TRAGIC Jay Slater told a pal “I’m not going to make it” in a haunting final unsent Snapchat message which only delivered after his death.
The 19-year-old travelled to Tenerife to attend the NRG music festival but vanished after being driven 30 miles up the mountains to an Airbnb.
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He fell around 80ft to his death while trying to walk back to his accommodation in Los Cristianos from the village of Masca on June 17 last year.
Desperate relatives led a huge search across the Spanish island until his body was found almost a month later down a treacherous ravine.
Their quest for answers and ongoing battle against wild online conspiracy theories is documented in a new TV programme about his disappearance.
The upcoming Channel 4 documentary is the first time Jay’s family have spoken publicly about the tragic case since they gave a heartbreaking interview to The Sun.
It shows grief-stricken mum Debbie Duncan recalling finding an unsent message when logging into his Snapchat account after finally retrieving his phone.
Remembering it being received by Jay’s pal Bradley Geoghegan, she said tearfully: “When we signed into Jay’s Snapchat there was an unsent message from Jay to Brad.
“So the message was obviously just flying around and then the message sent to Brad, which obviously gave Brad a fright.
“He messaged me straight away ‘are you on Jay’s phone?’. I said yeah we’ve just signed into his Snapchat.
“He said ‘I’ve just got a message that’s just come through from Jay’. The last message he sent.
“He said ‘listen, I’m not going to make it’. It’s kind of like he knew he just wasn’t going to make it.”
Debbie revealed there had been “a lot of activity” on his iPhone that night, including around 70 calls, before a final 22-second call to pal Lucy Law at 8.50am.
Jay’s mobile is believed to have run out of charge when the call with Lucy suddenly ended after he revealed he only had one per cent battery remaining.
Lucy, who made the viral GoFundMe page, rang emergency services for help at 9.04am.
Asked whether Jay said he needed rescuing, she told the call handler: “Yes, he said he feels like he’s going to die up there and then the phone cut off.”
CCTV featured in the new documentary shows Jay partying at Papagayo nightclub with friends before being refused re-entry around 1.12am.
Footage of his last known sighting shows him at 3.07am in Tramps nightclub, where he is believed to have met Steven Roccas and Ayub Qassim.
At 6.22am, Jay posts his Snapchat location as they drive to Masca before he sends a final clip from outside their Airbnb at 7.21am.
Mystery remains around why Jay decided to leave the holiday home before falling into the Juan Lopez ravine in Teno National Park.
Home Office pathologist Richard Shepherd found the bricklaying apprentice suffered a “massive skull fracture” which caused “instant unconsciousness and almost certainly instant death.”
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What happened to Jay Slater?
JAY Slater flew to the Spanish island last June to attend the NRG music festival in Playa de las Americas with two friends, Lucy Law and Brad Hargreaves.
The teen travelled to an Airbnb apartment in Masca with two men – including convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim – in the early hours of June 17.
Jay posted a final Snapchat picture of himself smoking on the doorstep of the apartment at 7.30am on June 17 before leaving at around 8am.
Jay, of Oswaldtwistle, Lancs, made a heartbreaking final call to friend Lucy saying he had cut his leg, was lost, dehydrated and had just one per cent battery on his phone after he left the Airbnb.
He was attempting the treacherous 10-hour walk back to his apartment in Los Cristianos when he called Lucy to say he was lost.
DCI Rachel Higson, head of digital media investigations at Lancashire Police, told an inquest in May that Jay’s phone recorded “a lot of steps and inclines” between 7.59am and 8.49am.
His mobile last pinged in the mountainous Rural de Teno Park after Jay walked the wrong way from the Airbnb, and DCI Higson said there was “no data recorded” after 8.49:51am.
After a month-long search, Jay’s body was found in a ravine on July 15 last year – near to where his phone last pinged.
A post-mortem examination concluded he died of traumatic head injuries, consistent with a fall from height.
Home Office pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd told the inquest Jay suffered a “heavy fall from height” and the “devastating” effects would have been “immediate”.
He told the TV doc: “The one thing I can’t rule out is that Jay was pushed at the top of a slope just as I can’t rule out whether someone has fallen down stairs on their own or is pushed down the stairs because the push will leave no marks.”
But at an inquest – it was later ruled there was no third party involvement in his death.
The programme shows Jay’s family, including dad Warren, brother Zak and uncle Glen, retracing his final steps on the Canary Island.
Debbie also revealed she received a mysterious disappearing WhatsApp message when first arriving to search for her youngest son.
She claims it read: “I’ll give you one warning your son won’t be coming back. He owes us enough f****** g money kiss goodbye to him.”
Coroner Dr James Adeley ruled Jay’s death was accidental and there was no evidence of third party involvement when his inquest concluded in July.
The family keep the clothes Jay wore on his last night in a box stored in the garage of their home in Oswaldtwistle, Lancs.
His dad Warren said: “I did personally want for him to be buried in the outfit cause that’s when he was having a good time and that was his party gear for the night. But no, they’re Jay’s.
“For the doubters really to prove that he did have those trainers on and he did have that T-shirt on.”
Jay’s mum Debbie also still hasn’t unpacked his suitcase and showed viewers the contents of his Armani bag – a provisional driving licence, aftershave and lighters.
Other scenes show her meeting with local MP Sarah Smith about fighting online trolls and wannabe sleuths spreading lies online.
She said: “I will never, ever understand why social media detectives were totally destroying people’s lives.
“It’s been torture, absolute torture. The YouTubers and the TikTokers have made this situation a million times worse.”
- The Disappearance of Jay Slater airs on Channel 4 at 9pm on Sunday September 28
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