Jay Slater's dad reveals 'keys mystery' which plagues him after son's death

Undated family file handout photo issued by LBT Global, of Jay Slater whose funeral was held at held at Accrington Cemetery Chapel in Lancashire, after he died while on holiday in Tenerife in June. Issue date: Saturday August 10, 2024.
-Credit: (Image: Copyright remains with handout provider)


The circumstances surrounding Jay Slater's tragic disappearance continue to torment his father, Warren.

Jay, an apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle, vanished on 17 June 2024 while on a three-day music festival trip in Tenerife with friends. After a frantic month-long search, the 19 year old's body was eventually found on 15 July near the village of Masca, just metres from his last known location.

An initial post-mortem examination suggested that his death was due to a 'fall or plunge from height', with the Civil Guard confirming that Jay suffered catastrophic injuries including multiple broken bones. However, despite these findings providing some solace to his family, it remains unclear why Jay strayed off alone.

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Warren, Jay's father, has now set up his own TikTok page to discuss the investigation into his son's disappearance. In his most recent video, which has been viewed over 50,000 times, Warren stated: "Just to show a video to confirm this is my account. The keys I found do belong to Down the Rapids guy. I found them at the end of the path."

"I haven't been back to Tenerife ever since I came back from looking for my son. The videos that I've been posting are just documentation of what I was up to, where I was searching, things I was looking at while I was out there and that's it.", reports the Mirror.

Warren alleged that the keys he stumbled upon, initially thought to be Jay's misplaced apartment keys, actually belonged to TikTok detective Paul Arnott, alias Down the Rapids, who had journeyed to Spain to assist the family in cracking the case. It has been reported that Jay had grumbled about misplacing his keys on the eve of his disappearance, and this still troubles his father.

Warren
Warren Slater -Credit:Tiktok//@warrenslater

The Sun reports that Jay sent a message to fellow reveller Ayub Qassim the last person to witness him alive concerning his lost key. Mr Qassim extended an offer for Jay to spend the night at his Airbnb accommodation and chauffeured him there in the wee hours of Monday morning.

Come 8am, Jay embarked on the perilous 11-hour journey by foot back to his flat.

Jay's uncle, Glen Duncan, has previously expressed his scepticism that a missing hotel room key would compel Jay to undertake such an extensive trek. Speaking to The Sun, he remarked: "The fact he has come out and said all his mates have left him and he had nowhere to go, he was 10 minutes from his apartment in Los Cristianos. He's not stupid. If he didn't have a room key he could have gone to reception for a replacement."

Mr Qassim has stated that Jay returned to the Airbnb, known as Casa Abuela Tina, after his friends had departed and headed home early. Ex-police detective Mark Williams-Thomas, who has been working with Jay's relatives in Tenerife to follow up on various leads, previously disclosed: "[Qassim] said he was on the trip, Jay wanted to carry on partying and he said he had nowhere to stay, so he said he could come back to his."

"In the car, they played music and chatted before stopping to get a drink at a cafe just prior to entering the mountains. [Qassim] was driving, his friend was in the passenger seat, and Jay was in the back."