'Wild' Jay Slater conspiracy theories spread in chilling echo of Nicola Bulley case

So-called 'internet detectives' have jetted off to Tenerife on one-way tickets in a bid to help locate missing Jay Slater, in a situation reminiscent of the Nicola Bulley case. TikTok influencers and adventurers, armed with hiking boots and camcorders, are documenting their journey through the mountain scrubland on the island as they search for the 19-year-old Brit who disappeared nine days ago.

In brief video clips, they detail the harsh cacti-ridden terrain, the altitude, and the precipitous cliffs surrounding the area where Jay was last spotted. A wave of wild conspiracy theories about the teenager's fate, who has a history of criminal activity, is currently circulating online.

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These include unfounded allegations that he staged his own disappearance to profit from a GoFundMe page, that he was abducted after a drug deal went sour with criminal enforcers holding him hostage until his debt is repaid, or that he may have actually pocketed the money himself.

The situation bears an uncanny resemblance to when Ms Bulley vanished last January, leading amateur sleuths to descend upon the small Lancashire village of St Michael's on Wyre where she had been walking her dog. They scoured the river path, caravan park and fields where she was last seen, but Lancashire Police were compelled to issue a warning for them to keep their distance as those 'playing private detective' were hindering the official rescue teams.

Jay, an apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was last seen on the morning of Monday, June 17 after returning to an Airbnb with two British men he had met while partying on the final night of the three-day NRG music festival. A local woman spotted him in the village of Masca at 8am and informed him that the bus back to his accommodation was due at 10am. She later reported that he was walking 'alone and fast.

His mother Debbie is convinced that her son has been 'taken' and has appealed to anyone who may be holding him to release him.

She stated: 'What happened in court is irrelevant, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. What matters more than anything is that my son is missing and we need to find him.

On Saturday, Lucy - the friend who last spoke to Jay and who set up the GoFundMe page for Jay asking for the specific sum of £30,000 - was questioned at length by police although there is no suggestion that she has any involvement in his disappearance.

However, questions have been raised about the donations and where exactly they are going - especially as Debbie has been added and then removed as a beneficiary several times since the page was opened last Thursday.