Jay Slater investigator issues major update on video of missing teen

Renowned British Television Detective, Mark Williams-Thomas, who is currently based in Tenerife, has dispelled rumours concerning a "distressing" video making rounds on the internet, with speculations that it involves missing teenager Jay Slater. The 19-year-old hailing from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, went off the radar on the Spanish island since the last known communication to his friends occurred on June 17.

Jay had reportedly rented an Airbnb in the rural area of Masca village alongside two other Brits before his mysterious disappearance at roughly 8.50 am while trying to get back to the tourist-friendly town, Los Cristianos.

The investigation into Jay's disappearance morphed into an intensive fortnight-long mission, involving helicopters, drones, and sniffer dogs deploying to scour the mountainous region of Masca. Despite these colossal efforts aimed at tracking him down, the Spanish law enforcement agencies drew a blank and consequently decided to officially call off their search on Sunday, June 30.

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Regarding the purported distressing video, Detective Mark Williams-Thomas provided clarity stating: "Lots of people are contacting us about a distressing video that is circulating. The video was first posted on a social media site nine years ago and therefore cannot be Jay Slater."

In further developments, the ex-police officer has shifted the focus of his investigations towards what seems to be a 'stolen Rolex' saga. Intriguingly, Jay bragged via a Snapchat video about the alleged theft of a whopping £12,000 Rolex timepiece just merely hours prior to his disappearance, reports the Mirror.

Mr Williams-Thomas elaborated: "On route Jay posted a Snapchat saying that they had taken a £12,000 Rolex from a person. We have been unable to validate this in terms of a reported theft. However, friends of Jay he would not make this up and the watch was the subject of a later conversation between them."

He further claimed that Jay felt intimidated when he departed the holiday rental where he was last seen, stating the young man felt he couldn't return to the property, even though it would have been the "sensible course of action."

The investigator remarked: "We have received information that would suggest Jay left the rental property feeling scared and that 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 and got water."

Mr Williams-Thomas dismissed the idea that Jay had been abducted, countering his mother Debbie's previous assertion that she believed her son had been kidnapped. He noted: "We have no evidence at this stage to say there was any third-party criminal involvement in Jay's disappearance."

"However, there are still a number of outstanding actions and therefore we still remain open minded to the possibility of this changing. The evidence strongly supports that Jay walked off and was walking for at least 30 minutes off the road on a track before he last had contact with friends, with a very accurate location pin drop at 8.50am."

"I would make an appeal for landowners in the area of Teno Rural Park to check any outbuildings and land that they have and hope that some further searches will continue by volunteers in the area not yet searched."