Nicola Bulley detective joins Jay Slater search as he probes 'suspicious circumstances'

A British detective has flown out to Tenerife to join the search for missing teenager Jay slater. The 19-year-old attended a music festival on the island , before leaving by car with two British men he befriended on a night out.

He travelled to an Airbnb with the men just outside Masca village before vanishing the following morning on Monday, June 17. He called his friend, Lucy Mae Law, that morning and is said to have been disoriented and thirsty.

Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, has not been seen since despite a desperate search by local police and his mum, Debbie Duncan. She flew out the day after he son went missing.

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And now, former police detective Mark Williams-Thomas, an experienced investigator who worked on the disappearance of Nicola Bulley, says he is working closely with Jay's family in Tenerife to build a detailed timeline of the teenager's last steps. Nicola was found dead after she went missing while walking her dog in Lancashire back in January 2023 sparking a huge search.

The mum's body was found around three weeks later and it was determined that she had drowned. Mr Williams-Thomas has been carrying out enquiries locally in the area Jay is last thought to have been.

He said: "I don't want to talk in detail at the moment, but I've spent time with the family and my focus now is to build a clear timeline of the last 24 hours before Jay disappeared. My focus is very much to ensure that I'm here to support the family and work with the Spanish authorities to get answers. I would quickly be able to establish whether or not there are suspicious circumstances - but I'd need total access to everything and to speak to all the witnesses involved."

Mr Williams-Thomas previously said he would get answers on Jay Slater "in three days" as he offered to join Spanish police in Tenerife urgently. He told The Mirror: "Having feet on the ground and looking at the scenario and circumstances, I know I will get to the bottom of this in three days. If the family work with me, I will get the answers. It is crucial for the family. It is difficult for them, dealing with foreign police who handle it differently."

A spokesman for the police in Tenerife added: "The Civil Guard is continuing with the search operation for the young British man. Several dog trainers and their expert dogs who have transferred from Madrid have joined the search. These dogs are specifically trained in searching for people over large swathes of land."

Police and fire officers are also continuing to comb three separate ravines – including one where it is believed Jay’s phone last “pinged” shortly after he disappeared.