing where he did and in what circumstances?". They seem to be focusing primarily on the fact that they were told he wandered off into the mountain, but we are now almost two weeks in, and nothing has been found up there."

Mr Wettone urged police to explore other potential 'criminal' aspects of the case and see if 'anything sinister and untoward' happened in the hours before Jay vanished. Officers need to 'go back their starting point and take another look', he said.

Mr Wettone added: "After this length of time and with nothing being found you have to ask is he even there and he is perhaps somewhere else? The fact no body or evidence of him up there has been found would start leading me to another avenue, I'd even be asking are we sure he was up there in the first place.

"They seem to be thinking that he is up there sadly under a rock may somewhere maybe but I'm not so sure and that's why I think they should have accepted Lancashire's help even just to get a second opinion."

A source close to Jay's family said they are heartbroken over the decision to call off the search and said they feel the 'trolls have won'. They told The Sun: "Jay’s family can’t help thinking the trolls have won and that they have got the way.

"So many people have been putting horrible messages out there which has only added to the family’s torment. They will not stop looking for Jay or giving up.

"They will be staying in Tenerife and trying to do all they can to keep momentum going and to find Jay. They’ve been trying to get in touch with groups in Tenerife and beyond who specialise in missing persons.

"Jay’s family knew the search would eventually wind down. They get that. But it was a nightmare scenario they didn’t want to think about."