Jay Slater’s family are today desperately hoping for answers about his death in a remote Tenerife ravine after pleading to hear from the British tourists who last saw him alive.
A huge search operation was launched after the 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire became separated from his friends after attending an all-night rave in June last year.
After weeks of social media speculation about how the apprentice bricklayer ended up in the mountains, his body was tragically found in a ravine a month later.
On May 21 an inquest in Preston, Lancashire was dramatically halted over the failure of two British men who drove Jay back to the village following the rave to attend court.
Police had attempted to serve witness summons on Ayub Qassim, a convicted drug dealer who was renting the AirBnB in Masca, and fellow Briton Steven Roccas, previously known as ‘Rocky’, but neither could be traced.
Jay’s mother Debbie Duncan sobbed as she begged Dr James Adeley, senior coroner for Lancashire, to make renewed efforts to trace them.
A pathologist said injuries including severe skull and pelvis fractures were consistent from falling from a height – but could not rule out the possibility that Jay had been pushed.
Debbie Duncan arrives at Preston Coroners Court ahead of the inquest into her son Jay Slater
Debbie Duncan. Slater’s body was found in a ravine on the island of Tenerife, Spain, in June 2024
Jay Slater pictured before he went missing in Tenerife, seen with his mother Debbie Duncan
Jay’s family and many others laid the 19-year-old to rest at his funeral on August 10, and asked he be allowed to rest in peace without conspiracies spiralling about his death
Jay’s friend Bradley Hargreaves has also arrived at Preston Coroner’s Court, accompanied by family members.
The 20-year-old, who was swapping messages with Jay as he attempted to walk from the remote village of Masca back to their apartment – is among the friends who was abroad at the previous hearing.
The hearing in May was told that at 6.09am on the morning of June 17 last year Jay used his phone to share his location as being in the village with Mr Hargreaves, also known as Bradley Geoghegan.
That was followed by a seven second video an hour later showing a mountainous scene.
Later that morning Josh Forshaw – the only friend who gave evidence in May – overheard a Facetime call between Jay and Mr Hargreaves after going to their apartment.
‘He was slurring his words but he wasn’t begging for help or anything,’ he told the court. He didn’t sound like he was in danger.’
Mr Forshaw said Mr Hargreaves urged Jay to get a taxi back to where they were staying, but the teenager said he had no money.
Jay didn’t sound ‘distressed or angry’, he added.
Speaking about the video call – believed to be one of the last times anyone spoke to Jay – Mr Hargreaves later told ITV’s This Morning that his friend was walking along a gravel path.
Speaking of the events that night, he said: ‘What’s happened is that we have split up, but he has been with people that he already knew.
‘He’s ended up back with them and I don’t know how or what has gone on there but he’s gone off and rang me halfway to their house saying I’m staying here and I’ll be back the next day.
‘He’s rang me walking down the mountain and he just says he’s walking home.
‘At the time I didn’t think anything of it I just thought he was going to get a bus home or a taxi home because that’s what he says he is going to do.’
Mr Hargreaves stayed on in Tenerife assisting the search for Jay along with his mother Rachel.
After the tragic discovery of his body he posted an online tribute reading: ‘Nothing be the same without you. Rest easy brother. Love you always.’
The hearing in May heard that Mr Hargreaves had informed the coroner’s office that he would be abroad that week on a holiday booked last October.
It also heard that shortly before disappearing on June 17, 2024, Jay had sent messages to friends saying he had stolen a high-end watch and was trying to sell it for £10,000.
Pleading for Mr Qassim and Mr Roccas to be brought to court, Ms Duncan told the coroner: ‘We want these people to be sat in front of us.
‘Something went wrong that day, he didn’t come back.
‘There’s questions we need to ask – please.’
Agreeing to adjourn proceedings, Dr Adeley warned the family he was ‘not confident of success’.
But he added: ‘However in view of your distress we will make an effort to find them.’
One friend of Jay who did give evidence back in May said he seemed to be ‘off his head on drugs’ the night before his disappearance.
Jay sent Josh Forshaw a Snapchat message saying he had ‘ended up getting thrown out of there me with 2 Maili kids just took an AP off some **** on way to sell it for 10 quid’.
Police found another message in which Jay wrote he had just taken a ’12k rolly’ and was ‘off to get 10 quid for it’.
Preston coroner’s court heard that ’10 quid’ was slang for £10,000, AP was a reference to high-end Audemars Piguet brand and ‘Rolly’ meant a Rolex.
Mr Forshaw claimed Jay sent him another image with mountains in the background showing two knives in his waistband, writing: ‘I’m carrying these in case it kicks off.’
He said he later overheard Jay videocalling Mr Hargreaves, saying: ‘He was slurring his words but he wasn’t begging for help or anything.
‘He didn’t sound like he was in danger.’
Jay’s friend urged him to get a taxi, but he replied that he had no money.
Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, disappeared while on a three-day holiday for a music festival
Spanish police have previously searched the Airbnb (pictured) where Jay was seen
After being told by villagers that the next bus was not until 10am, witnesses saw him walking down the main road.
Members of a Dutch team which searched for Jay said the ravine where his found was around a three-and-a-half hour walk away.
Initially the route was ‘pretty easy’ but later on became ‘really dangerous’.
Forensic pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd said the injuries caused by the fall would have caused ‘instantaneous’ loss of consciousness and Jay would have died soon afterwards.
He added that injuries seen in assault victims were ‘very different from the type of injuries I saw with Jay’.
Toxicologist Dr Stephanie Martin said analysis of tissue found traces of cocaine, Ecstasy, alcohol and ketamine.
But due to the length of time before Jay’s body was discovered she could not say if she had been under the influence of drugs when he fell to his death.
Analysis of Jay’s phone found messages from his friends asking where he was, with location data consistent with what witnesses told police.
Det Chf Insp Rachel Higson, head of Lancashire Police’s digital media investigation unit, told the hearing: ‘Having read all the messages there’s nothing at all to suggest Jay was frightened, that he was under any threat, that he was scared of anybody, that he was forced to do anything against his will.’
The detective said there was no other evidence about a stolen watch.
Mr Qassim has previously denied any involvement in Jay’s disappearance, saying the teenager had simply walked out of the holiday property saying: ‘Bro I’m going to get off.’
