Jay Slater missing: Investigation now focuses on alleged stolen Rolex and nightclub scuffle

Jay Slater has been missing in Tenerife for more than two weeks. With no confirmed sightings of the apprentice bricklayer since June 17, investigators are now focusing on an alleged 'stolen Rolex' that could provide crucial leads.

Lancashire teen Jay was last seen leaving a music festival in the early hours of June 17. He travelled back to an Airbnb in the rural village of Masca with two British men. At around 8.50am, Jay disappeared while trying to return to his friends in the tourist town of Los Cristianos.

Despite an exhaustive two-week search involving helicopters, drones and sniffer dogs across the Masca mountains, Spanish police were unable to locate Jay. They officially ended their search on Sunday, June 30.

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However, it later transpired that the police had started investigating a new lead related to Jay's mysterious disappearance. They were reportedly examining claims of a nightclub altercation over a stolen Rolex in the hours preceding Jay's disappearance, reports the Mirror.

Here's everything we know about the alleged stolen watch, which is now at the heart of the investigation.

Jay is alleged to have posted about a 'stolen' £12,000 Rolex on Snapchat. TV detective Mark Williams-Thomas, who has been involved in several prominent investigations including the Nicola Bulley case, has offered new insights into Jay's state of mind before his disappearance. The ex-police officer claimed that Jay posted a video on Snapchat boasting about the theft of a Rolex watch during the drive to the Airbnb.

Speaking in a video statement shared on social media, Mr Williams-Thomas said: "En 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 [claim] he would not make this up and the watch was the subject of a later conversation between them."

An altercation is said to have erupted while Jay was partying. There were initial reports that police were looking into an alleged row at a nightclub regarding the stolen Rolex in the hours before Jay disappeared.

Allegations surfaced claiming that an altercation occurred outside Papagayo Beach Club - which Jay had attended - involving a man who claimed his Rolex was allegedly stolen. Subsequent to these alleged events, police in Tenerife were believed to be exploring a fresh angle connected to Jay's mysterious absence.

While the precise relevance of this incident to Jay's predicament remained uncertain at the time, one friend said he might have set out to retrieve the watch. Following these allegations, officers seemingly shifted focus onto examining footage from CCTV and security cameras near where the alleged altercation happened, as per MailOnline.

Jay felt 'scared' upon departing the Masca Airbnb. Detective Mark Williams-Thomas has suggested that Jay was frightened when he departed from the holiday rental where he was last seen, stating that the young man felt he couldn't return to the property, which would have been the "sensible course of action."

The whereabouts of the purportedly stolen Rolex at that time remains a mystery. Mr Williams-Thomas, who travelled to Tenerife to assist in the search for Jay, said: "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."

The former police officer also dismissed the idea that Jay had been abducted, countering his mother Debbie's fears, by saying "no credible ransom demand has been made". He continued: "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."