What happened to Jay Slater? The theories about missing British teen in Tenerife

Spanish police are said to be investigating claims that missing British teenager Jay Slater was spotted “watching the Euros” in a bar in Tenerife.

Slater, 19, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was reported missing on Monday, 17 June, after failing to return to the apartment he was sharing with friends.

With the search failing to turn up any notable leads so far, Puerto de Santiago mayor Emilio Jose Navarro Castanedo told MailOnline that investigators are now quizzing locals who say they saw someone matching Slater’s appearance in bars watching Euro 2024 football matches.

While he said he had no details on the date or time of the “unconfirmed” information, Castanedo said that he believes it was in the days after Slater was reported missing.

He added: “Locals have told me that they have heard from others that they saw someone looking like the boy in a bar at Los Gigantes further along the coast.

“I have no idea if it was him, but holidaymakers of his age all dress the same and I have no idea in which bars he was seen, I don't know if the police have been there they are not telling me about their investigation."

Watch: Jay Slater's dad says police keeping family in dark - as they share new CCTV image in hope of finding teen

Efforts appeared to be solely focused on one area after days of searches in the village of Masca and the surrounding landscape.

With the search for Slater well into its second week, Spanish authorities are yet to hold a press conference – something that may be fuelling online conspiracy theories. Videos on places like TikTok share numerous suggestions about what may have happened to Slater.

Slater's mother, Debbie Duncan, also posted an update on GoFundMe on Thursday stating that she's working with the company to withdraw some of the £36,500 donated, in order to pay for food and accommodation of the missing teen's friends and family as they continue to help the search in Tenerife.

As the search continues, here are some of the theories surrounding the teenager’s disappearance.

Abducted

Debbie Duncan, Slater's mother who flew to Tenerife last Tuesday to join the search, told the Daily Mail on 20 June that she fears her son may have been abducted.

Slater is said to have called his friend, Lucy Mae Law, who was on the island with him at about 8.30am on the Monday he went missing and told her he was “lost in the mountains, he wasn’t aware of his surroundings, he desperately needed a drink and his phone was on 1%”.

His last known location was in the isolated Rural de Teno Park after going back to a rented apartment with two men who, like him, had attended the NRG music festival.

Duncan said: "'If anyone does have him, just let him go, he's not a bad person, maybe he's got in with some strangers who've befriended him.

"If he is lost then why hasn't anyone seen him? It's busy with hikers and holidaymakers up there so if he was lost then someone would have seen him, so that's why I think maybe he's been bundled off somewhere."

Read more: Missing Jay Slater's mum 'believes son was abducted' as search goes on in Tenerife (Nottinghamshire Live)

Got lost

Slater disappeared following an attempt to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus. The walk from Slater’s last known location in the north of the island to his accommodation would have taken about 11 hours on foot.

British national Tom Beckett, who is familiar with the area where Slater last used his phone and was in Santiago del Teide on Tuesday, said be believed the teenager may not have reached the town.

"Had he been on the road, he would have been seen by numerous tourists. It's a very narrow road so they wouldn't have missed him, they would have seen him," Beckett said.

Warren Slater, the teenager's father, on Monday, 24 June, shared a blurry still picture from a security camera in the town of Santiago del Teide of a person that could be his son in the hope it would help with the search.

Santiago del Teide mayor Emilio Jose Navarro said police had interviewed several people who may have seen him, including some who said they thought they had spotted him on the coast watching matches in the Euro 2024 football tournament.

Read more: Jay Slater: Other people who disappeared on the island where Jay Slater went missing (Independent)

Injured

Law, the last person to speak to Slater, told Sky News shortly after Slater went missing that he said he had “cut his leg on a cactus and had no idea where he was”.

Any injury may have been exacerbated because he was without food and water and had only been wearing a t-shirt and shorts.

Click below to see the latest North West headlines

"It's very warm in the day and very cold at night. So in the day he's going to be really warm without a drink, and then at night he's going to be very cold without any suitable clothing."

Additional sniffer dogs from Madrid have been flown in to search for the missing teenager on the hiking trail where he was last heard from.

“In addition today several dog trainers and their expert dogs who have transferred from Madrid have joined the search," Spanish police said.

Read more: Jay Slater: Officers searching for missing teen rescue 'disorientated' Scottish hiker (Sky News)